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How is there a play of opposites in the poem "Stopping by the woods on a snowy evening"?

In the first stanza, the speaker says, "Whose woods these are I think I know. / His house is in the village though; / He will not see me stopping here / To watch his woods fill up with snow" (lines 1-4). This stanza juxtaposes the opposing places of the woods and the village.  The speaker is here, alone in the woods, in nature, enjoying the beautiful scene that goes unappreciated by the man who actually owns this land.  The owner is away, in the peopled village, surrounded by society and incapable of enjoying the scene.  Thus, these lines present several opposites: wood and village, solitariness and being surrounded by others, appreciation and lack of appreciation for nature.

In the second stanza, he says, "My little horse must think it queer / To stop without a farmhouse near / Between the woods and frozen lake / The darkest evening of the year" (5-8).  The speaker references the darkness here, darkness made possible, in part, because there is no house, no other person, nearby.  Alone, he draws attention to how different it would be if he weren't alone.  In darkness, he draws attention to how different it would be if there were light to interrupt it.  The darkness and solitude contributes to the poem's peaceful mood.


In the third stanza, sound opposites are explored when the speaker says, "He gives his harness bells a shake / To ask if there is some mistake. / The only other sound’s the sweep / Of easy wind and downy flake" (9-12).  All is silent around him except for the one jingle of his horse's bells.  The silence of the scene feels all the more palpable when juxtaposed with the one bright sound that he hears.


Finally, in the last stanza, the speaker says, "The woods are lovely, dark and deep, / But I have promises to keep, / And miles to go before I sleep, / And miles to go before I sleep" (13-16).  He would very much like to remain, to stay in these woods, but he must continue: to stop or to go.  His obligations force him to choose one opposite when he would much rather pick the other.

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