Frost

Title: Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening
by Robert Frost. Frost was an American writer and poet. This particular poem was written in 1923. Frost is considered a great American writer and is featured in hundreds of textbooks in the US.

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,"

I think that the previous passage contains a central meaning of this poem. The author has stopped his apparently busy life for a moment to enjoy a time with nature. However, he pulls himself away from the situation, convincing himself that he has so many things on his "To Do" list that he cannot 'waste' time by watching the woods. This poem is especially true of both Americans today and of college students. There is a busy lifestyle that rules most households in the US, where parents work, rush the kids to school, rush the kids to sporting events, and eventually resort to the microwave or drive thru for dinner. Also, college students appear to constantly be on the go. Perhaps it is because it is their first true experience of adulthood or maybe it is because some do not have necessary time management skills, but whatever the reason, we are always on the go. Frost was on the go in this poem and as he's riding along, he is struck by the beauty of snow falling in the woods. He stops for a period in quiet reflection, but is interrupted by his busy lifestyle telling him that he has a lot more things to do. He doesn't want to leave the peacefulness of the woods, but he feels that he has to: "But I have promises to keep." These promises could be anything to do with business, or family, or school, or whatever keeps us from spending reflection time with some of life's moments. "And miles to go before I sleep." can refer both to things that must be accomplished before the nights end (although it is unlikely, because what really must be done in the middle of the "darkest evening of the year"?) and to things he must do before his death (sleep), as Mr. Alford suggested. I propose that Frost is saying that even death must wait on all this stuff he has to do, but all the stuff he has to do makes death seem like an almost reasonable alternative.