1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:07,160 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:11,640 Speaker 1: a show for those who can never know enough about history. 4 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:15,920 Speaker 1: I'm Gay Bluesier and in this episode we're talking about 5 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:20,720 Speaker 1: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, a longstanding gateway 6 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:25,000 Speaker 1: poem for students of literature in the United States and beyond. 7 00:00:33,240 --> 00:00:39,040 Speaker 1: The day was March seven, ninety three. Robert Frost's poem 8 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:42,760 Speaker 1: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening was published in 9 00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:47,560 Speaker 1: New Republic magazine. Later that year. The poem was also 10 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:53,239 Speaker 1: included in New Hampshire, Robert Frost's third and final poetry collection, 11 00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:57,960 Speaker 1: which went on to win a Pulitzer Prize. In one 12 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:01,280 Speaker 1: of the poets best known and most to steamed works, 13 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:04,520 Speaker 1: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening is a fixture 14 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:08,960 Speaker 1: of English curricula in American schools for millions of students. 15 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:12,080 Speaker 1: It serves as an entry point both to Frost's own 16 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:16,200 Speaker 1: work and to poetry in general. The poem's brevity is 17 00:01:16,319 --> 00:01:20,120 Speaker 1: part of its classroom appeal. At just sixteen lines long, 18 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:23,800 Speaker 1: Frost described it as quote a short poem with a 19 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:28,039 Speaker 1: long name. Another point in the poem's favor is that 20 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:31,560 Speaker 1: it tells a clear, simple story while also leaving enough 21 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:35,960 Speaker 1: ambiguity to keep things interesting. It's written from the perspective 22 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:39,679 Speaker 1: of a loan traveler in a horse drawn wagon. Despite 23 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:42,399 Speaker 1: the cold, and although he has business to attend to, 24 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:46,319 Speaker 1: the traveler stops between a frozen lake and the edge 25 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:51,040 Speaker 1: of a nearby forest. The traveler stands and silently observes 26 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:55,320 Speaker 1: the snowy winter scene before him, transfixed by its beauty. 27 00:01:55,680 --> 00:01:59,240 Speaker 1: Sometime later, the spell is broken and the traveler sets 28 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:03,559 Speaker 1: out again. If you've never heard the poem before, well 29 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:06,600 Speaker 1: now's the time. Here it is being read by Robert 30 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:12,160 Speaker 1: Frost himself, stopping by woods on a snowy evening. Whose 31 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:16,320 Speaker 1: woods these are? I think I know his house is 32 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:19,720 Speaker 1: in the village, Though he will not see me stopping 33 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:23,600 Speaker 1: here to watch his woods fill up with snow. My 34 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:26,240 Speaker 1: little horse must think it queer to stop without a 35 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:30,880 Speaker 1: farmhouse near. Between the woods and frozen lake, the darkest 36 00:02:30,919 --> 00:02:33,280 Speaker 1: evening of the year, he gives his horness spells a 37 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:36,440 Speaker 1: shake to ask if there is some mistake. The only 38 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:40,480 Speaker 1: other sounds the sweep of easy wind and downy flake. 39 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:45,760 Speaker 1: The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have 40 00:02:45,919 --> 00:02:50,120 Speaker 1: promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, 41 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:55,880 Speaker 1: and miles to go before I sleep. Much of Robert 42 00:02:55,919 --> 00:03:00,320 Speaker 1: Frost's poetry presents a realistic look at life in rural Newland, 43 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:04,640 Speaker 1: written in plains spoken language, and there's a good reason why. 44 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:07,520 Speaker 1: In the years before he became one of America's most 45 00:03:07,639 --> 00:03:11,280 Speaker 1: beloved poets, Frost was the owner of a thirty acre 46 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 1: farm in Dairy, New Hampshire. He farmed to support his 47 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:19,000 Speaker 1: family while piecing together his first book in his spare time. 48 00:03:19,639 --> 00:03:23,519 Speaker 1: But despite his long association with farming and country living, 49 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:27,880 Speaker 1: Frost himself was said to be a lousy farmer. Part 50 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:30,080 Speaker 1: of the problem could have been that most of his 51 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:35,200 Speaker 1: income came from selling poetry to magazines and journals. Writing 52 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:38,360 Speaker 1: left him with less time for farming, and since the 53 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:41,520 Speaker 1: writing is what brought in the money, he probably didn't 54 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:44,080 Speaker 1: feel the need to be as strict and attentive to 55 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:49,480 Speaker 1: his farm as his full time farming neighbors. That said, Frost, 56 00:03:49,880 --> 00:03:53,440 Speaker 1: his wife, Eleanor, and their four children really could have 57 00:03:53,560 --> 00:03:57,040 Speaker 1: used the extra income that a healthy functioning farm would 58 00:03:57,040 --> 00:04:00,600 Speaker 1: have provided. They struggled to run the farm for nearly 59 00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:04,440 Speaker 1: two decades from the late eighteen nineties to nineteen twelve, 60 00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:09,240 Speaker 1: but it never became profitable. Frost grew more and more 61 00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:13,080 Speaker 1: depressed as his family sank deeper into poverty, and it's 62 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:17,599 Speaker 1: believed that one particularly low point later inspired him to 63 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:21,400 Speaker 1: write Stopping by Woods on a snowy evening. As the 64 00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:24,840 Speaker 1: story goes, Frost had gone to his local market one 65 00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:29,000 Speaker 1: winter solstice to sell the meager harvest of his farm. 66 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:31,440 Speaker 1: He had hoped to earn enough to see his family 67 00:04:31,480 --> 00:04:35,520 Speaker 1: through the winter and to buy Christmas presents for his children. However, 68 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:38,679 Speaker 1: at the end of the day his profits were nowhere 69 00:04:38,720 --> 00:04:42,680 Speaker 1: near enough. On the ride home, he was so distraught 70 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:44,680 Speaker 1: that he stopped on the side of the road and 71 00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:49,640 Speaker 1: began to cry. Those kinds of personal details aren't included 72 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:52,400 Speaker 1: in the final poem, and by leaving them out, it 73 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:57,520 Speaker 1: becomes much more open to interpretation. Still, many readers and 74 00:04:57,640 --> 00:05:01,080 Speaker 1: scholars have suggested that the speaker of the poem is 75 00:05:01,120 --> 00:05:05,080 Speaker 1: the author himself. Some have even interpreted the poem as 76 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:09,560 Speaker 1: a reflection of Frost's melancholy mental state. In that view, 77 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:13,240 Speaker 1: the woods beckon with the promise of rest, not just 78 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:16,520 Speaker 1: from a long day or a tiring journey, but from 79 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:20,839 Speaker 1: life itself, the sleep mentioned in the fourth stanza being 80 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:24,760 Speaker 1: a metaphor for death. There is evidence in the poem 81 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:29,160 Speaker 1: to support that darker interpretation. The speaker seems to feel 82 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:32,200 Speaker 1: out of step with the world at large. They're self 83 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:35,200 Speaker 1: conscious of how strange it would look if someone saw 84 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:38,720 Speaker 1: them lingering on a cold, dark night for no apparent reason. 85 00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:43,800 Speaker 1: They even project that insecurity onto their horse, imagining that 86 00:05:43,839 --> 00:05:47,680 Speaker 1: the animal thinks they must have stopped by mistake. The 87 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:53,679 Speaker 1: themes of exhaustion, paranoia, isolation, and obligation are all present 88 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:58,000 Speaker 1: in the poem, but so are the ideas of tranquility, optimism, 89 00:05:58,120 --> 00:06:03,679 Speaker 1: and determination. The conventions and expectations of society wigh heavily 90 00:06:03,760 --> 00:06:06,800 Speaker 1: on the traveler, but the mystery and beauty of the 91 00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:11,080 Speaker 1: natural world have a revitalizing effect on them. In this 92 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:15,880 Speaker 1: moment of stillness, the speaker remembers his commitments, the promises 93 00:06:15,920 --> 00:06:19,440 Speaker 1: he's made, the reason that he's out riding alone on 94 00:06:19,480 --> 00:06:23,679 Speaker 1: a dark, snowy evening in the first place. Whatever sleep 95 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:26,720 Speaker 1: is in the poem, whether it waits at the end 96 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:31,080 Speaker 1: of a fulfilled day or a fulfilled lifetime, the traveler 97 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:34,400 Speaker 1: chooses to forego it for the time being. And to 98 00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:39,240 Speaker 1: press on instead. The repetition of the final line underscores 99 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:42,760 Speaker 1: that sense of unfinished business that must be dealt with. 100 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:46,279 Speaker 1: Of course, that's just one way to look at it. 101 00:06:46,880 --> 00:06:49,680 Speaker 1: Others have suggested that the poem is actually about a 102 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:52,960 Speaker 1: weary Santa Clause taking a breather during a long night 103 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:56,880 Speaker 1: of delivering presents. The little horse in that case would 104 00:06:56,920 --> 00:07:01,080 Speaker 1: be a reindeer, and sure that fits all the same 105 00:07:01,160 --> 00:07:05,279 Speaker 1: themes would still apply. As for the Frost family, In 106 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:08,680 Speaker 1: nineteen twelve, they moved to England to make a fresh start. 107 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:12,480 Speaker 1: Now pushing forty, the poet was struggling to finish his 108 00:07:12,520 --> 00:07:15,640 Speaker 1: first collection, and away from the farm he was finally 109 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:18,679 Speaker 1: able to do it. The book was titled A Boy's 110 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:22,160 Speaker 1: Will and was released in the UK in nineteen thirteen. 111 00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:26,040 Speaker 1: It was so well received by British critics that Frost 112 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:28,880 Speaker 1: was able to secure a U S publishing contract for 113 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:33,280 Speaker 1: his second book, North of Boston. The poet's fame continued 114 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 1: to grow in his home country, and when World War 115 00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:39,040 Speaker 1: One broke out, Frost decided to move back to New 116 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:43,000 Speaker 1: England and give farming one more try. True to form, 117 00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:46,320 Speaker 1: he still did more writing than farming, but at least 118 00:07:46,320 --> 00:07:49,920 Speaker 1: now he could better afford that trade off. According to 119 00:07:49,960 --> 00:07:53,400 Speaker 1: the poet, Stopping by Woods on a snowy Evening was 120 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:56,360 Speaker 1: written on his farm early one morning in a sudden 121 00:07:56,440 --> 00:08:00,560 Speaker 1: fit of inspiration. Frost had just pulled an all nighter 122 00:08:00,840 --> 00:08:03,280 Speaker 1: working on a lengthy poem that would serve as the 123 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:06,960 Speaker 1: centerpiece of his third collection. He lost track of time, 124 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:10,200 Speaker 1: and when he had finished, he realized it was almost dawn. 125 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:14,200 Speaker 1: Instead of going straight to bed, Frost stepped outside to 126 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:17,840 Speaker 1: watch the sunrise, and in those tired moments of reflection, 127 00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:20,800 Speaker 1: he wound up writing one of the most memorable works 128 00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:24,760 Speaker 1: of his entire career. He later described it as quote 129 00:08:25,240 --> 00:08:30,160 Speaker 1: his best effort for remembrance. He left behind plenty of 130 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:34,679 Speaker 1: other strong contenders for that title, including Mending Wall, Birches, 131 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:38,240 Speaker 1: Fire and Ice, and of course The Road Not Taken. 132 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:42,120 Speaker 1: But for anyone who feels driven to see a task through, 133 00:08:42,559 --> 00:08:46,400 Speaker 1: no matter how long or daunting the path forward may seem, 134 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:50,440 Speaker 1: Frost's owed to unfinished business is pretty tough to be. 135 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:56,000 Speaker 1: I'm gay Bluesier, and hopefully you now know a little 136 00:08:56,000 --> 00:09:00,320 Speaker 1: more about history today than you did yesterday. If you 137 00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:04,400 Speaker 1: enjoyed today's show, consider following us on Twitter, Facebook, and 138 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:09,040 Speaker 1: Instagram at t d i HC. Show. You can also 139 00:09:09,200 --> 00:09:11,920 Speaker 1: rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts, or you 140 00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:14,800 Speaker 1: can write to us directly at this Day at i 141 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:18,840 Speaker 1: heart media dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing 142 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:21,640 Speaker 1: the show, and thanks to you for listening. I'll see 143 00:09:21,679 --> 00:09:25,400 Speaker 1: you back here again tomorrow for another day in History class. 144 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:37,280 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the iHeart 145 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:39,800 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 146 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:40,480 Speaker 1: favorite shows.