Dust of Snow - Robert Frost 1) The Poem: The way a crow Shook down on me The dust of snow From a hemlock tree Has given my heart A chang...
Dust of Snow - Robert Frost
1) The Poem:
The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree
Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.
Glossary:
1) hemlock - A poisonous plant(tree) with small white flowers.
2) rued - held in regret.
Summary: In the first poem, Frost elaborates on two negative entities the hemlock tree and the crow, and both represent negativity, sad mood, depression, and lack of hope, but when the poet is sitting under the tree, and some dust of ice falls on him, he suddenly feels positive and joyful and decides to spend his rest of the day positively. The moral behind the poem is that negative entities are not wholesomely negative but can expect some positivity from them. Even though the poem is very short, it has a great moral and that is the beauty of the poem.
Thinking about the Poem:
1. What is a" dust of snow"? What does the poet say has changed his mood? How has the poet's mood changed?
Ans - The dust of snow means the fine particles of snow, and the poet's mood changes because of a sudden shower of snow on him when he is sitting under a hemlock tree. The poet's mood changes from sad to happy, he feels joyful and wants to enjoy the rest of the day.
2. How does Frost present nature in this poem? The following question may help you to think of an answer.
1. What are the birds that are usually named in poems? Do you think a crow is often mentioned in poems? What images come to your mind when you think of a crow?
Ans - Usually, the birds like cuckoo, skylark, nightingale, goldfinch, parrot, and peacock are mentioned in the poem. No, a crow is rarely mentioned in the poem, and when we think of a crow, an ugly image with a harsh sound that is a symbol of a bad omen comes to our minds.
2. Again, what is, " a hemlock tree"? Why doesn't the poet write about a more beautiful tree such as a maple, an oak, or a pine?
Ans - A hemlock tree is a poisonous tree with small white flowers and he has chosen the tree to represent the poet's feelings and mood instead of beautiful trees. The poet has chosen a hemlock tree and a crow both are the symbolic representation of negativity.
3. What do the crow and hemlock represent- joy or sorrow? What does the dust of snow that the crow shakes off a hemlock tree stand for?
Ans - The crow and hemlock trees are the symbols of sorrow, depression, and a sad mood, and the dust of snow that shakes off a hemlock tree shows a spirit of joy, happiness, and change of mood because by suddenly the poet feels better and decides to spend his way optimistically.
4. Have there been times when you felt depressed or hopeless? Have you experienced a similar moment that changed your mood that day?
Ans - Like everybody else, I too felt depressed many times in life, sometimes getting upset by the selfish behavior of people and sometimes due to my own conduct, but whenever I felt so, I would go for a long walk in nature either in the morning or evening to watch innocent movements of birds, nature's activities, sunrise or the sunset, and I always feel that my mood has been changed positively. I strongly believe that nature around us is the best teacher and motivator. If you are in the lap of nature it becomes very natural to think positively and optimistically.
2) Fire and Ice - Robert Frost
The Poem -
Some say the world will end fire
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favour fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
Glossary:
1) desire - strongly wish for.
2) perish-die.
3) suffice - be sufficient.
Summary: In the second poem, he talks about two evil emotions of human beings and they are desire and hatred. Today, man has endless desires, and he is never satisfied with what he has, but continuously running one after another. The second evil quality is hatred, as it is opposite to the most natural wisdom of mankind is love, and man is continuously cultivating this evil to anything without any reason, when these two evils are nurtured up to extreme levels, they can destroy the whole mankind as fire and ice have destroying capacity for our mother earth. So, we should cultivate the quality of satisfaction, contentment, love, and peace to save the earth and this beautiful message has been given in the poem.
Thinking about the poem -
1. There are many ideas about how the world will end. Do you think the world will end someday? Have you ever thought about what would happen if the sun got so hot that it burst, or grew colder and colder?
Ans - Yes, I think that one day the world will end, but it is very difficult to say when and how it is going to happen, people have different theories for that. In both situations when the sun goes extremely hot, or the earth goes extremely cold, it will be impossible to survive any creature and life will end.
2. For Frost, what do 'fire' and 'ice' stand for? Here are some ideas.
Ans - According to Frost, 'Fire' stands for greed, conflict, fury, cruelty, lust, and avarice whereas 'Ice'stands for insensitivity, coldness, intolerance, indifference, rigidity, and hatred. Here in the poem, Frost has compared different evils of human beings with these two words.
3. What is the rhyme scheme of the poem? How does it help in bringing out the contrasting ideas in the poem?
Ans - The rhyme scheme of the first stanza is ABAA, and of the second stanza is BCBCB in the poem.The poet has used the rhyming scheme beautifully to bring about the contrasting ideas of fire and ice in the poem.
Here, in the poem, the poet talks about two human emotional evils, that are desire and hatred, compared with fire and ice. Fire and ice when going to extreme levels can destroy the earth in the same way these two evil qualities desire and hatred of humans can destroy the whole of mankind. So, it is wisely suggested that we should keep away ourselves from these two evils.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Humility is the foundation of all virtues. ---- CONFUCIUS
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