Desert Places Robert Frost Snow falling and night falling fast, oh, fast In a field I looked into going past, And the ground almost covered smooth in snow, But a few weeds and stubble showing last.The woods around it have it--it is theirs.All animals are smothered in their lairs.I am too absent-spirited to count; The loneliness includes me unawares.And lonely as it is that loneliness Will be more lonely ere it will be less-- A blanker whiteness of benighted snow With no expression, nothing to express.They cannot scare me with their empty spaces Between stars--on stars where no human race is.I have it in me so much nearer home To scare myself with my own desert places.
VOCABULARY
Stubble- spiky growth, in this case the tips of grass Smothered-coveredoverthicklywithsomething,insomesensesapositiveword thatconnotesprotection,asifthesnowisablanket,butalternativelyitcould suggest suppression, choking to stifling Lair -the hiding place and dwelling of a creatureor monster Absent-spirited-anunusualphrasewhichFrostseemstohaveinventedforthis poem.Itreferencesthecommonphrase‘absent-minded’,whichmeanstohaveone’s mindelsewhereandnotfocusedonthetaskathand.Inthissense,wecould interpret‘absent-spirited’tomeansomethingsimilar,thatthespeaker’sspiritis elsewhere - his heart and soul aren’t quite presentin the moment he’s experiencing.Unawares -not aware of something 1 / 2
Ere -before Benighted -covered in night / darkness Desertplaces-thisimageconjuresupthedry,barrendesertbutalsoamore spiritualemptiness,spacesinthesoulormindwhicharedeserted-wherenothing grows or progresses
STORY / SUMMARY
Stanzas1-2:Snowisfallingfast,thespeakerwatchesitfillingupthefieldashe
passes,heobservesthatithasalmost-butnotquite-coveredupthegrassand plants,onlyafewtipsoftheplantsremainvisible.Thesnowbelongstothe surroundingwoods,andheimaginestheanimalsthatarehibernatingintheirnests andburrows,asleepunderthecoveringofsnow.Heisnotlikethem,heistoo ‘absent-spirited’,andthefactthathe’snotpartakinginthelawsofnaturein wintertime makes him feel lonely.
Stanzas3-4:Hemusesfurtheronthisloneliness,it’sonlythebeginningofwinterand
soheknowsoverthenextseasonhewillstarttofeelmorealonebeforeitgetsbetter (beforeSpringcomesandtheanimalsawaken).Heimaginesthatsooneverythingwill becoveredfullyinsnow,ablanknessthat’sdevoidofanyexpressionoflife.Hesays thevastblanknessofpartsofnaturearenotfrighteningorintimidatingtohim-heis notscaredbytheblanknessofthesnow,norbythedarkgapsbetweenstarsinthe sky.Heisusedtolonelinessandblankness,itlieswithinhim,withinhisownmindand soul - his own ‘desert places’.
SPEAKER / VOICE
Thespeakerisanunnamed,solitarytravellerwhoisaloneinavast,whitelandscape -evenotherlivingentities,suchasthesurroundingplantsandanimals,areasleepin theWintrysetting;onlyheisawake,andthereforehefeelsalone,disconnectedfrom
them.Thethirdpersonpronoun‘they’isusedinthefinalstanza:‘Theycannotscare
mewiththeiremptyspaces’,thismaybereferringtotheanimalsandplants, emblemsofnatureitself,ortospiritualentitiesthatcreatedtheworld,suchasGod orvariousgods(ifthepoemisinterpretedinaclassicalsense).Thismakesitfeelas iftheworldaroundthespeakerishostiletowardshim,tryingtointimidatehimin
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