Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

By Robert Frost 1922

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.
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.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sounds the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
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.

1. Which choice provides the clearest summary of the literal events of the poem?
A. The narrator is trespassing on someones property while in a hurry to get home.
B. The narrator pauses on his way home to observe a beautiful setting, then is reminded of the
necessity to return home.
C. The narrator is trying to fulfill his obligations, but he abandons them to explore the woods.
D. The narrator has a single minded focus on his duty to return home, but is led astray by his
horse.
2. Which couplets from the poem best support the idea that stopping by the woods was potentially
hazardous thing to do?
A. Whose woods these are I think I know./His house is in the village though;
B. The only other sounds the sweep/Of easy wind and downy flake.
C. He will not see me stopping here/To watch his woods fill up with snow.
D. Between the woods and frozen lake/The darkest evening of the year.

3. Which lines convey a complex tone regarding the woods?

A. The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
B. The darkest evening of the year.
C. Whose woods these are I think I know.
D. Of easy wind and downy flake.

4.

What is the most likely meaning of the word queer in stanza 2?

A. unwarranted
B. relief
C. atypical
D. commonplace

5. Which choice best describes the conflict within the narrator?

A. exploring mystery and beauty versus fulfilling daily duties
B. battling against nature versus accepting its superiority
C. controlling nature versus escaping into nature
D. fulfilling spiritual needs versus fulfilling emotional needs

6. What does the repetition of the final lines add to the meaning of the poem?
A. It emphasizes that the narrator might continue to contemplate his choices.
B. It proves that the narrator has decisively left the allure of the woods behind him.
C. It shows that the narrator is in great danger.
D. It shows that the narrator is happy to be returning home.
excerpt from the novel Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life (1846)
by Herman Melville
1
I can never forget the eighteen or twenty days during which the light trade-winds were silently
sweeping us towards the islands. In pursuit of the whale, we had been cruising on the line some
twenty degrees to the westward of the Gallipagos; and all that we had to do, when our course was
determined on, was to square in the yards and keep the vessel before the breeze, and then the good

ship and the steady gale did the rest between them. The man at the wheel never vexed the old lady1
with any superfluous steering, but comfortably adjusting his limbs at the tiller, would doze away by
the hour. True to her work, the Dolly headed to her course, and like one of those characters who
always do best when let alone, she jogged on her way like a veteran old seapacer as she was.
2
What a delightful, lazy, languid time we had whilst we were thus gliding along! There was
nothing to be done; a circumstance that happily suited our disinclination to do anything. We
abandoned the fore-peak2 altogether, and spreading an awning over the forecastle3 , slept, ate, and
lounged under it the live-long day. .
. . Even the officers aft, whose duty required them never to be seated while keeping a deck watch,
vainly endeavored to keep on their pins; and were obliged invariably to compromise the matter by
leaning up against the bulwarks4, and gazing abstractedly over the side. Reading was out of the
question; take a book in your hand, and you were asleep in an instant.
3
Although I could not avoid yielding in a great measure to the general languor, still at times I
contrived to shake off the spell, and to appreciate the beauty of the scene around me. The sky
presented a clear expanse of the most delicate blue, except along the skirts of the horizon, where
you might see a thin drapery of pale clouds which never varied their form or color. The long,
measured, dirge-like swell of the Pacific came rolling along, with its surface broken by little tiny
waves, sparkling in the sunshine. Every now and then a shoal of flying fish, scared from the water
under the bows, would leap into the air, and fall the next moment like a shower of silver into the sea.
Then you would see the superb albicore5, with his glittering sides, sailing aloft, and often describing
an arc in his descent, disappear on the surface of the water. Far off, the lofty jet of the whale might
be seen, and nearer at hand the prowling shark, that villainous footpad6 of the seas, would come
skulking along, and, at a wary distance, regard us with his evil eye. At times, some shapeless
monster of the deep, floating on the surface, would, as we approached, sink slowly into the blue
waters, and fade away from the sight. But the most impressive feature of the scene was the almost
unbroken silence that reigned over sky and water. Scarcely a sound could be heard but the
occasional breathing of the grampus7, and the rippling at the cut-water.
4
As we drew nearer the land, I hailed with delight the appearance of innumerable sea-fowl.
Screaming and whirling in spiral tracks, they would accompany the vessel, and at times alight on our
yards and stays. That piratical-looking fellow, appropriately named the man-of-wars hawk, with his
blood-red bill and raven plumage, would come sweeping round us in gradually diminishing circles, till
you could distinctly mark the strange flashings of his eye; and then, as if satisfied with his
observation, would sail up into the air and disappear from the view. Soon, other evidences of our
vicinity to the land were apparent, and it was not long before the glad announcement of its being in
1

old lady: slang term for a ship

fore-peak: area in the front part of a ship

forecastle: area in the front part of a ship

bulwarks: the part of a ships side above the deck

albicore: albacore, a type of tuna

footpad: thief

grampus: dolphin

sight was heard from aloft,given with that peculiar prolongation of sound that a sailor lovesLand
ho!
7. Which statement is true of both the Frost poem and the Mellville passage?
A. Both narrators must confront the dangers of nature.
B. Both narrators despair at having to make a difficult decision.
C. Both narrators experience a brief moment of reflection before having to move on.
D. Both narrators are deeply committed to the values of their society.

8. Given that this passage comes from a novel, what is the most likely purpose of this section in the
story?

A. This establishes a sense of finality and closure.

B. This is the likely climax of the novel.
C. This is probably one of many realistic portraits of sailing life.
D. This section is meant to cast doubt on the reliability of the narrator.

9. How does the authors choice of setting affect the passage?

A. The setting adds to the anxiety of the crew.
B. The setting forces everyone to be vigilant in their duties.
C. The setting adds an element of the supernatural.
D. The setting slows the action and forces more detailed observations.

10. Given the overall mood of the passage, which is the best interpretation of the phrase vainly
endeavored to keep on their pins as used in paragraph 2?

A. They struggled to keep calm.

B. They tried but failed to find rest.
C. They maintained their watchfulness.
D. They struggled to remain upright and alert.

11. A dirge is a slow, mornful song often played at a funeral. Which phrases from the passage does
Mellville use as a contrast to the term dirge-like in paragraph 3?

A. general languor
B. prowling shark
C. sink slowly into the blue waters and fade away
D. sparkling in the sunshine

12. How does this passage capture one of the common attitudes toward nature found in American
literature?

A. The mysteries of nature are extremely valuable.

B. Nature must be civilized.
C. Reason and duty are superior to the beauty of the natural world.
D. Man is an outsider to nature who does not belong.