Refrain in the poem dust of snow
Answers
Answer:
Dust of Snow is only eight lines long and seems to be the simplest of short poems. With full end rhyme and short lines on the surface the two stanzas appear to be nothing more than a snapshot of a trivial event concerning a crow, a tree, snow and a human being.
Yet, as always with Robert Frost, you know that beneath the surface there will develop deeper worlds of meaning and possibility. As Frost himself wrote:
'It is what is beyond that makes poetry - what is unsaid in any work of art. Its unsaid part is its best part.'
So it is with this tiny poem. The reader might take only fifteen seconds to recite it but once finished there could well be several hours spent on, or several ways of, working out what the message is, if any.
Dust of Snow has as its main themes:
communication between nature and humans.
nature healing and helping with negative human emotions.
the significance of small natural events
First published in 1923 in the book New Hampshire, this little poem has remained popular because it juxtaposes two fundamentals - human complexity and animal simplicity - in such a compact and symbolic form.
The other outstanding feature of Dust of Snow is that it is so accessible, like many of Frost's more popular poems, the reader being taken under that same tree to experience the crow and the snow.
And yet, as the analysis will show, there's much more going on in what appear to be lines of simple, straightforward language.
Explanation -
Analysis of Dust of Snow
Dust of Snow with its short neat form, rhyming lines and rhythmic beat is simplicity itself. It reflects the rather bleak, minimalist imagery.
There's the speaker, the man, under a tree. It's probably winter, there's snow on the tree, an evergreen pine called a hemlock, and a crow has happened to send some snow dust down on the man.
Whether it falls on to his head or down his neck is unknown because it's not really relevant to the poem. What is important is the way that crow makes it happen, but once again, the reader is left to imagine the bird's specific action.
Whether it be the crow preening, merely shaking, flying off, or landing, or readjusting its feet on a branch, somehow a light dusting of snow is the result, and it lands on the speaker.
The actual word is shook, so it could be that the crow is shivering in the snowy tree. For the speaker this must have come out of the blue; the crow's action caused an unexpected fall of snow dust.
The first stanza is the speaker setting the scene but leaving a little bit of guesswork for the reader. The question has to be asked: In what way precisely did that crow shake down the dust of snow?
In a comical way? In a mischievous way? In an indifferent way?
Each line runs into the next - enjambment - so giving the idea of build up which goes hand in hand with the rising iambic beat (see metrical analysis below).
So the first stanza flows into the second which is the more intimate part of the poem as the speaker begins to confirm a change of mood. The crow, traditionally given a bad name as a harbinger of doom and fear, becomes a catalyst for positive change.
The speaker, because of the snow dust falling on him, finds himself partially relieved - his day just got a whole lot better - the event somehow allowing him to see life from a different angle.
There are two crucial words Frost uses here: rued and saved, the former meaning to regret something which often cannot be undone and the latter meaning to rescue or keep safe.
The word saved is also associated with religion - being saved (by Christ) - for example, but this doesn't really fit the circumstances of the speaker. Why? Because only part of a day is saved, not his soul.
If the figurative heart changes mood then this is quite a profound shift nevertheless and it illustrates the power that nature sometimes has over we human beings.
The speaker could well have been stressed out over something, gone for a short walk to try and think things through. Then whilst under the tree...down came the dust of snow to alleviate the symptoms.
If anything there is a strong case for irony and comedy in this poem.
Picture the troubled speaker, all serious, self-absorbed, worrying about what had happened to him a few hours earlier.
Suddenly there is the crow flapping from a high branch; then down comes the freezing white dust to land straight on the poker-faced speaker.
And isn't it ironic that a creature usually linked with negative aspects of life should become the bringer of positive change?
The message is clear enough. Sometimes seemingly insignificant natural events do bring about change. Being outdoors in nature, with all its unpredictability, can benefit anyone, anywhere at anytime.
Answer:
The short poem by Robert Frost throws light upon the unimaginable healing power of nature and tiny things. From a bad mood to ill-health, there is nothing that can’t be cured by nature. The author was experiencing one such bad day when a crow’s movement near a hemlock tree dusted snow upon him. His day gets a lot better. Thus, the supremacy of nature as a whole made him realise how petty his problem was. The fact that hemlock tree is poisonous combined with crow being the indicator of doom and fear are used in the poem as the carriers of happiness in the life of narrator is ironical. The poet, through these objects has tried to highlight that sometimes creatures linked with negative aspects of life can be the bringer of change and happiness. Being outdoors in nature, with all it’s unpredictability can benefit anyone, anywhere at any time.