Dust of Snow by Robert Frost

Introduction

Robert Frost was born on March 26, 1874, in San Francisco, California. He became one of the most celebrated figures in American literature, earning four Pulitzer Prizes. He is one of America’s most iconic poets, known for his exploration of human emotions, nature, and the complexities of life. His poetry often delves into themes of isolation, choices, and the human condition, presented through deceptively simple language. While his settings often include rural landscapes, they serve more as backdrops for profound reflections on universal human experiences. Frost’s ability to blend deep philosophical insights with accessible verse has made him a lasting figure in American literature.

About the Poem.

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. It 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

The other outstanding feature of Dust of Snow is that it is so accessible, like many of Frost’s more popular poems, the reader is 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.

Text of the Poem Dust of Snow.

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.

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 hemlock, and a crow has happened to send some snow dust down on the
man. Whether it falls onto his head or down his neck is unknown because it’s not really relevant to the poem. What is important is the way that the 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 buildup 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 that 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 us human beings. The speaker could well have been stressed out over something, and 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 any time.