Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

The speaker of the poem stops to ---

• watch the woods fill up with snow

• find food for his or her horse

• say hello to the owner of the woods

• go skating on a frozen lake

What is the setting of this poem?

• in the woods on a bright, snowy afternoon

• in a village on a dark, snowy evening

• by a frozen lake on a bright, snowy afternoon

• near the woods on a dark, snowy evening

Read the first stanza of the poem:

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.

Based on this information, the reader can conclude that ---

• the woods are far away from the village

• the woods are near some houses

• the owner of the woods is friends with the speaker of the poem

• the speaker of the poem does not like the owner of the woods

What is one thing that pulls the speaker of the poem away from the woods?

• the freezing, harsh wind

• the cold, snowy weather

• the darkness of the evening

• promises the speaker needs to keep

One theme of this poem is ---

• the fear of staying too long on someone else's land

• the pull of sleeping in nature against the pull of sleeping at home

• the pull of being alone in nature against the pull of responsibility

• the ability of nature to make a person feel tired and sleepy

Read the last stanza of the poem:

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.

The poet probably repeated the last two lines in order to ---

• make the woods seem even more attractive and lovely

• make the speaker seem forgetful and less smart than earlier in the poem

• make the reader pay special attention to the meaning of the line

• make the speaker seem like he or she is already asleep

Read these lines from the poem:

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

What is the effect of the word "but" in the second line?

• It makes it seem like the speaker does not actually like the woods much and wants to leave.

• It makes it seem like the speaker can still keep promises while staying by the woods.

• It makes it seem like the promises the speaker has to keep are lovely, dark, and deep.

• It makes it seem like the speaker has to choose between keeping promises and the lovely woods.

Read the last stanza of the poem:

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.

At the end of the poem, the speaker most likely wants to ---

• stay in the woods

• get a good night’s sleep

• keep his promises

• continue his journey