Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening

by Robert Frost

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 sound’s 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.

雪夜林邊小駐

羅伯特·弗羅斯特

余光中譯

想來我認識這座森林，

林主的莊宅就在鄰村,

卻不會見我在此駐馬，

看他林中積雪的美景。

我的小馬一定頗驚訝：

四望不見有什么農家，

偏是一年最暗的黃昏，

寒林和冰湖之間停下。

它搖一搖身上的串鈴，

問我這地方該不該停。

此外只有輕風拂雪片，

再也聽不見其他聲音。

森林又暗又深真可羨，

但我還要守一些諾言，

還要趕多少路才安眠，

還要趕多少路才安眠。

About the poet:

Robert Lee Frost (March 26, 1874 – January 29, 1963) was an American poet. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. His work frequently employed settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex social and philosophical themes.

Notes:

The poem is written in iambic tetrameter in the Rubaiyat stanza created by Edward Fitzgerald. Each verse (save the last) follows an a-a-b-a rhyming scheme, with the following verse’s a’s rhyming with that verse’s b, which is a chain rhyme. Overall, the rhyme scheme is AABA-BBCB-CCDC-DDDD. Imagery and personification are prominent in the work.