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Dust of Snow Notes

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48 views4 pages

Dust of Snow Notes

Uploaded by

suganthi s
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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MEANINGS

Way—manner,

Dust—very small particles,

Dust of snow— small white flakes falling on earth

Shake – to move with short quick movements from side to side or up and down.

Shook down—shook the snow dust down

Hemlock—a poisonous plant with fernlike leaves and white flowers

Has given my heart – has created impact on my heart

Mood—state of mind,

A change of mood—a change in the present condition of mind

Saved—saved from being wasted

Part—portion, fraction

Rued—regretted deeply, felt sad deeply, bemoaned, lamented

SUMMARY
Frost stood under a tree. A crow, on the tree, shook off the snow from the branches of the
tree. The snow fell on the poet and lifted the poet’s mood. He had been depressed at the
beginning of the poem. Now, however, he felt that his day was saved.
The poem is set on a wintry day.
The treetops were covered with masses of snowflakes.
The poet was walking under one such snow-covered tree.
This tree was a hemlock tree associated with poisonous qualities.
A crow perched on the hemlock tree suddenly.
The sudden movement of the crow, the mass of snowflakes started falling down the tree.
The snowflakes fell down upon the poet who was standing under the tree.
The mass of snowflakes was so light and fine that it looked like the dust of white snow.
The sudden movement and arrival of the crow and the falling of the flakes of snow look like
just ordinary happenings.
But the falling of fine snowflakes on the poet leaves a tremendous effect on him.
Before this, the poet was in a gloomy or despairing mood.
However, this simple beautiful act of nature has a very comforting effect on him.
The fall of snow over him changes his mood and mental state.
It gladdens his heart.
Before this incident, that particular day was not going too well for him.
He had decided in his mind that the day would go waste.
However, the fall of snowy flakes on him makes him realise that the whole day has not been
wasted.
At least, this part of the day when he is enjoying the snowflakes, has been saved. i.e. some
part of the day has been pleasant for the poet.
If he had not experienced such a pleasant experience, he would have rued at the wastage of
the whole day.
THEMES
The major themes of this poem are:

Significance of Small Events


Nature and Humans
Significance of Small Events

Frost recounts an incident that despite being small, has a huge impact in uplifting his mood.
Through this, Frost is trying to help us understand that things that we might consider trivial
do have the potential to heal.
The poet also highlights that a small event can have impact on a larger event.
Nature and Humans

The poem shows the deep connection between nature and humans. It tries to show how
humans and nature can co-exist peacefully with each other.
It also shows the healing effect of nature on humans.
CHARACTERS
The poem provides brief insights on Robert Frost, the narrator of the poem.

Melancholic: He is sad and feels depressed as he stood under the hemlock tree.

Optimistic: He is filled with happiness as the dust of snow fell on him.

Philosophical: Frost looks for deeper implications to a small insignificant event.

LITERARY ELEMENTS
A few key literary elements in the poem are:

Rhyme Scheme
Symbolism
Imagery
Irony
Rhyme Scheme

The rhyme scheme of the poem is abab.


Symbolism

In ‘Dust of Snow’ Frost symbolises the ‘crow’ and the ‘hemlock tree’.
The ‘crow’ is used as a symbol of darkness and is thus considered a bad omen.
Since the ‘hemlock tree’ is poisonous, it signifies death.
By symbolising the ‘crow’ and the ‘hemlock tree’, the poet proves that things that may
appear to be evil can benefit us in many ways.
Imagery

Frost uses simple imagery like a crow scattering snow from hemlock tree, and ‘dust of snow’
falling on the poet to depict the positive effect of nature on the poet.
Irony

Frost draws a contrast between reality and expectation, between what appears to be true
and what the actual truth is.
The irony is that the things that are considered inauspicious filled him with happiness when
everything seemed gloomy.

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