X.Eng. Dust Of Snow Brief Summary/Central Idea/Theme/Message

Poem -1 

     Dust of  Snow 

     by Robert Frost

Theme/ Central Idea/ Message 

Dust of Snow  is a beautiful poem of nature by Robert Frost.The poet is standing under a hemlock tree. He is in sad mood .He thinks that his day has been lost. just then a crow shakes the hemlock tree and the Dust of snow falls on him. This soft and cold touch of snow  changes the poets mood from sad to happy.He is fully purified and refreshed. Due Dust of snow his negativity has been replaced with positive thinking.

The poem Dust And Snow conveys the message that nothing in life is small. Even a small things can bring positive changes in our life.  if we take small things positively in life, situations do change for better. Same as one can remove sadness from one's heart.

   Dust Of Snow by Robert Frost

  Annotations

1-Shook- Trembled something

2-Dust Of Snow - small particles of snow

3-Hemlock tree - poisonous plants with white flowers

4-Mood- state of mind

5-Part - portion

6-Rued- regretted

Answer the following questions in 30-40 words:

Q1. What does the poet want to convey through the poem?

Ans. The poet, Robert Frost wants to convey a very significant message through the poem. He wants people to have faith and stay positive. Everything undergoes changes, no mood, no sad feeling or even happiness is permanent. We just have to see and find goodness in small things as they can make huge differences. Nature has all the answers to human problems, one just needs to see them.

Q2. Discuss briefly the setting of the poem.

Ans. The poet presented a perfect setting to convey the message he wanted to convey. We can find four different elements in the poem which match one another. The snow stands for depression. The hemlock tree is a symbol of sadness. The crow is considered ominous. The poet's mood was also sad. But suddenly the way in which the crow shook the hemlock tree and falling off the dust of snow changed the poet's mood. The setting of the poem is in nature and conveys the significance of nature in our life.

Q1. What is a "dust of snow"? What does the poet say has changed his mood? How has the poet's mood changed?

Ans. The 'dust of snow' means the fine small particles of snow. The poet was in a bad gloomy mood, the sudden shower of dust of snow while standing under the tree changed his mood. His mood changed from that of sad, depressed and gloomy to state of happiness. He felt refreshed and wanted to make the most of the remaining day and enjoy it immediately.

Q2. How does Frost present nature in this poem? The following questions may help you to think of an answer.

Ans. Robert Frost presents nature in a very different yet meaningful way by using unusual things to express positivity and beauty of life.

(i) What are the birds that are usually named in poems? Do you think a crow is often mentioned in poems? What images come to your mind when you think of a crow?

Ans(i) Generally, poets describe birds with great qualities and beauty in their poems. They use dove, peacock, mynah and parrot, etc. to define nature and its beauty. But in Dust of Snow, Frost has used crow to represent the same. Crow is rarely mentioned in poems and is generally associated with harsh voice and bad omens. When one thinks of crow, images of tragedy and sadness comes to mind.

(ii) Again, what is "a hemlock tree"? Why doesn't the poet write about a more 'beautiful' tree such as a maple, or an oak, or a pine?

Ans.(ii) Hemlock tree is a poisonous plant (tree) with white flowers. The poet refrained from using the common pine or oak trees in his poem. He used Hemlock tree because it aptly represented his mood and feelings.

(iii) What do the 'crow' and 'hemlock' represent -joy or sorrow? What does the dust of snow that the crow shakes off a hemlock tree stand for?

Ans.(iii) The use of crow and hemlock tree present the sadness and depression felt by the poet. The dust of snow stands for positivity and natural joy and beauty. The dust of snow that the crow shakes off the hemlock tree means that the sad day is going to change. It is going to turn poet's mood from sad to full of joy and optimism.

Q3. Have there been times when you felt depressed or hopeless? Have you experienced a similar moment that changed your mood that day?

Ans. In one's course of life every human feels various emotions. Feeling sad, hopeless and depressed is no different. There have been times when I also felt depressed and sad. Once, due to an unfortunate road accident I couldn't prepare for my unit test. My result was very poor. And I felt very sad and pessimistic because of it. But my teacher praised my efforts in front of the class and asked me to continue working hard. This instantly cheered my mood and I felt relaxed and happy again.

        Thanks for reading 

       ( English Confluence) 

          by CL Gautam)