Dust of Snow by Robert Frost
"Dust of Snow" is a compact poem by Robert Frost, featured in his 1923 collection, *New Hampshire*. Comprising only eight lines and thirty-four words, the poem employs simple language and a clear, rhythmic structure to convey its themes. The poem begins with an image of a crow shaking snow from a hemlock tree onto the speaker, which initiates a transformation in his mood from negativity to a more positive outlook. This shift is poignant given the conventional associations of crows with ominous symbolism and the paradox of experiencing joy on a seemingly fine winter day after a prior sense of regret.
Frost's use of paradox is central to the poem's effect, challenging readers to reconsider their preconceived notions about both the crow and the snow. The rhyme and meter further enhance its emotional impact, culminating in a surprising ending that leaves a lasting impression. The poem suggests that unexpected moments, even from unlikely sources, can alter our perspectives and improve our experiences. "Dust of Snow" invites readers to reflect on themes of redemption, the beauty found in everyday occurrences, and the potential for change that exists even in moments of despair.
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Dust of Snow by Robert Frost
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition
First published: 1921 (collected in New Hampshire, 1923)
Type of work: Poem
The Work
Frost was proud of his small, compact poems that say much more than they seem to say; his 1923 volume New Hampshire gathers several of these, including “Fire and Ice,” “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” and one of the shortest of all, “Dust of Snow.” One sentence long, it occupies eight short lines and contains only thirty-four words, all but two of them monosyllabic, and all of them part of even a young child’s vocabulary.
The way a crow
Much of the effect of this poem derives from its paradoxes or seeming contradictions, the first of which is in the title. Although the phrase “a dusting of snow” is common in weather reports, dust usually calls forth notions of something dirty and unpleasant, quite unlike the dust of snow.
It is also paradoxical that the speaker’s mood is initially so negative on a presumably fine winter day after a fresh snowfall, that he has so far rued this day. Even more paradoxically, the agent responsible for provoking a change for the better is a bird normally contemned: the large, black, raucous crow. Even its important function as a devourer of carrion does not summon forth a favorable image. In medieval times the crow often symbolized the devil, and its larger cousin, the raven, was employed by Edgar Allan Poe and other writers to create a sinister or melancholy mood. This crow, however, rescues the speaker from his previously rueful mood.
One paradox that Frost did not intend occurred to a woman who heard him read “Dust of Snow” and responded, “Very sinister poem!” When the puzzled author asked her why, she replied, “Hemlock—Socrates, you know,” alluding to the poison that the Greek philosopher was required to drink after his trial. Frost had intended no such suggestion, and it contradicts the effect of the poem as a whole. Socrates’ hemlock was quite a different thing from the tree inhabited by Frost’s crow, and the woman’s misinterpretation exemplifies an important point: Not all the possible suggestions of a word or image are necessarily applicable in a given context. Frost depends on his reader to use imagination responsibly and to exclude meaning that will not make sense in a poem.
The rhyme and meter of this short poem contribute much to its effect. The firm iambic beat is established in the first three lines, but Frost knew exactly when to vary the rhythm to avoid a sing-song effect; thus there is an extra syllable (in a different place) in each of the next two lines, and after two more regular lines, the last line consists of two anapests. Furthermore, the rhyming words are important ones, and the most surprising one, “rued,” is reserved until the end. The reader is left with a memorable impression of an unexpected boon from an unlikely source. To be “saved” by a crow, because of its unexpectedness, is more delightful than being saved by a song sparrow.
Bibliography
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Faggen, Robert. Robert Frost and the Challenge of Darwin. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1997.
Galbraith, Astrid. New England as Poetic Landscape: Henry David Thoreau and Robert Frost. New York: Peter Lang, 2003.
Gerber, Philip L. Robert Frost. Rev. ed. Boston: Twayne, 1982.
Lathem, Edward Connery. Robert Frost: A Biography. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1981.
Meyers, Jeffrey. Robert Frost: A Biography. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1996.
Poirier, Richard. Robert Frost: The Work of Knowing. New York: Oxford University Press, 1977.
Potter, James L. The Robert Frost Handbook. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1980.
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Thompson, Lawrance Roger, and R. H. Winnick. Robert Frost: A Biography. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1982.