Literary Devices Literary Devices    

Lesson 17: Personification: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

by Robert Frost

Performer: Librivox - Winston Tharp

Directions

Study the poem for one week.

Over the week:

• Read or listen to the poem.
• Review the synopsis.
• Read about the poet.
• Complete the enrichment activities.

Synopsis

'Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening' by Robert Frost personifies a horse. The horse thinks things are strange and shakes its harness to ask whether a mistake has been made when the narrator stops in the middle of the dark woods. The narrator thinks he knows who owns the property he's stopped upon. However, the owner lives in town and will never know he stopped there. The narrator knows he must get going. He has miles to go before he reaches his destination.

Concepts

Poets often use literary devices, defined as 'rules of thumb, convention, or structure that are employed in literature and storytelling.'

The nine literary devices we'll study include:

1. Rhyming
2. Alliteration
3. Similes
4. Metaphors
5. Personification
6. Foreshadowing
7. Allusion
8. Hyperbole
9. Onomatopoeia

Personification is a literary device in which an inanimate object or an idea is given human qualities.

Enrichment

Activity 1: Recite Poem Information

Recite the title of the poem and the name of the poet.

Activity 2: Study the Poem Picture

Study the poem picture and describe how it relates to the poem. How does the image differ from the poem?

Activity 3: Recite the Poem

Practice reciting the poem aloud.

Activity 4: Identify Personification in the Examples

Read aloud the examples below and identify the object being personified.

• The leaf danced across the yard. (Answer: The leaf is personified. Leaves have no legs and cannot dance. People have legs for dancing.)
• The sun peeped out through the clouds.
• The mower muttered in disgust when I tried to start it.
• The wafting scent of apple pie crooked its finger at me, beckoning me nearer.
• The tornado siren wailed through the night.

Activity 5: Identify the Rhyme Scheme

Review the poem and identify the pattern of its rhyming scheme. (e.g. ABBACDCD, etc.)

Activity 6: Identify Alliteration

• Review the poem and point out any instances of alliteration.
• For example, 'The woods are lovely, dark and deep,' repeats the sound of 'd.'

Activity 7: Discuss the Poem

The poem presents some intriguing mysteries.

Use your imagination to make up answers the following questions.

• Why does the narrator stop in the middle of nowhere?
• Who is the man owning the land he's stopped upon?
• How does the narrator know the owner?

For example, perhaps the land is owned by the narrator's childhood sweetheart. The narrator pauses to imagine what life would have been like if he'd married his childhood sweetheart.

Activity 8: Identify Personified Object(s)

Review the poem excerpts and identify anything personified.

• My little horse must think it queer
• He gives his harness bells a shake, To ask if there is some mistake.

Activity 9: Complete Book Activities   

• Click the crayon above, and complete pages 52-54 of 'Elementary Poetry 5: Literary Devices.'

References

'Personification.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.