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.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The speaker hears only the gentle sounds of wind and snow, questioning if there is any deeper meaning.
- In plain terms
- He wonders if the quiet sounds are a mistake.
- What can you take from it?
- Sometimes silence speaks louder than words.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What does silence reveal to you?
- When do you hear meaning in absence?
Another view
The line about a mistake may be ambiguous without context.
More from Robert Frost
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.
Permalink to quote #103 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.
Permalink to quote #105 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.
Permalink to quote #102
Related quotes
Elected Silence, sing to me And beat upon my whorled ear, Pipe me to pastures still and be The music that I care to hear.
Gerard Manley HopkinsGerard Manley Hopkins quote #23 out of the mountain of his soul comes a keen pure silence
E. E. CummingsE. E. Cummings quote #41 Along the western slopes of the Oregon Coastal Range . . . come look: the hysterical crashing of tributaries as they merge into the Wakonda Auga River . . .
Ken KeseyKen Kesey quote #1