Were he not gone, The woodchuck could say whether it's like his Long sleep, as I describe its coming on, Or just some human sleep.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The speaker wonders if a woodchuck could describe its sleep like a long human sleep, blurring the line between animal and human experience.
- In plain terms
- A woodchuck’s sleep may mirror human sleep.
- What can you take from it?
- Consider how animal experiences can reflect human feelings.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Do you find animal behavior relatable?
- What does sleep symbolize for you?
Another view
The comparison is speculative and not scientifically grounded.
More from Robert Frost
My long two-pointed ladder's sticking through a tree Toward heaven still. And there's a barrel that I didn't fill Beside it, and there may be two or three Appl…
Permalink to quote #73 The birds that came to it through the air At broken windows flew out and in, Their murmur more like the sigh we sigh From too much dwelling on what has been.
Permalink to quote #75 To warm the frozen swamp as best it could With the slow smokeless burning of decay.
Permalink to quote #72
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