Dust of Snow Summary by Robert Frost
The poem consists of 2 stanzas. Each of these stanzas is again made up of 4 lines. Hence, the entire poem consists of 8 lines in total.
1st stanza:
The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree
In this stanza, the poet is talking about a winter’s day when all the treetops were covered in masses of snowflakes. The poet was walking under one such snow-covered tree. This was the North American conifer known as the hemlock, named so because its smell resembles that of the European plant from which the poison known as hemlock was made. Hence, by virtue of its name, this tree was not one that you could associate with anything positive. However, a crow alighted on this tree suddenly, and because of that sudden motion, the mass of snowflakes atop it fell down on the poet like rain. The snowflakes were so light and miniscule that the poet thought they looked like white and immaculate dust particles (if indeed dust particles could ever be white). This shower of snowflakes from the hemlock tree is evidently the subject matter of this poem, since it touched the poet in some way.
Words: Conifer – kind of tree; alight – land; miniscule – small; immaculate – clean, spotless;
2nd stanza:
Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.
In this stanza, the poet explains to us exactly in what way the shower of snowflakes had an effect on him. He says that it changed his mood. That is to say, he had been in a sullen or despairing mood, and the snowflakes falling on him all of a sudden gladdened his heart. In addition to this, there was another effect that the shower of snowflakes had on the poet. He says that, that particular day was one that he had not been looking forward to, and in fact, it was not going too well either.
He had decided, in his mind, that that particular day would go to waste. However, the shower of dust-like snow on his shoulder changed his mind. It made him feel that the day had not been a complete waste. At least some part of that day had been pleasant, since it had given him a new experience that he could material for another one of his wonderful poetic compositions.
Words: gladdened – delighted;
For Video Explanation click on this link – https://youtu.be/RznUuPtNyFE
Extra Question Answers
Q1: Where and how do you find the poet in the beginning of the poem?
A: The poet is under the hemlock tree and he is in a sad mood.
Q2: Where is crow at that time and what does it do to the tree?
A: The crow is sitting on the tree and it shook the tree.
Q3: How does the poet’s mood get changed?
A: The poet’s mood gets changed by the falling of dust of snow on him.
Q4: What happened with the rest of the day of the poet?
A: The rest of the day of poet was saved from ruing as he had started feeling happy and refresh.
Q5:What is a “dust of snow”? What does the poet say has changed his mood? How has the poet’s mood changed?
A: The ‘dust of snow’ means the fine particles or flakes of snow. The sudden shower in the form of the dust of snow changed the poet’s mood. The poet’s mood changed from sad to happy. He felt refreshed and wanted to enjoy the rest of the day.
Q6: How does Frost present nature in this poem?
A: Frost presents nature in a very different manner in the poem. Generally poets take the birds and trees which are known for their beauty and good qualities like peacock, parrot and trees full of beautiful flowers and fruits etc.
But here Frost has taken a totally different line, he chooses crow, a bird which is black in colour with very harsh voice and believed to be the symbol of bad sign. Likewise, hemlock tree is a poisonous plant with white flowers. It means he has left all the beautiful colours present in the world and has chosen black and white.
Actually the poet has done so to present his mood and feelings. The crow and hemlock tree represent sorrow and depression felt by him. On the other hand the dust of snow is the symbol of natural joy and energy. It means passing through the sad and depressing moments the poet is entering into the time full of joy and optimism.
Q7: How has the poet observed nature in the poem ‘Dust of Snow’?
A: The poet has observed nature as a positive medium of change for him. The poet had been the sorrowful and depressive mood in the poem. But then the way a crow shook snow dust off, it changed his mood. Nature gave him the inspiration to behave in a positive manner.
Q8: What is the underlying message for us in our hectic life with reference to the poem, ‘Dust of Snow’?
Or What is the central idea of the poem ‘Dust of Snow’?
Or What does the poet want to convey through the poem ‘Dust of Snow’?
A: In the poem ‘Dust of Snow’, the poet wants to convey that sometimes certain moments or actions which are simple have larger significance. They can change the mood or life of a person. The way a crow shakes down dust of snow on the poet inspires and gives him the idea to shake off his depressive thoughts, become cheerful and do something useful.
Q9: What side of nature do ‘crow’ and ‘hemlock’ represent?
A: ‘Crow’ is a black, harsh-voiced bird and ‘hemlock’ is a tree with poisonous bitter fruit. Both are not beautiful. They represent the dark, depressive, sorrowful and bitter side of nature.
Q10: Why does the poet use such poetically uncommon bird and tree? What does it reflect?
A: The poet seems to be in a depressive and sorrowful mood. In such a mood, one cannot think of a sweet and beautiful side of nature. The harsh, bitter and poisonous images come to his mind. That is why he uses an uncommon, harsh, ugly crow and poisonous tree like hemlock.
Q11: Justify the role of the crow in the poem “Dust of Snow” in changing the poet’s mood.
A: I think, ‘the way snow dust was shaken off’ changed his mood. Perhaps it gave the poet inspiration/idea to behave in the same manner—shake off his depressive thoughts and revive his cheerful mood.
Q.12: What did the poet think of the day before the dust of snow fell on him?
Ans. Before the fall of the dust of snow, the poet thought that his day was ruined. He was in a bad mood. But then dust of snow fell on him. It signaled something good and joyful. His mood changed.