DUST OF SNOW

THEME

The theme of the poem 'Dust of Snow' written by Robert Frost is that one may have the worst
day or time of his life, but a little good thing can make it quite amazing. The crow, the hemlock
tree and the dust are considered to be the elements of negativity and assumed to usher in or
create ominous circumstances in one's life. The poem emphasises the curative power of nature.

Summary

"Dust of Snow" is a beautiful poem written by the famous poet, Robert Frost. Though the poem
is very brief, it has a significant meaning. This poem stands for guiding a person who has lost all
hopes and is very sad. The poet was in a sorrowful mood and was sitting under a hemlock tree.
It was the winter season and there was snow all around. A crow was sitting on the same tree.
The crow suddenly perches on top of the tree and shakes down the dust of snow on the poet.
When a small particle of snow fell on the poet, he was awakened from his thoughts and then
noticed the simple activity going around him. The poet perhaps realised that he had to just
shake off the dust that had settled on his mind. A simple act of the crow shook of the pessimism
and changed the poet's mood. He suddenly realised that he had wasted his time wallowing in
self-pity, and resolved to utilise the remaining day in doing some useful tasks. This realisation
fills him with positive energy. The hemlock which is known for its poisonous fruits, combined
with ominous crow, ironically, became the source of lightening up the disturbed mind of the
poet.

Explanation of the Poem

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Exp- 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.

2.
Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued,

Exp. In this stanza, the poet explains to us exactly in what way the shower of snowflakes had an
effect on him. When this happened, the distraught poet experienced a change of mood, felt
lighter in his heart, and made up his mind to use the rest of the day constructively, instead of
destroying it the way he had earlier. 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. The poet had not been
specific about what exactly transpired, but it is evident that two negative forces, the poisonous
hemlock tree and the black crow, were the representatives of nature that had brought about a
positive turn of events in the poet's life. It was the act of the crow, or its movement on the tree,
that had caused the dust to be shaken off the branches of the tree. This dust that fell on the
poet may have made him realise that all he had to do was to shake off the misery that was
nagging him into depression. At least, some part of that day had been pleasant, since it had
given him a new experience that he could treasure.

POETIC DEVICES

Rhyme scheme

Each of the two stanzas in 'Dust of Snow' follows the same simple rhyme scheme, that is,
ABAB. Only one imperfect rhyme occurs in this poem between the "crow" in the 1st line and the
"snow" in the 3rd line.

Metaphor

This poetic device is used when a covert comparison is made between two different things or
ideas. In this poem, the poet uses the device of metaphor in the 3rd line of the 1st stanza, when
he compares the mass of snowflakes atop the hemlock tree with dust.

Synecdoche

This poetic device is used in many ways to represent one thing with the help of an entirely
different one. In this poem, the poet uses this device to represent the whole in the 1st line of the
2nd stanza. He says that his "heart" has undergone a change of mood because the crow has
made the snowflakes from the hemlock tree rain down on him. However, he is now experiencing
a better mood as a result of the actions of the crow.

Symbolism

The symbolism, in this poem, is very subtle and hard to catch. However, if we read between the
lines, we will be able to understand just how apt the symbols used by the poet are. The poet is
having a bad day and he is clear about that. However, to make us understand the severity of his
sullen mood, he introduces us to the symbol of the hemlock tree. Hence, the hemlock tree, from
which the poison is said to be made, is a symbol of death. The next symbol that the poet
introduces to us is that of the crow. The crow is an ambiguous symbol and could stand for many
things. Generally, the crow is considered to be the ugliest among all birds Hence, it could be
another sight to degrade the poet's mood once again.

Alliteration

This poetic device is used at the occurence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of
adjacent or closely connected words. For example, in 'Has given my heart' and in 'And saved
some part.

Enjambment

This poetic device is used when the same sentence or line of a stanza continues into the next
line without the use of punctuations. The entire poem is an enjambment. There is a period only
after the last word 'rued".