2022 Post #2 -- A Line or Two for Life

 by Brett Vogelsinger

Since Poem of the Day is a yearlong habit in my classroom, I feel it's important to weave in some of the best-known names in American poetry, but in a different way than students might encounter in other classes.  When we read "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost, for example, I emphasize not interpretation, but rather appreciation of the poem's beautiful language. 

I say, "Today's poem is about a man who is driving a horse-drawn buggy past woods on a snowy evening. He pauses, reflects for a moment, then moves along on his way.  And that sounds like a pretty boring poem, I'll admit it, yet it's one of the most famouse poems we will read to start class this year. 

Tay Zonday's reading of the poem on The Poetry Foundation's Ours Poetica project is brief and wonderful, so I begin by sharing this video with my class: 

Then I say, "I have always loved the last four lines of this poem, just the sound they make.  My favorite of the four is this one: 'The woods are lovely, dark, and deep."  It's a line I think of every time I spend time in a forest, no matter the season.  Say it out loud with me: It's such a beautiful line to say aloud!" 

We say it a few times, and I share my beautiful Obvious State print (below) inspired by this quote. 

"Now here's what I'd like you to keep with you from this poem:  In your life, there will be many times you end up in the woods -- hiking, hunting, walking, or lost.  When you are, let this line run through your head: 'The woods are lovely, dark and deep.' Poems can be like that, ring in our ears years later.  I hope this line is like that for you as it has been for me." 

Additionally, I might add, "You know that last line, repeated twice -- that one just might run through your brain on those nights when you feel overwhelmed with things to do: 'And miles to go before I sleep,/And miles to go before I sleep.'" Every student knows a night like that at some point in high school. 

Further Reading:

Brett Vogelsinger is a ninth grade English teacher and NBCT at Holicong Middle School in Doylestown, PA. He is the founding editor of Go Poems, facilitates his school's literary magazine, Sevenatenine, and contributes monthly posts at Moving Writers. Follow him on Twitter @theVogelman.