"Dust of Snow"

The passage I chose was from Robert Frost's "Dust of Snow."
Mason, David. "Dust of Snow." Western Wind. Edited. Emily Barosse. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2006.

"The dust of snow

From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart

A change of mood

And saved some part

Of a day I had rued." (Frost 121-122)

This haiku, written by Robert Frost in 1923 seems to mean how nature and life go on.I think the speaker in the poem is most likely Frost himself because many of his poems reflect his own experiences. I think that when the snow fell down on the speaker, it made him realize that nature never stops and it will keep cycling, no matter how angry or upset someone is, because their problems are extremely small in the grand scheme of life and nature. I think the speaker realized this and it made him feel better knowing how small his troubles really are. The tone of this piece, although the speaker is irritated, is very soft, and calm. His diction makes the tone soothing with phrases like,"...dust of snow " and "...change of mood." (Frost 121-122) On the flip side, the diction can also be representative of something more sad and disturbing. Words like dust remind the reader of what it really is, which is dead skin. It could also remind the reader of the saying, " Dust to Dust," which is used in burying the dead. The fact that it was snow which shook down on the speaker, stirs images of a cold winter depression. The imagery created in this poem is one of death and sadness.