Page 1 - Notes
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Summary- Dust of Snow



               The poet is upset and sitting under the hemlock tree. Suddenly a crow
               sitting on the tree shakes the tree and the fine particles of snow from
               tree falls on the poet.  The soft and cold touch of snow changes the
               poet’s mood from sad to happy. He starts feeling soothed and refresh.
               In this way a simple moment proves to be very significant and saves

               rest  of  the  day  of  poet  from  being  wasted  and  held  in  regret.
               The  black  crow  is  commonly  a  symbol  of  death  and  fear.
               Since the crow is not associated with goodness, it is ironic that in this
               poem,  it  is  doing  a  good  deed  by  shaking  off  the  snow.
               Robert  Frost  didn’t  choose  to  use  an  oak,  maple  or  pine  tree.  No,

               instead  he  chose  the  hemlock  tree  which  is  usually  associated  with
               poison  and  toxicity.  Anyway,  the  beautiful  snow  that  adorns  the
               poisonous  hemlock  tree’s  branches  is  shaken  off  by  a  scary  crow.
               Robert Frost uses the  elements  of the  fearsome crow and poisonous
               Hemlock tree to do something good – shake the white, pure snow off
               the branches. This good act lifts the suicidal person’s spirits causing
               him to change his mind about killing himself. The small act causes the
               man            to           have            an           enlightened              insight.
               We have a poisonous Hemlock tree covered in pure, white snow and a
               man who is depressed, planning to kill himself and walking under the
               tree. At that precise moment, the black crow of death shakes the pure,
               good snow onto the man. All that goodness helps the man to change
               his mind about killing  himself. Instead, he decides to live, forget the
               regret            and           sorrow            to           enable            healing.

               The  poem,  Dust  of  Snow  by  Robert  Frost,  reiterates  that  the  little
               things in life can make huge changes in our future. It also shows that
               if  we  can  take  the  hard  times  of  life  in  stride,  eventually  something
               will  happen  to  change  our  situation  into  happier  times.  The  simple
               things we do for others can make all the difference. Just think about
               those random acts of kindness we do and how much they brighten a
               person’s        day       and        sometimes          change         their       future.
               Noticing and appreciating all the small things in life will make our life
               happier. It will also cause us to have a spirit that is willing to change
               and therefore succeed.
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