Dust of Snow Class X Summary, Explanation, Analysis, Questions Answers CBSE
By- Tanmoy Kumar Bhattacharjya
NCERT CBSE Class 10 First Flight Book Chapter Dust of Snow Summary, Explanation and Question Answers
Dust of Snow Introduction
Dust of Snow is written by Robert Frost. It is included in the book First Flight for class 10 CBSE. Dust of Snow is a eight line poen written by American poet Robert Frost. In this article we have discussed the poem "Dust of Snow" written by Robert Frost along with summary of Dust of Snow & Analysis, Questions Answers, literary Devices, rhyme scheme etc. Some extra questions from Dust of Snow have also been discussed.
Dust of Snow by Robert Frost
Dust of Snow is a short and simple poem, yet it is very deep and intense in meaning. The poet explains how an act as insignificant as experiencing snow on one’s body can brighten one’s day up. Dust of Snow portrays the petty acts of a crow where it shakes a hemlock tree and consequently the snowflakes fall on poet's body and changes his mood from pensive to happy.
About the Poet Robert Frost:
Robert Lee Frost (March 26, 1874 – January 29, 1963) was an American poet. His work was published in England first before it was published in the United States. He is best Known for his realistic depictions of rural life. Among his best known poems are :
A Boy's Will, Stopping By Woods on A snowy Evening, The Road Not Taken etc. He was awarded the Pulitzer prize four times. Robert Frost died in 1963.
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Rhyme scheme of the poem "Dust of Snow"
The poet uses the rhyme scheme of abab cdcd in the poem.
Also read : Poem Daybreak Summary & Analysis
Dust of Snow Summary in English:
Here is the detailed summary of the poem Dust of Snow written by Robert Frost.
The short poem by Robert Frost focuses on the healing power of nature and tiny things. Nature has the most significant healing power. One day when the author was experiencing bad and regretful atmosphere a crow’s movement and actions near a hemlock tree changes his mood . The crow shook snowflakes sitting on the tree The snow instantly makes him happier. His day gets a lot better. He immediately understood the insignificant temperament of his mind. Hemlock tree which is basically something associated with evil and poisonous becomes able to change his mood and turn him into a happy person. Again the crow which is looked upon as an evil creature, an indicator of doom and fear has some positive response in the poem. Both the crow and the hemlock tree become the carrier of happiness. The poet wants to emphasize that sometimes those things which are looked upon as something negative or evil can bring happiness. Every thing has two aspects as a coin has two sides. Rather than looking upon the negative aspects of things, we must look in to the positive aspects of life . Nature has immense healing power. We, the human being should take nature and regard it as something life-changing. Being in nature, with all it’s unpredictability can benefit anyone, anywhere at any time.
The Poem "Dust of Snow" by Robert Frost:
The way a crow
Shook down on me
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.
Line by Line Analysis of Dust of Snow by Robert Frost class X CBSE
Dust of Snow Explanation CBSE Class X
First Stanza:
" The way a crow/ Shook down on me/The Dust of Snow/From a hemlock tree"
Word Meaning:
Way: a process by which something is done/carried out
Shook down: Shook the tree and snow fell.
Dust of Snow: snowflakes.
Hemlock tree: Hemlock tree is a poisonous tree which can take human life. It is said that Socrates died taking Hemlock drink.
Analysis of the first Stanza:
As the poet passes he sees a hemlock tree. A hemlock tree is a poisonous tree which can kill human being. The poet was in a pensive mood. The nature was cold. He could feel the snowfall. The poet's stands under the hemlock tree which suggests something bad and poisonous. But under the tree the poet meets a sudden change. First, the hemlock tree is a symbol of something bad, again the crow on the tree suggest a bad omen. As the poet passes by, the crow shook the tree and snowflakes fell upon him. Though the crow didn't do it intentionally the poet thinks that is the plan of the crow to throw snowflakes upon him. In our society as per the traditional belief, a crow is thought to be and is constantly associated with something bad and evil.
Here that crow shook snowflakes upon the poet. Now, what will happen? Will the poet be more pensive and sad? Let's see what happens in the second stanza.
Second stanza:
"Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued"
Word- Meaning :
Mood: temperament
Rued: held in regret/lapsed
Analysis of the second Stanza of Dust of Snow:
So, in first Stanza we found that the poet was in a pensive mood. When someone stays in pensive and sad mood, it seems that the whole world id unhappy. But Robert Frost himself said in one of his poems that "Earth is right place for love". So the poet is brought back to his happy and cheerful state. Later he understands that the time that he spent in depression was lapsed and he regrets for it.
When the crow somehow threw snowflakes on the poet, though it was purely unintentional, the poet was brought back to reality. The falling of snowflakes upon him lifted him from sad state. Although he had spent some part of the day thinking something bad and regretting, with the immediate action of the crow from the hemlock tree he was reminded of the happy and cheerful elements of life, and thus his life was saved.
The crow and the hemlock tree, both are suggestive of evil . At the same time it can also be concluded that they are the inseparable elements of nature. In our life every situation has two aspects - one positive ,the other negative. The crow and Hemlock may suggest evil traditionally, yet these two agents nature have been successful in bringing positivity in the poet's mind.
So the poet wants to say that the seemingly inauspicious things in nature must not be taken for granted. We should be open to situations and accept the two sides of every thing. The nature has the ultimate power of healing. We as a part of nature must be open and sensible to the elements of nature.
Conclusion of the poem "Dust of Snow ":
The poem teaches us that every small element of our life and in nature has the power to heal us and motivate us.
Important Literature Devices/Figures of Speech used in "Dust of Snow"
1. Alliteration- the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.
"Has given my heart"('H' sound has been repeated)
"And saved some part"('S' sound has been repeated)
2. inversion – when the structure of a sentence is changed by the poet to create rhyme, this poetic license is called inversion
3.
assonance – the prominence of a vowel sound throughout a line is called assonance. In stanza 1, line 2 – “Shook down on me” – ‘o’ sound is prominent.
Dust of Snow Important Quesions Answers:
Dust of Snow Extra Questions Answers:
1. Who is the poet of the poet "Dust of Snow"?
Robert Frost who is an American Poet and a four times Pulitzer prize winner is the poet of the poem "Dust of Snow".
2. What is a hemlock tree?
Hemlock tree is a poisonous tree with white flowers. It symbolises sorrow.
3. What effect does the Hemlock tree have in the poem "Dust of Snow"?
A hemlock tree stands for sorrow. But here in the poet it has the capacity to change the poet from pensive to happy state. The crow was sitting on the hemlock tree.
4. What important task does the crow do here in the poem "Dust Of Snow"?
The crow in our traditional belief is considered to be something inauspicious. Here the poet holds a different and positive aspect of the crow. The crow shook the snowflakes and it changed the temperament of the poet. The positive aspects of the crow has been shown here.
5. What message does the poet convey in the poet "Dust of Snow"?
The poet wants to say that every small thing is important. We must be open to accept both the negative and positive sides of life.
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