Dust of Snow Extra Questions

1. What made the poet change his mood?

Answer: A crow on the hemlock tree shook down the dust of snow on the poet. The falling dust of snow on the poet has changed his mood.

2. What was the reaction of the poet when the dust of snow fell on him?

Answer: Normally, people thought both crow and hemlock tree are auspicious. But when the dust of snow from hemlock tree fell on poet, he took it in other way. He was depressed and sorrowful but the moment the crow shook the hemlock tree and dust of snow fell on him, he felt unburdened and relieved.

3. The poem evokes a sense of black and white. Justify. 

Answer: In the poem ‘Dust of Snow’, the poet wants to convey that sometimes certain moments or actions which are simple have larger significance. They can change the mood or life of a person. The way a crow shakes down the dust of snow on the poet inspires and gives him the idea to shake off his depressive thoughts and become cheerful.

4. How has the poet observed ‘nature’ in the poem ‘Dust of Snow’? 

Answer: The poet has observed nature as a positive medium of change for him. The poet had been in pensive mood in the poem. But when the way a crow shakes snow dust off, it changes his mood. Nature gave him the inspiration to behave in a positive manner.

5. In what mood was the poet before falling of snow on him

Answer: He was in an unpleasant mood.

6. How did the poet feel before the ‘change of mood’? Why did he feel so?

Answer: The poet was in a very depressed and hopeless mood. The day offered no relief, comfort or happiness for the poet. He felt that the whole day had been wasted for nothing. Perhaps his dull and depressive mood led him to such a conclusion.

7. The crow and hemlock are usually used as negative references in literature. How is this different in this poem?

Answer: As per the general perception, the crow and the hemlock tree are bad omens. They depict sorrow. However, in this poem, these two have been shown as the harbingers of happiness. They uplift the poet’s sad mood and cheer him up.

8. What side of nature do ‘crow’ and ‘hemlock’ represent?

Answer: ‘Crow’ is a black, harsh-voiced bird and ‘hemlock’ is a tree with poisonous bitter fruit. Both are not beautiful. They represent the dark, depressive, sorrowful and bitter side of nature.

9. What did the poet think of the day before the fall of the dust of snow on him?

Answer: The poet thought of unhappiness the day before the fall of the dust of snow on him. But after the incident, he started to look at the surroundings. 

10. What is a hemlock tree?

Answer: A hemlock tree is a poisonous tree with white flowers. It stands for sorrow. The dust of snow had covered this tree. 

11. What did the falling of the dust of snow on the poet give the day?

Answer: The falling of the dust of snow gave some significance to the day. 

12. Why does the poet feel that he has saved some part of the day?

Answer: Crow shook down the dust of snow on the poet. Both crow and hemlock tree are considered inauspicious. The falling of dust of snow from the hemlock tree is bad omen. But the poet took it in a positive way. He found himself relieved from sorrow after  this incident. Now he could use his entire day in a fruitful way. 

13. What are the birds that are usually named in poems? Do you think crow is often mentioned in poems? What images come to your mind when you think of a crow? 

Answer. Generally, poets take the birds and trees which are known for their beauty and good qualities like peacock, parrot, cuckoo, mynah and trees full of beautiful flowers and fruits, etc. But here Frost has taken a totally different approach. He chose a crow, which is not often used in poems. Crow is black in colour with very harsh voice and is believed to be a symbol of bad omen. Thinking of a crow brings very depressing and sorrowful pictures to our mind.

14. What was the poet doing standing beneath the hemlock tree?

Answer: He happened to be standing under a hemlock tree while lost in thought. At the time, the poet was depressed and hopeless. He was in a state of emotional distress.

15. What has the speaker’s heart been given? How did it change?

Answer: There was a change in his mood. His mood changed from gloomy to happy. Initially, the speaker’s heart was full of sorrow and regret but after the movement of the crow, his mood changed. He became happy. Nature saved his day from getting ruined.