CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN THE LYRIC VOICE AND THE VOYEURISTIC DRIVE FAHRI ÖZ In “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost, the lyric I is caught up between the thoughts of life and death, between the desire to go on and to put an end to everything. The opening stanza presents the observing persona and the nonexistent owner of the woods: Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. (1976, 402) The persona seems to be enjoying the landscape free from any fear or censure since the owner of the trees is not there. Thus, unawares, he gives himself away as a transgressor, as if the innocent act of watching the dark wintry scenery is an infringement, a violation of the privacy of the woods that belong to someone other than the speaker. But, more striking than this is the underlying sense of secret pleasure the persona derives from watching. Not threatened by anyone who might prevent what he is doing, the persona appropriates the unique pleasurable experience of watching the snow-clad trees. In a sense, lines three and four express the persona’s sense of relief that he will not be caught red-handed and the concomitant realisation of the uniqueness of his mischievous experience. Surely, a feeling of guilt accompanies his gratified psyche; in the second stanza his horse is introduced as the only witness to his transgression, which poses no threat at all. Rendered almost motionless and enchanted between the woods and the frozen lake, the persona is away from any social contact and thus any social interference and is free to satisfy his voyeuristic desires.