Have you ever wondered what makes two places the same, but in two totally different areas? Throughout the poems “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost, and “The Bus” by Leonard Cohen, there are many similarities that take place. These similarities are the life in cities and towns, the escape into nature, and the consequences of such escapes. Throughout this essay these similarities will be explained in detail. In all cities and towns people always have obligations and responsibilities to perform. One example of this is when Robert Frost says “I have promises to keep”(pg 127).
This quote proves that he has an obligation to the city and to the people at home. The Bus has it’s own similarities in the life in cities and towns. While reading the poem Leonard Cohen makes the reader feel that the bigger the city, the less homy it is. The is proven when Cohan states “Lets run away from the big city… ” (pg 144). This quote shows that Cohan is trying to “run away” from his obligations and responsibilities. The similarities in cities and towns from “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Night” and “The Bus” are in both poems the character is effect by there obligations to the world.
In “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Night” Frost’s character is honouring his responsibilities and obligations by leaving the wood to go home to his family. In “The Bus” the character wants run away from them. In both poems the author escapes into nature. At on point in “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Night” Frost’s character notices the beauty of the forest around him: “The woods are lovely, dark, and deep” (pg 127). This shows that the character has a deep feelings for the nature around him. Leonard Cohen also escapes into nature in his poem.
When his character is riding the bus home he says to the bus driver “Lets find ourselves a tiny american fishing village, in unknown Florida” (pg144). With this quote he expresses that he is picturing a beautiful place out in the middle of no-where. A place the is beautiful and relaxing to him. In both poems the escape into nature is obvious. In “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Night” Frost is showing us how beautiful mother nature really is. Meanwhile in “The Bus” Cohan was dreaming of how beautiful and relaxing his tiny fishing village would be. In both poems the poets show a great love towards nature.
The last topic is about the consequences of such escapes. During “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Night” Frost’s character says, before heading home, “And miles to go before I sleep” (pg 127). The consequence of this escape is that Frost does not really want to leave, but he must In “The Bus” the consequences are a little different. For instance, while Cohan’s character is so anxious to get home he pictures the beautiful place he is going and then shouts to the bus driver “Lets run away from the big city, to a smaller one more suitable to the heart” (pg 144).
The consequence of this quote is that Cohan’s character will soon have to realize how far away from that place he really is and the it will take awhile for him to get there. Throughout both poems the consequences of such escapes are both mental. In both “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Night”and “The Bus” the character is disturbed from the distance they must travel. In conclusion there are many similarities found in “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Night” and “The Bus”, even though they are both two totally different poems.