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I don’t think it is as far as suicide in the real sense. Perhaps ‘suicide’ in the sense of abandoning the grounded-in-sense-and-responsibilities versus ‘jumping off into a world of artistry and artists’. Had he done the latter, he would have been ‘dead’ in the sense of the esteem, or any value placed on him, by those in the real world in which he lived.

I interpret it as the tugging of the longing for living in the world of the artist and his soul versus the vastly opposite world of day to day life in which he lived.

Another thought: It is perhaps the not uncommon situation of a truly gifted artist born into a very narrowly defined environment. It happens all the time and few ever break out of the confines of the world into which they are born.

Hence, depression is not uncommon. Perhaps Frost was letting himself indulge in a state of depression as he glimpsed his inner world reflected in the outer world, as he sat there enjoying the beauty of raw nature. Having his inner world and outer world meet as equals was not common (perhaps he would have experienced this had he been a professor somewhere, surrounded by other artists).

I suspect he had a wonderful imagination and was one of the rare folks who can easily slip into an inner world, making him very different from his immediate neighbors. This is perhaps seen in the poem about building rock walls; he allows himself to contemplate the significance of the wall, while his neighbor/helper is merely building a wall.

Lovely additions and interpretations. Thank you so much for sharing them. I read that Frost was a bit surprised by the popularity of this particular poem. He merely had been out and experienced a quiet moment such on his neighbors property and wrote a poem about it.

Although your analysis as well as others is right on and deepens the understanding of the poem for others, I think you might agree with me in saying the best poems resonate on multiple deeper levels and that is part of their power. This is one of those poems resonating through time and is such a subtle, quiet but eternal poem it can't help but be one of my very favorite. It always causes an intense emotional/mental response in its reading--especially aloud.

Happy New Year all!

Frost was enjoyable to everyday people and would be happy to know a man or woman would not need to be 'learned' to interpret or to enjoy!

and miles to go before I sleep . . .. May it be true for us all.