Question

What is “Dust of snow”? What does the poet say has changed his mood? How has the poet’s mood changed?

Answer 1

Hint: The context of the above question has been taken from the poem “Dust of Snow” written by the famous writer Robert Frost. The theme of the poem revolves around the healing powers of nature and insignificant things in our life.

Complete answer:
‘Dust of snow’ in the poem implies the small particles of snow that were settled on the leaves of the Hemlock tree.

It is the dust of snow that the crow shook off from the tree that changed the mood of the poet.
The poet mentions that he ruined some part of his day i.e. he wasted some part of his day regretting something. However, while he was lost in his thoughts of regret, a crow interrupted by shaking off some dust of snow from the Hemlock tree under which the poet stood. This interruption diverted the poet’s mind and made him feel better as conveyed through the lines-

‘Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.’

He thus feels like nature and the little insignificant things heal us by distracting us from the worries of our life. It made the poet focus on the crow, the hemlock tree and the snow. Also, even though the hemlock tree is a poisonous tree, crow is also a symbol of bad omen and snow makes one feel cold, all are capable of lifting the poet's mood. This can imply that the worst of nature is better than the worries/madness of our mind.

Note: This poem was published in volume of New Hampshire (1923). Robert Frost is famous for using nature imagery in his poems and conveying deep meanings through the simplest composition.
Few literacy devices that the poet used in this poem are Alliteration, Assonance and Enjambment.