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What is the usual routine of the poet and the horse in the poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"?

The key to the answer lies in the lines:



My little horse must think it queer   


To stop without a farmhouse near  



and



He gives his harness bells a shake   


To ask if there is some mistake.



We understand from these references that the wagon driver and his horse usually travel along their rural roads from one house or building to another: probably from home to a store, or to another house to drop off something to a neighbor. Horses that are hitched up to wagons, carriages, or buggies grow to recognize routines and places. This stop, next to the woods, was something the horse wasn’t used to. To stop beside a forest without a house or business sitting in the midst of it was an unusual occurrence for the horse. The driver could have been happy with just a quick glance at the snowy woods as they rode along. But no. He made the choice to stop, in spite of what his horse would think or do. The sight of the snowy woods was important enough for him to do this.

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