In Robert Frost's "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening," what is the surface and deep meaning and what's the link between them?

Your question is really asking about symbolism and how it
is used in this great poem. Robert Frost in his poetry is a master of symbolism, and
uses every day situations or events to suggest much deeper meanings and ideas. Symbolism
is defined as any object, character or action that has its literal meaning but also
points towards a larger idea or concept. Thus, for example, a symbol of a dove both
represents a dove, but it has also come to represent peace in
general.

Applying symbolism to this poem then yields
fascinating results. The surface meaning is the literal meaning or situation that the
poem is describing. It is a poem about a man who stops by woods on a snowy evening and
contemplates the scene before him, then carries on. However, much has been written about
the symbolic meaning of this poem, and in particular what the woods symbolise. My own
idea is that the woods represent death, or release from the world of work and
responsibility. Note how attractive the poem makes the woods out to
be:

The only
other sound's the sweep

Of easy wind and downy
flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and
deep.

It appears that there
is a massive internal conflict going on in the author about his desire to stay in these
"lovely" woods, but then his recognition that he "has promises to keep." These promises
could be said to symbolise the responsibilities of our world and work that we have to
do. The repetition of the last line and the significance of the final word, "sleep,"
seems to support my conclusion, as sleep is a common symbol for
death.

Thus, thinking symbolically, this poem is all about
the speaker's desire to embrace the beauty of death, rest or freedom, but his
recognition that he still has lots of work he must do before he can get to that
rest.