Lovely, Dark and Deep

Using Robert Frost's poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" as a gateway, E. J. Myers enters the forest realm simultaneously in its tangible and intangible dimensions. Why do we find woods alarming? The "otherness" of forests is often what frightens us. As Myers notes, however, it is precisely this otherness that makes the woods so rich, strange, and powerful. He draws from sources as disparate as C. G. Jung and Immanuel Kant, as well as poets and anonymous tellers of fairy tales, to portray the forest landscape as a source of strength and wisdom. The woods are truly "lovely, dark and deep," but therein lies the source of their true worth.