Summary
Outside the window, the speaker sees a fox emerge from the forest's clearing. The fox sniffs a branch and slowly wanders between the trees and stumps at the forest's edge, leaving behind a series of paw prints in the snow. The fox's shadow hangs behind him, "in hollow" of its bold body, while the speaker continues to watch the fox move, contemplating his image.
Analysis
While first two stanzas served mainly to establish the poem's setting, tone, and conflict, stanzas 3 and 4 get into the poem's action—or rather, the speaker's detailed description of what he sees outside his window. The "something" the speaker anticipated in the previous stanzas turns out to be a fox lurking at the edge of the forest, sniffing a tree branch. The speaker pays careful attention to the fox's eyes, which "serve" the fox's careful movements between the forest's trees and stumps.
It's significant that the speaker describes the fox through a series of parts, and through a highly focused sequence of images. First, the speaker homes in on the fox's nose "delicately" touching the tree branch. Then, he concentrates on the fox's "two eyes" which "serve a moment, that now/ And again.../ Sets neat prints into the snow," which evokes an image of the fox looking down, cautiously measuring his steps. Finally, in this section, the speaker describes the fox's shadow, which "warily.../...lags" by a tree stump, "in hollow" of the fox's body. This strategy allows us to develop a complete image of the fox through the actions and specific features the speaker emphasizes.
Additionally, the speaker's piecemeal approach to describing the fox echoes the manner in which the poem comes together. The ambiguity of stanzas 1 and 2 creates an outline of the "something" the speaker anticipates, which is later filled in by images of the fox in stanzas 3 and 4. The repetition of "now" in lines 11 and 12 continues the slow, steady pace from stanzas 1 and 2, while also evoking an image of the fox cautiously moving through the snow, calculating each the step the same way a poet will try out different words in a line to see which fits best. The fox's "neat prints" are like a poet's precise language, careful and deliberate, each with its proper place and meaning. This repetition also echoes the poet's labor, the constant effort and dedication a writer must devote to his work to compose anything of substance.
An interesting parallel between stanza 1 and stanza 4 occurs in line 15. In line 4, the speaker's fingers move over the blank before him, while in line 15 the fox's eyes "serve a movement, that now/ And again.../ Sets neat prints in the snow." While the speaker goes through the motions of writing in an attempt to begin his poem, the fox carefully selects his steps. The similarities between these two actions—grasping for the right words, inspecting the snow to determine the best next move—subtly suggests a spiritual or conceptual likeness between the speaker and the fox. As the speaker watches the fox through his window, does he feel some kind of connection to the animal, alone in the snow, as they both search for some unknown, indefinite thing?
The fox's cautious inspection of the forest's clearing continues into stanza 6, echoing the manner in which a poet explores an idea, experimenting with different combinations of sound and rhythm before settling on the final version of a line. His shadow "lags by stump and in hollow/ Of a body that is bold" to emerge from the forest's depths, as if it can't keep up with the fox's pace. This image brings to mind the speaker's current situation, sitting beside his window struggling to bring an idea to the surface of his mind. The speaker is ready, willing, and waiting to write, but the ideas brewing in his head have yet to catch up with him.
