Symbols in Nature

Symbols increase our knowledge. When we attach a symbol to something we are labeling it, judging it, making it our own. The Snow Man gives us many examples of this by attaching symbols to nature's Winter. 'Frost and the boughs', 'pine-trees crusted with snow', 'cold' , and 'few leaves' are just a couple of examples given of symbols of Winter. I believe Stevens chooses Winter opposed to the other seasons on purpose to show that Winter requires symbols. Images of death, nothingness, and emptiness flood the mind as Stevens describes Winter. This is completely different to a explaination of spring, which symbols could be alive, growing and colorful. Now because we understand that Winter is truly nothingness, just dead without existence, it requires symbols. We need the symbols of Winter to have a knowledge of what Winter is like. The Snow Man teaches us that Winter is a time of many types of trees covered with snow. If we didn't have those symbols what would we know winter to be? Nothingness? We wouldn't know ourselves.