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Comparison Of Edgar Allen Poe And Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken

Decent Essays

The Tell Tale of the Road Not Taken Poets use specific elements to evoke the appropriate responses/thoughts. Despite using the same elements, the way the author employs these elements into their poem can provoke various levels of critical thought resulting in variations between what message the reader takes away versus the originally intent of the author. Poets such as, Edgar Allen Poe and Robert Frost, use imagery and irony to set tone and strengthen their underlying less obvious themes, sometimes opposite of their original intent. In a, Tell-Tale Heart, Poe uses these elements to convict an insane man who tries to convince you of his sanity as an implied comment on rationality. Contrastingly in Robert Frost’s, The Road Not Taken, the author writes a poem as a joking gesture to his friend, the poet Edward Thomas, who poet Katherine Robinson claims as being, “chronically indecisive” (par. 1) later resulting in the poem being, “…taken pretty seriously…despite [him] doing [his] best to make it obvious by [his] manner that [he] was fooling…” (Robinson par. 1). For both these works it is obvious the strong use of imagery sets the tone for both poems. In Frost’s poem, The Road Not Taken, emphasis is placed on the time of year when Frost elaborates details such as the “…newly fallen yellow leaves… [by using this one detail Frost] ...makes it emblematic of the entire forest…” (Robinson par. 2) which does justice to reiterate the message: “…a single decision can transform a life,” (Robinson par. 2). By assuming that the poem is set in autumn due to the yellow wood, the reader can provide a big picture analysis to understand Frost’s ideas and his purpose on emphasizing those specific details. Traits/ideas we associate with autumn can be the passage of time, transitioning we can surmise from the yellow leaves that the wood is starting anew, “[a]n inveterate New England farmer and woodsman, Robert Frost would have known these woods were “new”—full of trees that had grown after older ones had been decimated. [This imagery creates an authentic scene evoking nostalgia and] …a sense of transience; one season will soon give away to another,” (Robinson par. 2). In the same way Frost choses to elaborate on small specific

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