I personally agree with the above statement. I strongly think that the theme of journey can also be used as a metaphor for life choices or the loss of innocence and that metaphor is an extremely vital vessel of poetry. My comparison, will be targeting three main points, including how the theme of journey firstly impacts and links in with life choices, secondly the loss of innocence and youth and finally the strong, yet overlooked, aspect of enjambment.
The two poems , A and B that I will be comparing, in my comparison, are firstly " The Road Not Taken ", by Robert Frost and secondly " Geography Lesson ", by Brian Patten. In my opinion, these two poems, share a strong resemblance, through the theme of journey and through many other aspects.
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In poem A, The Road Not Taken, the use of enjambment, is important, because in my opinion, it has a subtle yet profound effect on the poem. Enjambment is essentially the use of run-on-lines, to achieve a certain goal. In my opinion Frost uses run-on-lines in The Road Not Taken, to expand on the theme of journey, the endless possibilities of journey itself, and finally to increase the tempo of the poem, which increases the level of excitement and adrenaline. I believe that he was trying to emphasise the point that, the journey of life, never comes to an end, but continuous on an endless loop. Examples of such enjambment can be seen throughout the poem, including the following, " Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both, and be one traveler " , this quote, reinforces my opinions and thoughts on the endless possibilities spoken by the poet. Secondly the poet writes, " Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back ". As I see it, in this quote, the use of run-on-lines, also adds feelings, of excitement and the rush of adrenaline , as the poet feels that he possibly will not be able to return to the road not taken, yet still rather confidently chooses one, with if I could guess, butterflies in his
“’ But this is merely a negative definition of the value of education’” (23-24). Mark Halliday wrote “The Value of Education” from a first person standpoint. The introduction and the use of “I” demonstrates the poem is about the speaker. Likewise, the speaker uses imagery, self-recognition, and his own personal thoughts throughout the poem. He goes on throughout the poem stating external confrontations he is not doing because he is in the library receiving an education and reading books. With this in mind, the speaker goes on to convey images in your head to show a realization of things he could be doing if he were not in the library getting an education.
Just as Conrad conveys the creation of one’s own path subconsciously in Marlow, the poem “Road not taken” by Robert Frost explores this idea, represented my literal paths and an alternate, unspoken third path. The metaphor of the physical journey shows the moral growth in the protagonist. The poem is written in first person, giving it a very personal and reflective tone, expressing a pivotal moment in the persona’s life. The use of andante, the flowing rhythm establishes a conversational tone. The rhyme scheme is simple and effective throughout the poem, however, it changes in the final stanza. By implementing a new scheme here, the final thought of reflection is emphasized. The "less traveled" road is symbolic of the gamble of choosing a more individual path in life, the protagonist’s own road. This can be compared to the quote by Antonio Machado, “Travelers, there is no path, paths are made by walking.” This quote exemplifies the fact that walking the path is more important than
The analysis of “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost has been up for debate since the poem release in 1916. It is known to be one of the most frequently misinterpreted poems of all time, and even Robert Frost himself has said the poem is “tricky” to comprehend (The). When analyzing this poem many readers tend to focus only on the last lines of the poem and get caught in a trap of selective-interpretation. Quite a few people after reading Robert Frost’s poem firmly conclude that this poem is about non-conformity and individualism, however, that is not the case. Robert Frost’s poem is meant to be analyzed line by line for a complete interpretation. Readers can conclude that the poem represents making choices in life, but that is not the
In the Robert Frost poem ‘’The Road Not Taken’’ there is a pervasive and in many ways intrinsic sense of journey throughout. In such, the poem explores an aspect associated with human decision, or indecision, relative to the oxymoron, that choices with the least the difference should bear the most indifference, but realistically, carry the most difficulty. This is conveyed through the use of several pivotal techniques. Where the first such instance is the use of an extended metaphor, where the poem as a whole becomes a literary embodiment of something more, the journey of life. The second technique used is the writing style of first person. Where in using this, the reader can depict a clear train of thought from the walker and understand
a "yellow wood" (1) when "two roads diverged" (1), that he had to make a
Take a minute to imagine “Men looking like they had been/attacked repeatedly by a succession /of wild animals,” “never/ ending blasted field of corpses,” and “throats half gone, /eyes bleeding, raw meat heaped/ in piles.” These are the vividly, grotesque images Edward Mayes describes to readers in his poem, “University of Iowa Hospital, 1976.” Before even reading the poem, the title gave me a preconceived idea of what the poem might be about. “University of Iowa Hospital, 1976” describes what an extreme version of what I expected the poem to be about. The images I
Poems can be interpreted in many ways; however, every reader has their preference. One interpretation of “The Journey” is that it is a story about battling depression. The
Robert Frost's poem “The Road Not Taken” describes a traveler faced with a choice of which one of two roads to travel. He knows not where either road might lead. In order to continue on his journey, he can pick only one road. He scrutinizes both roads for the possibilities of where they may take him in his travels. Frost's traveler realizes that regret is inevitable. Regardless of his choice, he knows that he will miss the experiences he might have encountered on the road not taken.
In The journey by Mary Oliver she uses figurative language to convey metaphors throughout the story. She uses metaphors to also convey a theme which is” Life is An ongoing Journey that all people must undergo and how people must become independent and not rely on others.” Mary Oliver causes the reader to fully experience the barriers in life. Ultimately showing the real world survival, and to show one’s need to find his/herself dependent on knocking down the obstacles in their way. For example oliver includes “The Road Not Taken”, she uses this, because it shows comparison of a physical journey to a spiritual journey towards tackling a barrier or problem in life, this shows to be independent because its not your peers road to tackle the problems
There are many people who travel a distance in life to find the path they should take or to remember the path they once took. In the poem “The Path Not Taken,” by Robert Frost and the short story "I Used to Live Here Once" by Jean Rhys there are many similarities and differences. The authors’ use of describing a path helps them personify life’s journeys and self-reflection.
Thesis statement: The symbolic setting, title, content and metrical devices support the poem’s (The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost) overall meaning.
?The Road Not Taken? (1916) tells of someone faced with two of life?s decisions however only one can be chosen. Whichever road is taken will be final and will determine the direction that their life takes. Frost drives this poem by a calm and collective narrative, spoken by the traveler of the diverged roads. Who is speaking with himself trying to convince himself of which road is the better choice. Frost wrote this poem using standard, modern language.
Frost writes this poem with a calm and collective narration, spoken by the traveler, who is talking with himself trying to decide which road is the better choice. In line one Frost introduces the diverging roads, which are his main metaphors. Diverging being the key word in this line because it suggests that the traveler must make a choice. Line two the traveler expresses his grief of not being able to travel both. Yet, the choice is not easy, since "long I stood" (3)
The poem’s author, Robert Frost, focuses on the theme and the mood by representing the choices and decisions that have to be made.
Robert Frosts’ “The Road Not Taken” was written in 1916 and is one of his most famous poems. He uses a rhyme scheme of A, B, A, A, B in every stanza. In this poem, the speaker has come to “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood (line1)” and is not sure of which road to take. He would like to take both roads although he cannot. Regret seems to creep in when he states “and sorry I could not travel both (line2). He looks down both roads and chooses one over the other “Because it was grassy and wanted wear (line8)”. Frost uses alliteration with the repetition of the “W” in line 8. “So he was choosing between two roads, or futures, that were different but potentially equally good (Shmoop).” In reality both these roads are pretty much the same. The