Literature, when well written, has the potential to leaving a lasting impression on reader’s lives forever. Certain words and phrases stick out and hit us in a certain way that makes us think differently. One poem in particular that I read this semester has stuck out to me in a way that no other poem has. The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost has been in my mind since the day I read it. Imagery and repetition are some of the literary devices that were used to shaped the poem into a unforgettable piece of literature.
The use of imagery in The Road Not Taken is prominent throughout the entire piece and is one of the main reasons why this poem sticks out so much to me. The poem immediately starts out with a vivid image of nature and the setting
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“And sorry I could not travel both,And be one traveler, long I stood, And looked down one as far as I could” The repetition of the word ‘and” emphasizes the toughness in the decision that the narrator had to make.He goes back and forth a lot and deliberates which path to take. This stood out to me specifically because I too had a tough decision to make and went back and forth for countless hours on which road to take. Almost every line in the poem “The Road Not Taken” hit home with me. In the third stanza, Frost talks about how the narrator chose one path and then second guesses himself. “Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.” This line made me think of my own life and decisions. I had to pick a road, and stick with it. However, that doesn’t mean that I didn’t doubt my decision and think about what would have happened if I took the other road, just as the narrator in The Road Not Taken did. In the last stanza, Frost takes it home with the lines “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” Again, the final lines sparked an image in my mind of my own situation in life and how the road I took really has made all the
Thesis statement: The symbolic setting, title, content and metrical devices support the poem’s (The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost) overall meaning.
Imagery and personification are used to describe contradiction in the process of making a decision between the two paths. Since he cannot take both roads, the speaker looks down the road but cannot see beyond the undergrowth, which expresses the fact that no one knows what the future will bring. Much of the imagery in the poem is visual to describe the path to show the speaker's indecisiveness of choosing a certain path. He wants to choose the path that is less traveled so he chooses the path that is " having perhaps the better claim" (7), which is the path that is "grassy and wanted wear"(8), a personification to describe that road is not stepped by other people. However, he realizes that there is no appreciable difference between the two paths because "both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black."(11,12) The contradiction with the serious tone shows perplexity that the
It is difficult for the narrator to decide which road to take due to his inquisitive nature and his desire to explore and experience as much as he can in life. The narrator laments he was "sorry I could not travel both" (Frost, 1916, 2). However, the narrator makes a calculated decision when he chooses his road, taking into careful consideration what each road represents and the opportunities that will arise if he takes one road or another. The narrator
Both roads he has to choose from appear to be similar, as far as he can see; however, the speaker evidently knows that, though similar, these roads would not lead him down the same journey, metaphorically speaking. Once the decision was made, there would be no turning back.
How can an author effectively convey a universal message to the broadest audience possible? Simple. The author must simply create a completely impartial narrator, devoid of sex, status, or age. The Road Not Taken is a poem told by an impartial narrator who has come to a crossroads in his/her life. The crossroads is represented by a forked path that leads through a forest. The setting is also impartial; the forest is anytime and anywhere the reader desires it to be. The narrator is forced to make a life-decision, thus changing the course of his/her life forever. Symbolism and imagery are used effectively to reinforce the main theme of the poem.
The first poem, “The Road Not Taken,” by Robert Frost is one great piece. Frost’s metaphorical comparison of the two roads reflected as ways and a journey in life. He
In the first line of the poem, readers can picture the speaker standing at “two roads diverged in a yellow wood.” This line paints a clear picture of the poem’s setting. Further along in the first stanza, imagery is used when the speaker says, “and be one traveler, long I stood/And looked down one as far as I could/ To where it bent in the undergrowth” (3-5). Here, the readers can visualize the speaker standing at a path analyzing what it has to offer. Imagery is also illustrated when the speaker chooses the other path “because it was grassy and wanted wear” (8). The path is personified to illustrate how the speaker is tempted to travel it instead. In this stanza, the speaker makes his or her decision and begins a new experience. In the next stanza, the paths are referenced again when the speaker says, “In leaves no step had trodden black” (12). This line paints a picture of two paths that have never been travelled by anyone else before the speaker. Through the use of imagery, the two roads are given illustration, and the readers can gain insight on how the reader comes to make his or her
Sometimes in our lives we are faced to make momentous decisions. We either made a propitious selection or repent about our decisions and how our lives could have ended up if we had chosen a different path. "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost is a poem about how one traveler will choose a road that will change his whole life. The decisions we make in life should be chosen carefully because there is no going back. In his poem, he makes you think about how choices can define your life for the better or the worst, it’s all about how you look on life. He uses a lot of imagery as well as tone.
In Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”, Frost shows the everyday human struggle to make a choice that could change the course of one’s life. In his poem, a person has the choice to take one road or the other. One road is worn out from many people taking it, and the other is barely touched, for fewer have taken that road. Throughout the poem, the speaker learns that just because so many other people have done one thing, or walked one way, does not mean everyone has to. Sometimes you just have to go your own way.
Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken”, can be easily misunderstood, and perhaps for decades it was. Scholar Frank Lentricchia believed that in this poem, the message is that people don’t get a choice in life to pick one path rather than the other, because their lives are already mapped out for us. However, Mark Richardson had a different idea. He thought that it’s not that we don’t get a choice in life, it is that we don’t realize how the choice affects us until later in life. Although these two ideas sound reasonable, what Robert Frost really meant in this piece of writing was not that people choose between two paths, but instead they must forge their own.
Furthermore, we have the use of first person, where the almost universal effect is to have an in-depth look into the character and their immediate response to a problem or dilemma. This poem no different, where in the first stanza we are ushered in with the use of anaphora in lines 2, 3 and 4 with the repetition of the word ‘’and’’. This specific use of anaphora is used to create the mindset and intelligible deduction of the traveller to the events and dilemma prescribed to him. Insofar as his immediate reaction be being presented with a choice. It shows his reaction of regret in that he is ‘’sorry he could not travel both’’ and explains what he wish he could do ‘’be two travellers’’ but also how he initiates his decision making process ‘’looked down one as far as I could’’. Also, the use of first person is used to connect with the reader, enforcing the affore-used notion that the reader substitutes their own personal truth into a positive
“The Road Not Taken” written by Robert Frost uses several poetic devices such as imagery and personification to emphasize how indecisive Frost is about his decision on which road he should take. “The Road Not Taken” is about how the narrator chooses a path that he was once confused and worried about but over time become content with his final decision.
Images in the poem reflect the difficulties of the choice the traveler faces. The difficulty is shown in the passage "long I stood" (3)
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
?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.