Essay about Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken

Not only are metaphors utilized throughout the poem, but a literary device known as Imagery is as well. Imagery is alternative as important a device for it allows for the reader to have a clear picture of what the character in the poem is visualizing. Furthermore, it also helps covey the theme the author is aiming to represent to the reader. Imagery is made known in stanza two line three, which states, “Because it was grassy and wanted wear” (Myer, 1091). Here the author is using imagery to inform the readers the traveler is coming up with a reason for why one path could be more favorable over the other. The reader analyzes this line of imagery to obtain a clearer representation of the traveler’s decision-making process. Another line where the author uses imagery is in stanza two line five, which states, “Had worn them really about the same” (Myer, 1091). Here the author is using imagery to inform the reader that the paths are “worn” down, which informs the reader that both of his choices have been equally chosen by people before him. These examples help the reader begin to form the theme of self-justification in decision-making. After analyzing the metaphors and the imagery Frost uses in this poem, the reader can conclude so far that the theme the poet is conveying

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

Images in the poem reflect the difficulties of the choice the traveler faces. The difficulty is shown in the passage "long I stood" (3)

In this poem, I believe the theme is that you have to jump at an opportunity when you get it, or you may never get that opportunity again. Moving on to the tone of the poem, I believe that it is wistful, and that the speaker might be looking back on his days, and realizing that he taking the other road might have made all of the difference in his life. There is very good diction in this poem, as some words express Frost’s feeling more than other’s would’ve. For example, in the line “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,” (1), Frost really emphasizes the two roads separating from each other. In another line “In leaves no step had trodden black” (12), trodden is a more appropriate than another word such as crushed or pulverized, because it is the past form of trod, or to step in something, and gives an image of human feet stepping on the freshly fallen leaves.

The exclamation point after line 13 conveys excitement, but that excitement is severed by his admission in the following lines. ?way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back?(3.14,15). In the final stanza, lines 16-20 the tone of the poem changes completely. This is the only stanza that begins with a new sentence, indicating that it is a stronger break from the previous ideas. The speaker puts himself in a future situation discussing his life. What he states here seems to contradict what he has said earlier. From his future prospective he says that the paths where different and that he did not choose the one most traveled by. Perhaps he will in the future actually believe this and he only wishes that he could choose in the present ?the one less traveled by.?(5.20)

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)

In the poem "The Road Not Taken", starts off with a split in the woods. This split path represents choice. Frost writes in his poem, "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood" (Frost 1). This line shows the beginning of making a choice, it presents a situation that makes you have decisions to make.

Frost’s use of imagery, is perhaps the strongest of all the poetic devices that he has weaved into the poem. “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood...and i'm sorry I could not travel both, long I stood...and looked down one as far as I could to where it bent in the undergrowth”(1-5), is the first of Frost’s use of imagery, which is evidently also the first stanza. I interpreted this in two ways, literally and figuratively. Literally, it is about a person, who is at the fork of a road and does not know which road to progress on. Figuratively, Frost is using the two roads to symbolize the different choices that could be made and how

The poet walks in the forest, has the option to choose between two roads that fork in a path of a yellow forest. The poet chooses the least traveled, but thinks about the possibilities that would have implied having taken the other path, the unelected one. He is aware of the difference, that this choice and this non-choice will be perpetuated in the causal chain of his life. Live this feeling as a slight feeling of loss, rather than as a full anguish that would be the certainty of its unfathomable finitude. The poet concludes that he would have taken any path, since they

The author’s tone in the poem plays an immense part in helping the reader understand the poem. Throughout the poem we learn that there are two paths to take and the traveler is uncertain about which to choose. Moreover, we learn that choosing the path is actually a life decision and not just a choice between two roads diverging in the autumn woods. Towards the end of the poem, Frost’s tone changes to regret, Frost was once said about “The Road Not Taken,” “No matter which road you take, you'll always sigh, and wish you'd taken another way.” Robert Frost’s change of tone throughout the poem helps the reader fathom what the author is trying to say.

The poem begins with a literal fork in the road. Almost automatically Frost allows us to picture ourselves as the subject of the poem. His vivid imagery describes how the road looks with the leaves turning colors during the fall season “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood” () we are transported into the poem. Due to the beauty of both paths the speaker wants to travel both roads but he understands that is not possible. The man in the poem does not want to stay a long time in the middle of the two roads so he knows he has to make a choice soon. He begins to examine the roads closely and one seems like the better option but he chooses the other one despite peering onto the path of the seemingly better choice .

As much as he strains his eyes to see how far the road stretches, eventually it surpasses his vision, to the point where he can not see where the road will lead. It is the way that he chooses here that sets him off on his journey. The traveler "then took the other, just as fair, and having perhaps the better claims" (stanza 2, line 1). What gave off the better claim is that "it was grassy and wanted wear" (stanza 2, line3). Obviously he wanted the path with less wear because the majority of the other people took the other path therefore calling it "the one less traveled by" (stanza 3, line 4). The fact the traveler selected this path over the more traveled one, indicates the type of personality he has. It is one that likes to be a leader and not a follower. This individual's personality is the type that likes to explore and expand beyond it's limits. His experimenting personality noticed the leaves that covered the ground. His decision was made on which path he would take when he made the statement since the time they had fallen "no step had trodden black" (stanza 2, line 7). Perhaps Frost does this because each time a traveler comes to this point they have to make a decision, something new, somewhere they have never been before. He expresses the desire to travel both paths by saying "I kept the first for another day" (stanza 2, line 8). However the speaker realizes his decision is a permanent choice, "knowing how way leads on to way"

The second line, “…sorry I could not have traveled both” (line 2) expresses the curiosity to explore several possibilities in life. It also forms a sense of regret at not knowing what could lie ahead on the un-chosen path and the speaker’s limitation to one lifetime. When Frost says, “And be one traveler…” (line 3) it is obvious that speaker can not travel down both paths. He realizes that he needs to make a choice and pick one path over the other. The speaker’s procrastination and the difficulty in predicting the outcome of the decision he needs to make is shown when he, “…stood And looked down one as far as I could” (line3-4). Both roads lead to the unknown, “To where it bent in the undergrowth” (line 5), as do many choices in life. This is a metaphor to our inability to predict the future, and the fact that regardless what road is chosen it will not be free of obstacles.

Frost shows the readers that it is hard to choose something without knowing what will be the result, thus he wants to try both of the options to decide on something, when he says “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,/ And sorry I could not travel both”. Whole poem is constructed of this metaphor, and every line refers to something in life. In the last part where Frost says, “I took the one less traveled by” he implies the idea that people wish to be different from others, thus they are prone to choose the option which had not been chosen by many other people. Instead of saying that he was having hard time deciding on a thing to do, Frost chose to use the metaphor of a road, which forced the readers to use their imagination to understand the real meaning behind what he

“The Road Not Taken” is a poem by Robert Frost that was written as a narrative based on him and his friend, Thomas Edward. Frost and Edward would take long walks together in the woods in England. There were always complaints at the end of their walks that they should have taken a different path. This inspired Frost to write this poem. It talks about great importance in our everyday lives and further suggests that any choice a person makes in life, how small it may seem at first, will always have some sort of impact on an individual in the future.