"The Road Not Taken" Poetry Exp.

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

Robert Frost, a renowned American poet, is regarded as one of the most influential and successful poets of the twentieth century. Frost’s popularity is derived most notably from the colloquial, descriptive language he uses in his poems and the impactful themes he portrays throughout them. The popularity of Frost’s poems also emerges from the interest that is sparked by his ability to “fool” the reader and hide the true meaning behind his words. One of the most acknowledged of Frost’s poems is “The Road Not Taken”, which exemplifies his colloquial language and establishment of a complex theme; without Frost’s use of diction and tone throughout the work, the poem would not have nearly the same impression on the reader.

In “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost, we are given a piece of art that simply will leave you clueless unless, you understand the pain and frustration the man is going through; when choosing what route he feels will give him the most joy. In the poem a man is walking through the woods and he comes upon a fork. He who wants to take both roads chooses the route that he feels is traveled less on. Little does he know that both road have been equally traveled on. He who travels on the route that has fresher leaves lies to himself, by convincing himself that he will come back and take the other route. Though it was a very stressful and a hard decision for the man to make, many people are put into very similar situations like in John Updike’s A and P and as well as in James Joyce’s Eveline. Both Sammy and Eveline find it troubling to make a decision that will change their life completely.

Robert Frost wrote ‘The Road Not Taken’ in 1916 at the age of 42 in New England, Massachusetts. ‘The Road Not Taken’ is one of his most popular works due to the ideology of choices that people would have to face in their life. In the early 20th century, Robert Frost based the majority of his poems from rural life in New England, where he grew up. Robert Frost was highly regarded for his deep, realistic understanding of rural life and using elaborate social and philosophical themes in his works.

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

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.

Frost presents the traveler's choice of paths as a metaphor for the difficult decisions a person must make in life. The divergent paths are the choices to be made at various points along the way. Regardless of how he tries, the traveler cannot see beyond where the path is "bent in the undergrowth" (5). Likewise, nobody can predict what effect one choice will have on his life. The traveler sees the two paths as very similar or "just as fair" (6). As much as the traveler would like to return to the diverging roads, he realizes that he will not get another chance to travel the other path. With maturity comes a resignation that a choice has affected a person's life and there is no going back. He also tries to make the best of his decision by saying that it has "made all the difference." (20).

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.

?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.

The poem “The Road Not Taken” is a piece of literature written by the American poet Robert Frost. Its genre is poetry. It is considered poetry because of its structure. It has a distinct numbered group of lines in verse normally called stanza.

It is in the first stanza, the narrator declares “…And be one traveler, long I stood and looked down one as far as I could…”. With the use of the personal pronouns, it allows the responders to be put forth and be apart of the scenario and to presented the choice due to the text inviting the reader to primarily be the narrator. This conveys to the responders to find a connection themselves, and to ultimately be asked about their own journey of discovery and to be questioned what it means to exist. This is also explore within the title ‘The road not taken’, as the poem also encompasses the anticipation of remorse. As ironic as it is, with such title, it indicates that the speaker knows that in the near future he will think twice and at the very least, will reflect on the other unknown path and what is irreversibly lost. The responders are able to connect with the narrator and his position as we also experience frustration of the unpredictability of life along with fate. Additionally, the poem is one extended metaphor, a relatable metaphoric scenario, and with decision, life will be changed as each journey becomes a result of choice. Through ‘The road not taken’, the narrator compares the allurement of decision-making to humanity, providing insight to the emotional discovery in gaining appreciation for life’s small

Furthermore, I have took a carefully attention to the final stanza of The Road Not Taken, and realized the final two lines of the poem contains a deeper meaning than their literal meaning. The word “difference” in line 20 is a wonderful description; we usually feel the difference because we like to compare our lives with our expectations. Like myself, I ask myself sometime about all the past decisions I have made, and think about the different lives if I had not done this or that. Because we all had the imaginational “us”, then we all had the “difference”, we regret or rejoice. But in fact, they are only our imaginations; the only true paths those existed are the path we are on today, they do not change whether we liked them or not.

An important topic in this piece of poetry is choosing your path. The author is taking himself on a journey, and this poem shows his struggles as he tries to find out what he wants to do and where he wants to go. It shows how choosing your life is not easy because you see a clear path of what other people are doing, but you know that is not who you are. The strongest piece of evidence to support this theory is

By choosing the harder path, the speaker declares his rebellion against the popular opinion as represented by the other road. He decides not to conform to society and takes up a less popular choice. When considering his choices the speaker shows the typical human reaction. He considers taking both paths at first. He says, “Oh I kept the first for another day”, but later confesses he “doubted if [he] should ever come back” (13-15). Thus the poem’s significance lies in the speakers making a decision by choosing a road and moving on with his life. The act of choosing the road represents his uniqueness and the fact that he is always moving forward, even without stopping.

This is a wonderful poem with many different themes and ideas. One of the biggest themes is not being afraid to take a chance. Some of the other themes include, not following the crowd, trying new things, and standing for something. This poem stated that the author "took the one (road) less traveled by, and that has made all the difference" so the author is telling the reader that we too should not be afraid to take another path.