Brian Hornsby Professor Short ENG 102 14 December 2017 Analysis of Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost is a famous poem that many people are familiar with. In the poem the speaker arrives at a fork in the road where both paths are strewn with leaves. The speaker stands there for a time to contemplate which direction to take, and finally decides to take the plunge on the one less traveled. He comforts himself with his decision by telling himself that he can take the other road another day even though he knows this is unlikely to happen. The poem concludes with the speaker’s affirmation in his choice by acknowledging the importance of his decision. Frost uses the image of two roads diverging in a yellow wood to symbolize the choices that one is confronted with in life and the consequences of making decisions. The poem’s structure consists of four stanzas containing five lines. Each line contains four stressed syllables making the poem iambic tetrameter. The rhyming scheme is ABAAB throughout the poem until the final stanza where it is broken on the last line with the final word “difference”. This change in convention makes the final line stand out and gives greater impact to the ending. The first stanza conveys a mood of change and introduces the idea of a life altering decision, which is the basis for the poem. The scene is set with the opening words, "Two roads diverged" (line 1). The speaker is standing at a junction in the road pondering two choices. The roads in the poem are merged where the speaker is standing but lead in two different directions signifying two different paths in life. One begins to see the metaphorical meaning as early as the first line with the reference to "yellow wood" (line 1). This suggests that the setting happens during fall which is the season of change. 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 unchosen road and the speaker's limitation to one lifetime. When the speaker says, "And be one traveler" (line 3), it is obvious that it is not possible to travel down both paths. He
Robert Frosts “The Road Not Taken” is more symbolic of a choice one must make in their life in attempt to foresee the outcome before reaching the end, than it is about choosing the right path in the woods.
“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.
Robert Frost’s poem,”The Road not taken” was first published in The Atlantic Monthly in 1915 and included a year later in the little volume entitled Mountail Interval.It is among Frost’s best, most riveting, and most complex and is still quoted by inspirational speakers, writers, commercials, and everyday people. The poem is about making a decision when confronted with two possible choices. Life is not simple; a man is never faced with a choice that just has one narrow path. In “The Road Not Taken,” Robert Frost uses symbolism through nature to analyze one’s decision-making through life; and the narrator hopes that his choices will not haunt him for the rest of his life. In this paper, I would like to interpret the decision making analysis
The poem is about the importance of choices. The poem begins with the speaker regretting that he could not have been two people so he could have at some point in his life taken two roads instead of being confined to one. He looked as far as he could to see what was ahead on one of the roads he could have taken, but he was limited to seeing only as far as where it turned and
Decision making is a common component in everyday life. When a person makes a decision, they consider their options, reach a resolution, then commit to them. But as time passes, there are those who regret their choice and wish to go back to change their decision, while some people are satisfied with their chosen path. In Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken”, the author describes a decision making process between traveling down one road or the other. Throughout the poem, Frost uses several poetic devices, including metaphor and enjambment, to help bring his theme across: it’s important to make the best possible decision because it can only be made once, in a way that encourages readers to think before they act.
“The Road Not Taken” hole poem was about the roads that represent idea choosing paths of life. The first stanza of the poem had one road that was not taken. “ And sorry I could not travel both/ And be one traveler, long stood”. (2-3) It indicated that he could not travel both roads because he is one traveler. As he stood, he looked down at one of the roads as far as he could. However, walking on during a fall day in the forest remind him of choice that he made. He was reconsider of his choice. This road was compared to his life adventure, curiously, mystery and excitement. The second stanza seems like one road he is keeps moving on. “ Then he took the other, as just as fair/ and having perhaps the better claim,”. (6-7) However, by the beginning
The very first line in the poem is an important line of imagery because it sets the stage for the rest of the poem of a road splitting in two ways and having to make a choice of which road to travel down. The line is “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood.” This line is also important because it repeats towards the end of the poem. The line repeats for emphasis. Since the repetition of the line is the second to last line in the poem, it’s reminding the reader of the importance it plays on making choices.
In the first stanza, the speaker is faced between two diverged paths. The speaker wants to travel down both, but knows he cannot; therefor, he contemplates which is the better decision. He even tries to look down each one, but cannot see the end of the tunnel. The speaker finally decides to take one that is
First, my thought is the two roads were not actually roads but choices for this person: live or die. “and be one traveler, long I stood and looked down one
The use of metaphors in the poem also help to convey the difficult choice that Frost is having to make. In the first stanza, Frost states, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood (Frost, line 1). This shows that the speaker of the poem has gotten to the point where they will have to make a big decision. They are unsure of which road to take. This
“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,” begins Robert Frost’s narrative poem “The Road Not Taken” by giving the reader a glance at Frost’s depictive writing style, one that contains both imagery and endless interpretational possibilities. A seemingly meaningless line such as itself guides the reader through the rest of the poem as Frost compares the appearance and possible bounties of each equally travelled road. The key to Robert Frost’s poem is his use of imagery to portray roads that are equally worn, in ways that imply that there is “no road less traveled”. In the second stanza, Frost explains to the reader that in life we are faced with problems that have no apparent answer, but those that are equivalent with different outcomes.
Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” is a very realistic and practical poem. Everyone must make choices and this poem shows how important those choices can be in their life. The narrator finds himself at a crossroads in a yellow wood, weighing in on each of the options that lay before his feet. Both are equally worn and equally overlaid with un-trodden leaves.
Due to its imagery and style Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” has become a poem that is studied in high school literature. Since its publication multitudes of readers have analyzed Frost’s poem as a sentimental commentary of the choices made in life. The narrator decided to seize the day and express himself as an individual by deciding to take the road that was “less traveled.” This poem is exceedingly popular because almost every reader can understand the narrator’s decision. Having to choose between two paths without having any knowledge of where either road will lead. One of the attractions of the poem is its archetypal predicament. One that we can almost immediately recognize and relate to because each of us encounters it countless times in our lives, both in a literal sense
“The Road Not Taken” was written by Robert Frost in 1916. It was a literary work that displays the way in which Frost saw the world around him. His writing style allowed him to express his feelings towards his environment in a way that others could comprehend. Frost begins the poem describing a stroll through the forest. However, a conflict arises: there are two paths in which he can take. He immediately sets the scene of this poem through his vivid imagery in the first stanza. “Two Roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both” the reader is immediately faced with the image of a forest with yellow trees at a fork in the road. It supplies the us with vital information such as it being a month in Autumn with trees that have traded their green leaves for yellow. This use of imagery is to exemplify a point in life, Autumn can draw a connection with being mature and experienced, but also beginning to reach the points of being elderly at the time of winter. This can tie into the conflict that Frost faces in that there are two paths to take “and sorry I could not travel both” . This shows he wishes he had the time to experience both of these paths. This fork in the road symbolises
One of the major symbols within this poem is the roads. When he says “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,” he is using the roads to symbolize the paths, choices, and decisions that he has to make in his life. Those decisions guide the way to his future, because when you come to a two way street or road you have to decide or make a choice on which path to take. Also when he says “And sorry I could not travel both And be on traveler,” he is telling us how he is insecure on which road to take because he is unsure of what’s ahead and would like to travel both roads to come up with a conclusion or a decision on the correct road to take. So overall, what road basically symbolizes in this poem is the options that he has in his life and the decisions that he has to make.