Robert Frost The Road Not Taken Essay

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Perhaps one of the most well–known poems in modern America is a work by Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken. This poem consists of four stanzas that depict the story of the narrator traveling through the woods early in the morning and coming upon a fork in the path, where he milled about for a while before deciding upon one of the two paths, wishing he could take both, but knowing otherwise, seeing himself telling of this experience in the future.

Frost uses several literary devices in this brief account, such as imagery, personification, metaphor, and alliteration. Descriptions of "yellow wood," depicting an autumn forest, and "no step [in the leaves being] trodden black," indicating a fresh and natural recently untrodden environment, are...show more content...

The theme of accepting a challenge, similar to exploration, is plausible because of the narrator's desire to say that he took the less travelled path; this could mean that it was the path that was more dangerous or harder, since not many chose to take it. The first person perspective of the poem lends to identification with the reader; when one puts themselves in the place of the narrator, they can relate to all of the aforementioned themes. When I see this poem, I mainly see the theme of choices relating to my life. As creations of God with free will, we make choices every day of different weights and significances. We choose what we eat, we choose whether we eat. We choose to pursue different careers. We chose who we associate with. We choose right and we choose wrong. We can chose to accept the truth and we can choose to reject it. We can chose to life life the way that feels best physically or we can chose to live our lives for Christ; we can choose to take the easy way out and live however feels best or we can choose to make our lives mean something of eternal significance. I have chosen to commit my life to serving Christ to the best extent I can, leaning on Him for guidance and for my future. I have chosen to use the gifts that God has given to me to serve Him as best I can. I have chosen to pursue

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The Road Not Taken By: Robert Frost Imagine that your making a decision and you are stuck to choose between two things that could change and impact your life greatly. What would you do? What pathway would you take? 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. This poem explores a...show more content...

For the second stanza, the traveller is describing that both pathways are equally the same through the used of extended metaphors, personification and metaphors. On third stanza, the poet is providing additional information on the season by "And both that morning equally lay, in leaves no step had trodden black". This imagery of the season autumn symbolises the perfect layers of yellow leaves on the path as for a long period of time no one has walked on it yet. On third line, onomatopoeia was used which is "oh" that illustrates an emphatic tone for the decision that he made. The traveller is now regretting the decision that he made. On the last two lines, an extended metaphor was used, "Yet knowing how way leads on to way", "I doubted if I should ever come back". These last two lines of the third stanza, heightens the attention of readers that he hopes that he could try the other path as the traveller knows 'how one road can lead to another'. Also, the traveller is having doubts as it is impossible to retrace steps as other choices or decisions can lead to other options in life. The third stanza raises the awareness to readers as he decided to stick with the decision that he made but still with a bit of regrets. The last stanza, Robert Frost uses a number of poetic techniques, in order to demonstrate the fear and regrets as he already made which path to go and now, there's no turning back. In the first line onomatopoeia was used and Get

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The poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost addresses the idea of decision–making and choosing what direction life will take you. The poem is about the speaker arriving at a fork in the road, where both paths are carpeted with leaves. The persona, who is believed to be Frost himself, chooses to take the road less traveled by. He tells himself that he will take the other road another day, although he knows it is unlikely that he will have the opportunity to do so. The poem concludes with the speaker satisfied by his choice in taking the road less traveled by. The poem consists of four stanzas, each containing five lines. The rhyme rigid scheme is ABAAB. Then, in the last line the rhyme is broken with the word "difference" making...show more content...

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. In the second stanza the persona continues to examine both paths and ponder which road to take. In line six Frost uses the phrase, "В…just as fair" (line 6), to imply that his decision needs careful consideration because once it is made, there is no turning back. Once again, Frost points to uncertainty in the future by using the word "В…perhapsВ…" in line seven. The speaker is judging the road from where he is standing. Frost then goes on to describe the path as "В…grassy and wanted wear" (line 8). From this line, the reader gets the impression that the persona took the road less traveled by to break away from the influence and control of society. But by making the metaphor a road Frost makes it clear that few have chosen to take the harder route through life because it is less trodden upon. Although the roads have little difference in appearance since they are "worn В… about the same" (line 10), they both lead to undeterminable futures. By the end of the second stanza, the speaker still has not made a choice about which path to take. The third stanza makes it clear that every time a choice presents itself there is a

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In, Robert Frost's, a "Road Not Taken" we see both strong literal and figurative meanings within the poem. It helps the reader to understand the decision the traveler is about to make and the importance of making the right decision. Life is full of decisions and there are many times we need to make the correct decision the first time as we may never be able to go back and do it again. The "Road not taken" shows these very conflicts in life while using strong metaphorical meanings.

As the poem begins, a traveler is walking along a path in the woods. It is fall and he comes to a fork in the road. This Fork in the road is both literal and symbolic in meaning. It indicates an actual fork in the road and shows two paths that may be taken. The metaphorical meaning of this spot is the road of life and a life decision the traveler must make before moving on from this spot. We know that is sometimes is easy to decide which road in life to take but not always, as we see later in the poem, this decision was not easy for the traveler to make. We do not know if this was a good decision for the traveler and the poem title itself shows regret. "The Road Not Taken" may refer to making the wrong choice at the fork in the road....show more content...

Looking down each trying to decide which way he should travel. Again, we see the exact meaning of the roads within the poem. Robert Frost describes each road at the fork, one he looks down as far as he can see until it bend and is lost in the underbrush. This is also a figurative meaning of fear of not being able to see what is at the end of the path. "The traveler then decides to take the other, feeling it is a better path or choice for him. "Then took the other, as just as fair, and having perhaps the better claim, because it was grassy and wanted wear." He felt more comfortable with this decision because it was a better

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Robert Frost The Road Not Taken Essay

In life, we are often faced with tough challenges and decisions to make. In the poem, "The Road Not Taken", by Robert Frost, He demonstrates how the way one handles major difficult decisions, affects the outcome of life. The poem consists of 4 stanzas which each have a slightly different purpose to the poem; however, the first and second stanzas both have the same effect.

Firstly, in the first stanza, Frost describes standing at an openroad that splits into two separate paths: "two roads diverged in a yellow wood". He goes on to say how he wishes we could try going down both paths to see where each ones leads. The two paths represent two different ways he could go about living his life. When he says: "And I looked down one as far as I could" he's referring to how he tried his best to find all the pros and cons of one of the two possible options. In the second stanza, Frost decides now to look on at the other path, or to consider the second option he has: "Then took the other, as just as fair". The words "perhaps having the better claim, because it was grassy and wanted wear could mean a choice that wasn't exactly normal, or made much sense but he wanted to pursue it anyways. These stanzas present the readers with the situation and bring out the idea of having a tough decision to make, which links to the first half of the theme....show more content... He realizes that either paths, or decisions, have an equal amount of pros and cons, therefore are about the same: "And both that morning equally lay". He then reveals that he wants to come back and take the other path someday: "Oh, I kept the first for another day!" But shortly thereafter realizes that it probably won't be possible to come back. Because usually one path leads to another and eventually, it ends up being too far in the past to go back to where everything

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In life only one choice can be made, and that choice may affect life forever. And the right decision is not always obvious, but the decision still has to be made. In Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken" Frost explains that everybody has to make a choice, nobody can make both choices. Everybody in life will come to a split in the road, and the decision will affect life forever.Robert Frost was born in San Francisco, California on March 26, 1874. After Frost's father death Robert Frost and his family moved to Lawrence, Massachusetts when he was 11 years old. Frost published his first poem in November 8, 1894 called "My Butterfly. An Elegy". In 1912, Frost and his wife decided to move to England where he became famous for many books of poems...show more content...

This could mean that Frost is the first to come to the divide in the path on that day. Also this reveals that Frost is not following anybody, he is walking this path alone. Not following anybody on the path could be a metaphor to Frost's life. This could be a metaphor to Frost's life by the path symbolizing life, and Frost does not want to follow anybody on the path, or in life, because he wants to make his own choices and his own life decisions. Also in the thirdstanza Frost hopes he can come back on day and choose the other path some day. "Oh, I kept the first for another day!". Frost is excited about having the opportunity to come back and explore the other path later in his life. But later in the third stanza Frost realizes that he probably will never have the opportunity to come back, "Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back". One path will lead to another and he will never have the opportunity to came back to the same path and make a different decision. This adds to the metaphor that the path is a symbol for Frost's life. In life once a decision is made, that decision will affect life forever, and this is the conclusion that Frost has come Get more content

Robert Frost The Road Not Taken Essay

The Road Not Taken Response Paper

Personal Response 3

Title: The Road Not Taken

Text Type: Poem

Author: Robert Frost

The poem, 'The Road Not Taken' by Robert Frost is about the "roads" and different paths we take in our lives. Frost wrote about a traveler who had to chose between two roads. He had to decide if he wanted to go down the well used or less used path. In the end, he went down the less used path. The theme of decision making and choices is shown in this poem. I think that this is a way of describing the choices we make and how much a simple choice can affect our own and others' lives.

The first part, "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both, and be one traveler, long I stood, and looked down one as far as I could," is about the...show more content...

The next part, "Though as for that the passing there had worn them really about the same, and both that morning equally lay, in leaves no step had trodden black," is talking about how one path is used more than the other. It's always easy to follow the same path that others have taken because you often know what will happen. Some people are happy with the thought through choices they make that everyone else has made. Those who live full, adventurous lives are the ones who go down the less used path and make their own tracks. This often takes a lot of courage because it can be considered "abnormal" to those around us. In reality, everyone would be more open to adventure and willing to take opportunities if society didn't have this fixed idea of normality that some people are afraid to venture out of.

The next three lines, "Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back," are about how life is made up of many different roads. Each choice we make opens up a whole new world of possibilities leading to more paths. This part is significant because the author is trying to say that he will never return to that exact path and won't be able to backtrack the exact same way as he came. Whenever we make decisions, whether it be a big decision or a small one, if has an impact. It may not seem like at the

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"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. Shown

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Robert Frost
Road Not

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

In his poem "The Road Not Taken" Frost's theme is about how the choices one makes affect life. When we come to a fork in the road, a decision needs to be made. Both paths are different and choosing the right one – if there is a right one – will depend on where we have been. Each choice that we make plays out differently in our lives. We can look back and wonder what would have happened if we choose differently. But that is outweighed in what we would have missed. Each choice affects who we are, where we are going, and moreover our lives. The persona had two roads to chose from and wonders what would have happened had he taken the other road. Frost's title reflects this. The first three...show more content...

And that at this point in time one of the roads must be chosen. After the choice of roads is described and considered, Frost writes "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 is where the narrator makes his choice. Here, he knows he is bound by that choice. He wants to hold on to the other possibility, but knows this cannot be. His choice becomes the road taken. The choice he did not make, becomes "The Road Not Taken." He takes the other road that is "grassy and wanted wear." The road he chooses has a "better claim," because it is the road that is less traveled on. By taking this road, a clue to his personality is revealed. He is the type of person that wants to try something new and different. He makes the choice based on who he is and what choices he has made in the past. Knowing that this choice will again change his life and bring him new experiences.

In the third stanza, the image of the leaves that cover the ground have not been stepped on and "no step had trodden black," indicates that no one has walked down the road since the leaves have fallen, therefore describing a road not traveled. That path does not fit who he is at this juncture in life. "I kept the first for another day," relates to his desire to travel down both paths. "knowing how way leads on to Get

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"The Road Not Taken"

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.

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

He predicts that he will always remember this moment of choice and will be telling it "with a sigh" (16) when he is old. His choice will have made "all the difference" (20) and affected his whole journey. Frost creates a tone of inevitability that no matter what the choice, there will always be regret.

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 "The Road Not Taken", images of the bright woods and wide open opportunity to choose are contrasted with the indecision and regret of only being able to travel one path. Word choice and a slight sorrowful tone reinforce the theme of regret. Frost presents divergent roads as a metaphor for the choices a person must make in life. The traveler's rueful resignation that

Literary Analysis
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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...show more content... Our route is, thus, determined by an accretion of choice and chance, and it is impossible to separate the two. The poem isn't giving the reader advice. It does not say, "When individuals come to a fork in the road, investigate the footprints and take the road less traveled by" Frost's focus is more complex. Moreover, the narrator's decision to choose the "less traveled" path demonstrates his courage. Instead of taking the safer path that more people have traveled, the narrator prefers to make his own impact upon the world. Nonetheless, when we look closer at the text of the poem, it becomes clear that such an idealistic analysis is largely inaccurate. Next, the poem seems more attentive with the question of how the detailed present (yellow woods, grassy roads coated in forsaken leaves) will look multiple years after he has traveled the path that he chose. The narrator only characterizes the paths from one another after he has already chosen a path and traveled multiple years through life. When he first comes upon the fork in the road, the paths are described as being essentially

Robert Frost The Road Not Taken Essay
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The most common interpretation of "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost is that the speaker is trying to decide which road to take. Does he want to take the road that everyone else takes because it is easier and all the clearing has been done for him, or does he want to take a chance and take the road less traveled and he has to clear his own path? The poet is trying to convey a much deeper meaning. The poem is an excellent example of the use of symbolism .The poet uses the two roads to symbolize choices made in life. The yellow road indicates that the poem is taking place in autumn, which denotes that the speaker is in the later years of his life. The use of these simple images emphasizes that no matter how simple or unimportant a choice may...show more content...

Nature in this poem sets the scene and can hold a metaphorical meaning as well. "TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood," (line 1) sets the scene, the speaker tells the reader the woods are yellow, so we can conclude that the poem is taking place in autumn. This could be a metaphor for the time in the speaker's life that he is making this decision. The fall of his life when he is beginning to get old." To where it bent in the undergrowth;" (line 5), the reader finds out the woods must be pretty thick, because the road can disappear in the undergrowth, could represent an aspect of the speaker's future that he is unsure of." And having perhaps the better claim,/Because it was grassy and wanted wear"(lines 7–8) the speaker is bias in favor of nature, he thinks one path may be better than the other because fewer people have worn it down. These lines are a metaphor for a decision that is less commonly made." And both that morning equally lay/in leaves no step had trodden black, (lines 11–12) here the reader sees autumn images continue. It appears that it is morning time. There is a contradiction to an earlier claim that one path is less traveled. The lines tell the reader the leaves have just fallen masking that the path was more or less traveled. Metaphorically this points out there is ultimately no way to tell which choice is

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The Road Not Taken

Poetry Essay

Shamyra Thompson

Liberty University

Poetry Essay Outline

"A

Road Not Taken"

Thesis: In the poem "A Road Not Taken", Robert Frost shares how sometimes in life one has to make decisions rather they're good or bad. However there are consequences following one's decisions and choices. One can use their second chance by looking forward and choosing to take the right paths in life.

a.The poem's author, Robert Frost, focuses on the theme and the mood by representing the choices and decisions that have to be made.

b.In the ending of the poem, regret is displayed after realizing the wrong choices were made.

II.Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

a.Reading this poem,...show more content... Although Robert Frost shares how sometimes in life one has to make decisions rather they're good or bad, however there are consequences following one's decisions

I.Mood & Theme

and choices. One can use their second chance by looking forward and choosing to take the right paths in life.

Mood & Theme

In this poem written by author Robert Frost, the poem focuses on the theme and the mood by representing the choices and decisions that have to be made. The whole poem is based on someone who spends time throughout his traveling journey making choices and knowing that making the wrong choices can't be taken back once the choices and decisions have been made. In the poem Frost wrote, "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both."(Frost, 1916) This is his way of setting the mood for the readers to get a better understanding of where he was coming from as he explains how there are different paths in life one can take, but one can only take one at a time in hopes of making the right decision. Frost developed metaphors such as "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood" (Frost, 1916) throughout the poem.

Poetic Devices & Figurative Get

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The Road Not Taken, By

Dr. Christie

Friday, December 1

In 1994, a major poet exploded in his work. This new growing author named Robert Frost, was born on March 26, 1874 in San Francisco. Frost spent his first forty years as an unknown person. With a journalist as a father, he gained an early experience in the world of writing. His talented ability and life experiences led him to England and back to America which resulted in making a famous name for himself in the poetic field. Like in "The Road Not Taken", his poems are filled with symbols, imagery and creative wordplay in nature despite the fact he faced an extremely troubled life. Lines from the poem "The Road Not Taken" is still quoted constantly by many speakers,...show more content... He faces many hardships in life such as death and indecision. He has to make many decisions regarding to his work, his poetry, his wife and his lifestyle. Lines four and five give the reader a metaphor for the future by the description of the road given. Just as in our lives we can only see down a crowded path in the woods for so long. We can only see into our own future for a short while as well. Just asRobert Frost saw Elinor as the love of his life and ended up getting rejected the first time he asked her to marry him. Little did Robert Frost know that his decision to move to England and gaining friendships over there developed him into becoming such a famous writer. Also, little did he know that the road of his life was going to contain many bumps along the way as he lost several of his kids and his loving wife. In line six, the speaker decides that he is going to take the second path which is just as interesting as the first. The speaker spent a long time looking down only one road. Line six could be looked as a metaphor for a rather sudden decision. For example, when continuously think about doing one certain thing for an extended amount of time but in the end do something totally different than planned. Just like setting out on a new path. We may not know why we did the things we did but we did think we would be just as happy with one choice as the other. This metaphor foreshadows Robert Frost's life as he spent many years trying to grow

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The Road Not Taken,

Opportunity is the major theme in "The Road Not Taken," "Love and a Question," and "Asking for Roses." In all of these poems, there is a decision that needs to be made. Will it be right or wrong? There is no way of knowing if the choice they make is, until they choose. There are many opportunities in life and chances that people should or should not take, but the choice is upon them. One famous poem by Robert Frost is " The Road Not Taken." In this poem, Frost tells of someone who has stopped at a fork in the road and is trying to choose between two paths. The two paths are both long but he can only choose one. In the end, he chooses the one that not many people go through. The paths in the poem symbolize a choice. His choice is about taking...show more content...

There is a strong sense of choosing right from wrong in each poem. In "The Road Not Taken," the man chose a path. In the poem, it could also be talking about Frost's career decision. Frost could have become anything he wished, but he became a poet. The sigh in the poem could mean that he regretted his career, but in "A 1925 Letter Come to Light," he stated that he was not a remorseful person. In "Asking for Roses," the couple chose to ask rather than steal the roses. In Frost's daily life, he followed a strict code or motto. This motto was revealed in "The Daily Living of Robert Frost." It was carpe diem, or seize the day. In the poem "Asking for Roses," the rose that fell symbolizes that. It meant to seized the day before there were no more to seize. The final poem "Love and a Question," the husband chose to keep the wife safe and comfortable and to give the stranger money, food, and the promise of keeping him in their prayers. This was the same as the romance between Frost and Elinor White. The husband wanted to protect his wife, as did Frost. In "Robert Frost's: Love Question," they say that Frost was absorbing love, the main factor in human life that caused pain and pleasure. The poems were about Frost and taking chances. In taking chances in life, people can find new ways to explore and

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"The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost is about the speaker deciding which road to take. Both that were equally overlaid with un–trodden leaves. He chose one and told himself that he will take the other road on another day, but the speaker knows that the opportunity to do so are very unlikely to come up. He hoped that he will be able to recreate the scene someday in the future where he took the road less traveled by. The mood of the poem; "The Road Not Taken" is a feeling of anticipation because the traveler have to choose which road to take. The tone of this poem is satisfy with a bit of curiosity because even though the speaker wishes he could have taken both roads, the speaker is please with the one he chose. But he still wonder what...show more content...

The decision itself is really not important as the aftermath of making that decision. The speaker is not satisfied about his decision, but rather regretful because he wanted to know what's on the other road and vice versa. Simply this is a human nature to regret the decision we choose in life after we made them.

There are many figurative language in this poem. The one that has been the most recognize in this poem is the metaphorically use of the word road. Road is a metaphor for the decision we have to make in life. There are no right or wrong but it's not an easy decision to make. There are also personification in this poem; "Because it was grassy and wanted wear", because a road can't want something. That is a characteristic that a road can't have. Another personification is in, "And both that morning equally lay", the morning can't lay down because that's an human characteristic. "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood" is an imagery because it forces the reader to come up with an image in their head that incorporates yellow and wood, and the only image that the reader comes up with that makes sense is an autumnal forest. The descriptive language in this poem is amazing because it makes the reader feel like they are in the speaker's shoe in autumnal forest deciding which road to take. "The Road Get more content

Essay
The
about
Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

Thesis

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. Describe the literal scene and situation. The literal scene of Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken, is described as a "yellowed wood" (Arp & Johnson, 2009). Use of this description could be that fall is upon the wood or the trees perhaps once white have yellowed with age. Before the traveler is a road split into two different directions, he has no idea where each road leads. In trying to imagine, where each one might lead he tries to "look down each path" (Arp & Johnson, 2009), but to no avail as he can only see as far as the...show more content... It could just be symbolic for a choice that he must make in his life.

As college students, our "road" is what major we will choose and this will help decide the outcome of our future. When one decides to follow God a divided path becomes the focus of our lives, do we continue down the path we have been on our whole lives, and is well known but will surely lead to death? On the other hand, do we choose the path God would have us take not only changing our lives, but in the end instead of an eternity spent in the cold grip of death, we find eternal life?

Why does the title emphasize the road not taken? The emphasis on "the road not taken" is Frost's way of making us think as we read this poem that no matter which way the speaker chose to go a road would always stay not taken. The speaker intended to complete his journey on the chosen path, then at another time go back, and take the other direction.

What are the rhythm patterns that Frost uses in the poem (include the scansion and technical methods: alliteration, assonance, and consonance)?

Frost uses both masculine rhyme and end rhyme. The masculine rhyme is the rhyming sounds that contain only one syllable such as wood, stood, and should. The end rhyme pattern that Frost uses is, A, B, A, A, B C, D, C, C, D E, F, E, E, F and G, H, G, G, H. (Arp & Johnson, 2009). There are lines of this poem that show the alliteration method, two examples are found in line 6–"then took the", and line 8– "wanted wear" Assonance also

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Although most haven't read it in its entirety, Robert Frost's poem, "The Road Not Taken," is one of the most popular American poems of the twentieth century. The story is often misremembered as the tale of an adventurer who chooses the path where fewer have been. Frost begins his poem with juxtaposing two roads diverging in a wood. He cannot see very far ahead on either path. The narrator is a quintessential nonconformist when he, theoretically, "choose[s] the one less traveled by." (19) Frost presents a classic conflict: the decision between the common, easy path and the exceptional, challenging path. The road less traveled is more challenging to travel because the reader assumes there is a reason he road more traveled is more traveled for...show more content...

The speaker says that both roads are equally beautiful, and also equally worn. He says he will leave the first path for another day, then admits to himself: "Yet knowing how way leads on to way, / I doubted if I should ever come back." (14–15) The speaker never fully rules out taking the road less traveled, and never officially denies that he will come back. Yet, he admits to himself that one choice leads to another and most likely he will never journey back to the fork and be faced with the same decision. The speaker anticipates the regret he will feel when "telling this with a sigh" (16) based on his decision no matter which path he takes. But in the last stanza the speaker argues he should not feel any regret because it does not matter either way. The narrator says how he will someday look back and claim "with a sigh" that choosing the "one less traveled ... made all the difference." He knows that he will comfort himself by saying that the choices he has made have lead to the place he is in his life, when, in reality, his position is a combination of his choices and chance. He knows that his choice was really arbitrary, and his destiny will likely not be impacted his outcome either way. In this last stanza, the speaker acknowledges the stereotype of the

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The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" tells of someone faced with one of life's major decisions whereas only one direction can be chosen. Whichever road is taken will be final and will determine the direction that their life takes. 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)...show more content...

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"(14). In the finalstanza, 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."(20) "The Road Not Taken" was written with standard, simple diction. The most complex word used is "trodden"(12). The majority of the lines contain nine syllables. This structure is maintained throughout the entire poem. The stanzas are arranged like that of a thought. One continues to undermine the other, much like decision making. Our first thoughts are always second–guessed by our second and so forth until we make our final decision, which cancels out all that was thought before. This is what Frost manages to do in the arrangement of his stanzas. Imagery is the primary concept of this work. The two roads are each described in such a way that the reader can easy

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The Road Not Taken by
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Robert Frost

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

In Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken," (reprinted in Laurence Perrine and Thomas R. Arp, Sound and Senses, 8th ed. [San Diego: Harcourt, 1992] 23) the speaker stands in the woods, considering a fork in the road. Both ways are equally worn, and equally overlaid with un–trodden leaves. The speaker chooses one, telling himself that he will take the other another day. Yet he knows it is unlikely that he will have the opportunity to do so. And he admits that someday in the future he will recreate the scene with a slight twist: he will claim that he took the less–traveled road. The whole poem is an extended metaphor, where Frost describes a path in the woods that is directly comparable to a major ...show more content...

Frost presents to the reader a man's decision, at a turning point in his life, symbolized by "two roads diverged in a yellow wood." In the first line, Frost introduces the elements of his primary metaphor: the diverging roads. The speaker expresses his regret that "[he] could not travel both" (line 2). The choice is not easily made since "long I stood" (line 3) before coming to a decision. In an attempt to make a choice, the traveler examines the path "as far as [he] could" (line 4), but his vision is limited because the path bends and is covered "in the undergrowth" (line 5). Thus, indicating that although he would have liked to acquire more information, he is prevented from doing so because of the nature of his environment. In lines 6–8, the speaker is still unable to decide between the two paths since "the other, [is] just as fair" (line 6). He indicates that the second path is a more attractive choice since "it was grassy and wanted wear" (line 8). Nevertheless, by the end of the stanza, he remains ambivalent, even after comparing the two paths, for each was "really about the same" (line 10). Neither path has been traveled lately. In the third stanza, the speaker makes his decision, trying to persuade himself that he will eventually "come back" (line 15) to satisfy his desire and curiosity to travel both paths. However, deep down, he admits to himself that Get

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost Essay
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