...Sarah K. McAfee May 8, 2008 English 151-15 The poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost, tells a quick story about a lone traveler who arrives at the end of a path leading to a fork road. Confused about which road to take, the traveler speaks figuratively about how each path looks and in the end decides to take the path he calls “less traveled by” (line 19). Each person in life comes across crossroads where he or she has to choose which path leads to a better future. The reader can take what Frost wrote and interpret that this poem represents that decision that we eventually have to make. One of the major themes of this poem is “life’s decisions” because the author creates a scenario where people have to make a decision of which road to take in life. The poem’s theme is “life’s decisions” because in the poem the traveler arrives at a fork in the road and has to choose the path to take to get to his destination. In life, we also have to make that decision. This could be Frost’s interpretation of someone who is approaching this kind of scenario . The first stanza of the poem states: “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 To where it bent in the undergrowth” –Robert Frost This stanza is describing the thinking process of the person who has to make his or her decision on which path to take. The person is trying to figure out how far each path will go but...
Words: 780 - Pages: 4
...Danne Hill Prof. Maureen Garcia College Writing II 1 October 2013 The failures of a man A man full of obsessive dreams, Troy Maxson wanted to play in the professional baseball leagues, but his dreams were crushed due to ethnic discrimination situations. Troy challenged himself to see the achievement of his family, because he was rejected and couldn’t achieve his dreams. He claimed he didn’t want his children to go through what he went through, however, I think he wanted everyone to fail just like him. Troy looses the love of his life, his wife and children by building an obscure fence that is capable of keeping him away from his love ones. Because of the absence of parental affection and marriage steered him to make typical mistakes which cost his relationship with his wife rose, his sons Lyons and Cory, his brother Gabriel and best friend bono. Troy comes from a hard upbringing; all he received was physical, verbal, and mental abuse from his father. He lived a life motherless because his mom left him and his other siblings behind because of his father’s anger towards his mom. If there’s one thing troy learned from his father, it would have to be being a provider for his family. Because of his father’s malice behavior, Troy felt like responsibility and hard work was more important than loyalty and love. The only way Troy could become a man is by pursuing happiness in other things. Troy brought blasphemy of his failures into his family’s descent;...
Words: 609 - Pages: 3
...The road not taken written by Robert Frost in 1916 is one of Frosts most well known poems. The road not taken consists of four stanzas each containing five lines and follows the rhyme scheme ABAAB. Frost used a variety of literary techniques, combined with simple language to make the road not taken so easy to relate to. the road not taken focuses on the narrator who reaches a fork in the road where he must decide on which path to take. the narrator hoses the path that he considers to be less traveled. this poem acts as an extended metaphor for difficult life decisions. From this poem the reader can interpret that frost is trying to convey the message that no matter which decision you make there is always a chance that it is the wrong one. From the last lines of the poem "I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference" the reader can also interpret that Frost is trying to say that making the right decision can have a huge impact on life. For the road not taken Frost was able to have a very large intended audience with the use of simple, easy to understand language and the relevance to everyday life. Frosts intended audience is anyone who has decisions so make but is indecisive about those decisions. The road not taken was written in 1916 shorty after Frost had moved back to America, Frost was 42 at the time. According to Emerson media (n.d.) it is believed that Frost wrote this poem due to regretting a decision made in his life. Frost uses past tense...
Words: 469 - Pages: 2
...The Road not Taken is a poem about choice. It begins, “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, To where it bent in the undergrowth;” Clearly the speaker is faced with a decision. He is out for a morning walk in the autumn woods when he comes to a fork in the road. He stops and contemplates which road to take, looking down one road as far as he can see. The second stanza reads, “Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear, Though as for that the passing there, Had worn them really about the same,” The speaker thinks long and hard about which road is the right one for him to take; expressing his indecisiveness and the importance of making the right choice for himself. He decides to take the road that looked as if it had been less traveled but, upon further evaluation he realizes that both roads are “about the same.” In the third stanza the speaker continues to speculate the differences between the two roads. He notices that both roads are covered with freshly fallen leaves and look as if they have not been traveled, “And both that morning equally lay, in leaves no step had trodden black.” He is sorry he cannot take both roads. Therefore, the speaker claims that he will come back and take the other road another day but, then he comes to the realization that he will never get to experience where the other...
Words: 319 - Pages: 2
...Once upon a time, I was sitting in class when a student suddenly flipped his desk over and started screaming. That student learned quickly that choices have consequences. In fact, every choice has a consequence, whether the consequences are positive or negative. Although some might say that some choices are too small to have consequences, the truth is that every choice, large or small, has consequences. Good choices can have positive consequences. This means that good choices can be rewarded. In “The Road Not Taken,” for example, the narrator shows that good choices can have positive consequences when the narrator states, “I took the one last traveled by and that has made all the difference.” This demonstrates that the narrator made choices...
Words: 304 - Pages: 2
...Everyone is a traveler, choosing the roads to follow on the map of their continuous journey, life. There is never a straight path that leaves one with but a sole direction in which to head. Regardless of the original message that Robert Frost had intended to convey, his poem, "The Road Not Taken", has left its readers with many different interpretations. It is one's past, present and the attitude with which he looks upon his future that determines the shade of the light that he will see the poem in. In any case however, this poem clearly demonstrates Frost's belief that it is the road that one chooses that makes him the man who he is. "And sorry I could not travel both..." It is always difficult to make a decision because it is impossible not to wonder about the opportunity cost, what will be missed out on. There is a strong sense of regret before the choice is even made and it lies in the knowledge that in one lifetime, it is impossible to travel down every path. In an attempt to make a decision, the traveler "looks down one as far as I could". The road that will be chosen leads to the unknown, as does any choice in life. As much he may strain his eyes to see as far the road stretches, eventually it surpasses his vision and he can never see where it is going to lead. It is the way that he chooses here that sets him off on his journey and decides where he is going. "Then took the other, just as fair, and having perhaps the better claim." What made it have the better claim is that...
Words: 366 - Pages: 2
...Literary Analysis of “The Road Not Taken” 1920 by Robert Frost COURSE NUMBER: ENGL-102 COURSE TITLE: Composition and Literature SEMESTER OF ENROLLMENT: Summer 2011 NAME: Kevin G. Blascoe ADDRESS: 1031 Bradford Park Road Mount Juliet, TN 37122 Blascoe 2 Kevin G. Blascoe ENGL102 Professor Terri Washer 11 June, 2011 As the world gets older and people reflect the decisions of their lives, there is one thing perfectly clear in each individual: there is no correct interpretation in regard to the choices that each person has thought and acted upon as it relates to their own live’s and circumstances. Outline of Literary Analysis I. Introduction A. General theme and background B. Introduce “The Road Not Taken” C. Re-address thesis statement II. Description of the literal scene and situation 1. Mood 2. Metaphorical or symbolic implications 3. Analysis of title 4. Rhythm patterns 5. Scansion and technical methods 6. Theme and methods used to communicate theme III. Conclusion A. Summary of poet’s existentialistic philosophy Blascoe 3 Life constantly...
Words: 1134 - Pages: 5
...Poetry Analysis Essay for “Road Not Taken” By: Robert Frost Course # and Title: ENGL 102: Literature and Composition Semester of Enrollment: Spring 2012 Name: Timothy Bayless ID #: L22915807 Writing Style Used: MLA Timothy Bayless L22915807 ENGL-102 C04 Poetry Analysis Essay Outline I. Introduction A. Facts: Robert Frost thought a poem should start with delight but end in wisdom and has also won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry four times. B. Title and Author: “The Road Not Taken” By: Robert Frost C. Thesis: The poem displays the difficult decisions people make in order to progress in life and how one choice can alter the future for better or worse. II. Body A. Meaning and Message i. Surface Meaning: A person comes to a “y” in the road and has to decide which way to go. ii. Deeper Meaning: Internal debates are overwhelming when deciding what the right decision to make is. iii. Theme: The choices made in life can alter the future for better or worse. B. Tone i. The person speaking in the poem seems to have a certain level of maturity and it shows in the debate about which road to take. ii. The tone of the speaker is solemn in nature. iii. The reason the tone seems solemn is because the speaker is left with...
Words: 1400 - Pages: 6
...The Road Not Taken By Robert Frost English 102 B23 Liberty University 16 June 2014 The Road Not Taken By Robert Frost A stylistic and exploratory analysis of Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” uncovering the message from the work received by a diverse audience. There are a few themes in the poem The Road Not Taken By Robert Frost. The author communicates that he is faced with a choice to take one path or another and faces apprehension, hesitation, fear, indecision and regret as he is faced with the choice. While exploring the poem it seems that at first glance the author may be celebrating his choice of taking the road less traveled “took the one less traveled by” but in realty he is in a sense moving forward while looking back with the title being “The Road Not Taken”. This indecision is counter productive making him unable to live his life but to waste it away in indecision. The author communicates the difficulty of choices in life and the ability to have two different paths that can seem paralyzing from fearful uncertainty, which can lead to regret from indecision. The fear, possible regret, uncertainty, indecision and stagnation seems to be the tone of the poem. The poem is set in nature during fall with autumn leaves “in a yellow wood” piled on the ground from falling a while “leaves no step had trodden black”. The falling leaves pointing to time passing, two roads pointing to a choice at hand, the bend with the undergrowth as the uncertainty, the worn...
Words: 855 - Pages: 4
...Frost, Where the Road Brings Us #201337029 English 1080 Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” both portray similarities in themes of the weight of realities, while taken place in a setting of nature. Each are about experiences in life in “The Road Not Taken” the speaker is youthful, making the decision to last a lifetime metaphorically portrayed by an autumn forest. He must overcome his mentality to succumb from the more beaten path in a road, showing his uniqueness to take the other. “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” where as Frost uses an older speaker, more grizzled and experienced in life. The speaker also experiencing a choice, seeking a life without struggle in isolation he then reflects upon his responsibility towards the society. In the poem “The Road Not Taken”, the speaker stumbles upon a choice that will effect him forever. The poems talk of the speaker coming to a fork in his path, whereas now he has to choose one way or the other. This intersection in the road is a metaphor to all the decisions we have to make in life, and how easily it could alter with just by starting down a new path. The speaker thinks about his choices and feels that whatever path he takes; he will have to take for good. The speaker feels strongly that he must think really hard upon what path to take, so he doesn’t end up regretting his choice. “And looked down the road as far as I could...
Words: 1006 - Pages: 5
...their texts The Arrival and The Road Not Taken. In Robert Frost’s poem The Road Not Taken, Frost conveys his perspective on the journey through the use of a variety of language techniques. Journeys involve choices, which can slightly or significantly alter the paths we take in life as the poem consists of two roads which metaphorically represent choices. “ Two roads diverged ... and that has made all the difference” demonstrates how the author has learned to take responsibility for the choices he has made in life and is content that choices make who we are. Robert Frost uses several techniques such as metaphors, repetition and symbolism. Repetition displays the character’s frustration towards making choices and symbolism shows the unseeable end to this path being taken. The main technique used is metaphor as the whole poem represents the journey of life and the choices that are a part of it. The journeys in life we take can lead to choices that change our life forever. Throughout a journey an individual must make a variety of choices. The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost clearly shows the composer’s thoughts on making choices throughout a journey. In the first stanza of the poem it says, “ Two roads diverged in a Yellow wood”. Frost has made use of a metaphor to convey that there are multiple paths which can be chosen in life. Colour symbolism is also used to provide the reader a sense of caution using yellow, symbolising warning. Each road also leads to different places;...
Words: 515 - Pages: 3
...partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the completion of the course. ENGL 102 Composition and Literature Liberty University Online By Melinda Cleary July 24th, 2014 I. Introduction Robert Frost’s “The Road not Taken” is probably the most well-known Poem in American Literature. Taught in high school English classes across the nation and studied by generations of professional scholars. Readers have the belief that “The Road not Taken” was speaking of a cross roads in Frost life. That he had to choose which path to follow and the one he took was “less traveled by”. The poem misleads you; in fact neither of the roads is less traveled by. II. Back up my theory a) “diverged in a yellow wood” – sets the location- yellow wood is only found in isolated locations across the south eastern U.S. -forest areas. b) “was grassy and wanted wear”- had not been stepped on or used. He speaks as if the woods needed someone to cross. c) “had worn them really about the same”- both roads were the same, neither was better than the other. d) “both that morning equally lay in leaves no step had trodden black”- sets the season which could be early spring cause in the woods leaves are always on the ground. Trodden black was term used for crushed down by ones feet. III. Analysis of the Poem a) Literal setting – woods or forest b) Literal situation – author was alone and leaving away from something c) Mood of Poem- sad and melancholy d) Author has opinion – we are free to choose but do...
Words: 1039 - Pages: 5
...STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF TRAFFIC VOLUME IN DAVAO CITY FOR A PERIOD OF FIVE YEARS (2007-2011) Reyna Lea C. Rosales Course: Master of Science in Criminology Research Paper In MC 209 Professor: Dr. William A. Revisa TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………..3 II. Discussion A. Traffic Volume Data Collection…………………………………………………...4 B. Objectives of the Traffic Volume Monitoring Program ……………………..5 C. Uses for Traffic Volume Data …………………………………………………….5 D. Ways of conducting Traffic Survey / Methods of Traffic Volume Study……………………………………………...7 E. Importance of Traffic Volume Study …………………………………………..11 F. GLOBAL …………………………………………………………………………….12 G. NATIONAL ………………………………………………………………………….16 H. LOCAL ………………………………………………………………………………17 Table 1 ……………………………………………………………………………...19 I. Data Analysis ……………………………………………………………………….19 III. Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………...20 References ……………………………………………………………………………..21 I. INTRODUCTION Traffic volume studies are taken to determine the number of movements and classifications of vehicles in a specific location. This information can help classify significant flow time periods and determine the influence of large vehicles and/or pedestrians. The time period in which these traffic volumes are calculated will vary depending on what data that is being collected and what its purpose is. Traffic counts are reported as the number of vehicles expected to pass a given location on an average...
Words: 4385 - Pages: 18
...Sydney Faulkner Poem Analysis “The Road Not Taken” By Robert Frost can be defined as a narrative poem because it tells a story, uses symbolism, mood, tone, and assonance typically associated with narratives. The poem describes a person, who chooses between two roads and wonders about his choice later. In the first stanza of the poem the person walks in the woods and comes to the place where two roads go to two different sides. The traveler is full of doubts since he does not want to miss the opportunity and wants to choose the right road. He spends time looking for both roads and thinking about the right choice. The road in this poem becomes a symbol of life, change and transformation. That is the reason the choice becomes so important for the traveler. He thinks not only about the right way to choose in the forest but also about the right path in life. That is the reason we can feel the switch of the mood by the end of the poem. When the traveler realizes that he will not be able to take another road, left by in the past, he regrets it as lost opportunity. He is disappointed because of the opportunity he missed. He states: “I kept the first for another day!” and we can hear regret in his tone. Now he realizes that his choice was final and looking at the road he did not choose, he “doubted if I should ever come back”. By the end of his journey the traveler realizes that each decision we take influences all our further life and this decision cannot be changed. Decisions...
Words: 568 - Pages: 3
...Analyzing Robert Frost’s ‘The Road Not Taken’ “Every life is a march from innocence, through temptation, to virtue or vice.” Lyman Abbott In the poem ‘The Road Not Taken’ Robert Frost toys with the ideas of innocence and experience that one can relate to in his or her own life by the choices they have to make in their day to day lives. Like his other works that explore fundamental questions of existence, depicting the loneliness of an individual in an indifferent universe, the poem ‘The road not taken’ explores a man’s uncertainty to choose from two paths that lay before him. In the following article I shall present a close analysis of Frost’s poem and how it can relate to one’s life. Most people have come across a time where they have to make a decision between two figurative roads. Not sure where to go and unaided, they might choose the road that would take them to the place where they want to go or the road that takes us somewhere new, but either way the path we choose takes us to where we are now. In life situations where we have to choose from different metaphorical paths such as which college to join, which house to buy, etc. there exists a road we took that got us where we are and a metaphorical road not taken. While making such decisions we come across the big question of whether to take the well beaten path or be non-conformists and take the less travelled route. Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” is all about these quandaries present in every person’s life. The...
Words: 1034 - Pages: 5
