...Interpretation on Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken by Endah Wahyuni Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken seems to represent indecision. It tells us about a travelers who is standing in front of two different roads that basically look the same. He doesn’t know where each of the roads leads to, but he should make a choice whether he would take the first road or the other in order to move forward. Of course the roads here are just a symbol. It represents something much concrete in our reality: choices. In our life we are often meet with so much choices that could lead us to our future. The first stanza explains about a traveler in a yellow wood, stood in front of two diverged roads and he can only choose one road to be traveled. So he takes an intense look to the first road to know where it goes, but he can’t get a good look because the road is covered by undergrowth. What does it means? I think the yellow wood is a symbol. Since the road in the wood is yellow, we can picture this as autumn, when leaves change color. Thus, autumn could represent an old phase of someone’s life. If you’re in your late year which means an old person and you have two choices in front of you, it is rather difficult to choose between one of them. Much further, we will never know where are those choices would take us. It is indeed take a long time to make a decision. The traveler then take a look at the other road as well, described in the second stanza. He feels that this road look a little better...
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...Fickzit Explication of Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken 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; 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, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. - Robert Frost (1874-1963) In the poem titled 'The Road Not Taken' by Robert Frost, Frost describes an old man reflecting on a choice he had once made. This is a narrative poem, comprising four stanzas of five lines. In the poem, the poet suggests that a decision can change your life as it has far-reaching, significant consequences. Frost tells us that choices are extremely important. At the beginning of the poem, the speaker regrets that at some point in his life he could not take two roads, and had to be limited to one road only. He tried his best to see what was ahead on one of the roads he could have taken, but there were limitations as the road turned and disappeared in...
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...person they are today and the people they will be in the future. This theme clarifies the ambiguous interpretation of Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” as it is often misconstrued on its underlying meaning. Many believe Robert Frost’s intentions were to convey a message to discover new roads and challenge one’s self. Others believe the poem to stay true to its title and suggest that people should proceed along the road less traveled by others, in other words express individuality. The poem tells the story of Robert Frost himself, who comes to a fork in the road in his life and is not sure as to which path to proceed along. Each path looks just as good as the other, in fact they look exactly the same which is why he finds great difficulty in making a decision. When he finally chooses, he pictures what life would have been if he had taken the other. In this poem “The Road Not Taken”, Robert Frost portrays not of having the ability to make a choice, but rather how a choice defines him as an individual and how this ultimately affects his lives. Frost makes it clear that each path is virtually the same, so instead of the theme being taking the road less traveled by; it is truly about how the choice to take the road less traveled by identifies him as a person. In the first stanza of the poem, Frost discusses what he sees before him; a fork in the road. Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both, And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down...
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...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...
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...Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken, a poem revered for decades, portrays the decisions we face in life; through a narrative. With each of its four stanzas incorporating different literary devices to create a solid storyline, open to interpretation by the reader. A narrative; “a story told, by a narrator about events that may by factual, fictional, or mythical.” (Threadgold 232) described here by Terry Threadgold, is one literary category Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken comes under, due to it containing, “the principal parts of a narrative – setting, complication, climax, denouement, and coda” (Threadgold 231). The setting takes place in a “yellow wood” (Frost 127) where two paths diverge, and the complication comes from deciding which of the two paths the narrator should travel along. The climax arrives when the narrator finds himself torn between his decision and is shortly followed by the denouement when he makes his decision on which path to take, concluding with saying “and that has made all the difference” (Frost 127): the coda. Frost’s poem is also open to interpretation by the reader, whereby they “[do] not necessarily follow the txt’s or the narrative’s instructions” (Threadgold 232), an act that leads to a deeper sense and meaning of the poem. Making it easy to distinguish a metaphorical link between the difficult decisions individuals make in their lives, and the decision between the paths the narrator must make. The connection between Robert Frost’s The Road...
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...Nuckols ID:24404996 WRITING STYLE USED: APA Two Roads, One Choice Jamie Nuckols Liberty University Online Robert Frost (1874-1963) The Road Not Taken - 1920 1. Possible Themes a. Goes own way b. Commitment- stays on path chosen c. Reflection on life with regret 2. Literal Setting a. Time of year- autumn b. In the woods c. Two roads d. evening 3. Mood of Poem a. Undergrowth, Black, Sigh, Difference. Suggests Sadness? b. Doubted- suggests regret? 4. Literary Devices to communicate theme a. Two Roads- One Traveler b. Long I stood c. Kept the first for another day d. I took the one less traveled by Working Thesis Statement The Poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost can be interpreted literally and figuratively. Through Frost’s use of theme, setting, mood and literary devices he sets the stage for the age old dilemma of making decisions in a crisis. Two Roads, One Choice Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” addresses the age old dilemma of making the correct choice and regretting the choice made. A man observes two roads in a wood and through much deliberation chooses the one he thinks has been less worn. The poem can be interpreted literally and figuratively. Through Frost’s use of theme, setting and literary devices he sets the stage for the age old dilemma of making decisions in a crisis. The title of the poem, “The Road Not Taken,” causes readers to begin thinking before they have...
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...Symbolism of the Journey in "The Road Not Taken" and "A Worn Path" ENG125: Introduction to Literature Instructor: Deborah Cunningham Amber Huntley April 9, 2013 Symbolism of the Journey in "The Road Not Taken" and "A Worn Path" When reading a short story or a poem it is not possible to comprehend the author’s true meaning of his or her written word without using symbolism to bring the literary work to life. Oftentimes the symbolism can be interpreted differently by each individual. We do know that the symbolism of literary works are created in the imagination of the writer to show certain events or interrelated facets of the literary work. Moreover, the joy of reading is so that the reader can interpret what these symbols mean to them and begin the wonderful journey into the world of literature. As we read, we begin to unravel and decode the symbolic nature of the characters journey throughout the written word. Also; the journey is not only in the reading of the literary work but, in deciphering the symbolism to find its true meaning as it relates to you, the reader of the short story or poem. Therefore, we can see from Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken,” and Eudora Welty’s short story, “A Worn Path” that the symbolism a writer uses is the journey to discovering the path of the literary work itself. The best example of this symbolic journey is Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken.”. In this poem we read about a man...
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...“The Road Not Taken” is a poem Robert Frost wrote about himself, while reflecting on a personal experience. He brings up when he was to make a tough decision. That with all the evidence was gathered up, it came across as if he had regretted the outcome of the decision along with he is curious as whether the other choices could have been any better. While it is a such an intellectual poem where it could leave many in suspense. When reading “The Road Not Taken” for the first time you might of never been able to tell, weather if Frost was actually regretted the path he had chosen, or the fact that he was truly actually grateful for the path he had taken. It really all depends on how someone is to read Frost’s wording. I believe that the inspiration of this poem had come from the walks he had with his friend, Edward Thomas, of England. In 1914, when both Frost and Thomas lived in Gloucestershire, they had frequently had taken long walks through the countryside. While Thomas would have choose the path he mostly had thought might show his American friend a kind of special interest. Even so when he had gotten to the end of the walk, Thomas would regret his choice. When he would “sigh” over the decision he made is because he thought he might of taken the “better”...
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...journey of “life” that we all make from birth to death. And many of the journeys in life can be a struggle. Eudora Welty’s short story “A Worn Path” is the story of an old woman experiencing a journey in her life with countless struggles along the way. Eudora Welty’s short story “A Warn Path” gives us the journey that an old woman makes out of love for her family and the strong will and determination she has to complete the journey. Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” is a poem about having to make a hard decision during his journey of life. Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” gives us the journey on a man who has to make a decision and choose what path he wants to spend the rest of his life down. Both “A Warn Path” and “The Road Not Taken” have one particular theme which is “Journey,” but both pieces of literature have different content, form and style. While the journey is the theme of each of these pieces of literature, each author gives a different perspective of the journey through different meaning. In the poem “The Road Not Taken,” Robert Frost portrays the journey as the choices people take in their life and the impact of these choices to their future. Frost shows how a choice today has long term effects on what they will become tomorrow. Frost gives the reader the scenario of choosing the path that many others choose, or choosing the path that few choose to solve their choice. One path has to be chosen and Frost...
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...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...
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...Poetry Essay ENGL 102: Literature and Composition Spring 2012 Student Name Student# WRITING STYLE USED MLA Student Name Professor English 102 22 April 2012 Analysis of Robert Frost's “The Road Not Taken” Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road not Taken” is a lyrical poem that describes the author’s thoughts when he comes to a fork in the road and the difficult decision of which path to take. It is a closed form poem with a rhyming scheme of “ABAAB” with 4 stanzas of 5 lines each. The fork in the road symbolizes decisions individuals make in life. With his used of mood, symbolism, setting, and imagery, Robert Frost describes the dilemma of decision making and how those decisions play a part in one’s future choices. The poem can be used to describe how an individual decides to follow Jesus Christ, the faith that it requires to do so, and the result of giving your life to Him. The poem begins with “Two Roads diverged in a yellow wood”, symbolizing the different choices individuals have in life. The author explains to the reader that the decision is weighed out carefully and not hastily. Even as the author talks of trying to look down the road as far as possible, there is no sure way of seeing what is at the end. This symbolization can also be used to describe the way people try to make difficult decisions. Even though they may try to intelligently predict the outcome, these tough choices rarely have the answer easily found and requires...
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...Robert Frost and Shaun Tan use different mediums and techniques in order to represent similar ideas about journeys. Journeys can lead to self-growth. Choice, change, discoveries and new experiences can all result in having undertaken a journey. Shaun Tan and Robert Frost have each explored these ideas in 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...
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...The Revealing of Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” Virginia White Liberty University Thesis: Through his use of imagery, symbolism, and emotion, Frost creates the theme of the importance of making the right choice in life. 1. Introduction and Thesis 2. Imagery a. Picture of 2 roads b. Person is in a yellow wood c. 1 path was grassy, one was worn d. Brings reader back at the end 3. Symbolism e. Comparing 2 roads to 2 choices in life f. Determining the outcomes of the choices by looking as far as he could down both paths g. Abrupt decision making h. Importance of making the right choice 4. Emotion i. Insecure/unsure in the beginning j. A little eager in the middle, taking risks k. Sad/melancholy at the end 5. Close The Revealing of Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” One of Robert Frost’s best poems, “The Road Not Taken”, is a very realistic poem, making one think about their current situation in life and how important making choices can be. Frost finds himself at a halt at a crossroad in life, weighing the options of each path that he could possibly take. Through his use of imagery, symbolism, and emotion, Frost creates the theme of the importance of making the right choice in life. Frost uses imagery a lot in this poem, making one imagine where he was standing at that current time. The imagery used really contributes a lot to the poem...
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...Poetry Essay ENGL 102 Composition and Literature Spring A 2011 Nicholas Leonard MLA OUTLINE I. Thesis: The use of Imagery, sooth words, and a unique rhythm are ways that authors of poems try to attract readers but in Robert Frost’s “The road not taken” he compels the reader by using aspects in his life to appeal to readers and maybe even without realizing it himself. II. Background on the author a. Family b. Travel c. Education d. Work III. Setting of poem e. Relation to authors background f. Culture g. Environment IV. Symbolism h. Definitions i. Decisions j. Outcome of decision V. Conclusion k. Restate thesis The Decision The use of Imagery, sooth words, and a unique rhythm are ways that authors of poems try to attract readers but in Robert Frost’s “The road not taken” he compels the reader by using aspects in his life to appeal to readers and maybe even without realizing it himself. This aspect in his poems can be difficult for people to analyze what he was trying to portray in his poems, so if we decide to go there we must analyze every aspect of Mr. Frost to get a clearer image of what he truly is saying. Robert Frost was born on March 26, 1874 in San Francisco California to a previous cotton plant family from New England. Frost graduated high school as valedictorian in 1892 and started collage at Dartmouth but ended abruptly as he asked a lovely Elinor...
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...ROBERT FROST Born on the day of March 26, 1874, in San Francisco, California, Robert Lee Frost was one of America’s most famous poets. Frost received four Pulitzer Prizes before he died in 1963. The first one in 1924 for New Hampshire: A Poem with Notes and Grace Notes, then in1931 for Collected Poems, in 1937 for A Further Range, and the last on in 1943 for A Witness Tree. Married to Elinor Miriam White, who was his co-valedictorian at high school, he lived in various locations throughout his life, in San Francisco, California for the first ten years of his life, then moved to New England where he lived most of his years; he also lived in Great Britain for three years where he met Edward, T. E. Hulme and Ezra Pound. Pound would become the first American to write a review of Frost's work; it was also in England that Frost wrote some of his best work. Robert Frost attended Dartmouth College, where he stayed for a little over a semester, and also Harvard University for two years. Robert Frost grew up in a state of turmoil. From his tumultuous childhood right up until his death, Frost was a character who could speak at Harvard and live on a farm in New Hampshire. He could dazzle the brightest students with poetic ingenious, but boil life down to, “It’s hard to get into this world and hard to get out of it. And what’s in between doesn’t make much sense. If that sounds pessimistic, let it stand”. Robert Frost’s poems “Mending Wall” and “The Road Not Taken” both exemplify the struggle...
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