...APA Thesis: Robert Frost’s, “The Road Not Taken” uses symbolic language to describe his turmoil in deciding which direction he should go in. This lyric poem expresses the thoughts and feelings of a single speaker. I. Introduction a. Coming to a fork in the road the how to decide II. Body a. Setting b. Choosing the right direction in life III. Symbolic Meaning a. Imagery IV. Conclusion Road Not Taken Essay The first line of the poem leads me to believe that this takes place in early autumn because he speaks of leaves of golden and green and mentions that there are leaves on the ground. The poem consists of four stanzas and five lines all with a rhyme scheme of ABAAB. In the poem it doesn’t mention where he’s going or where he’s coming from but there is a dilemma he is facing because he has come to a fork in the road. As he stands and ponders which direction he should take, he analyses both roads. In the beginning he believes that one is less traveled than the other but as he continues to observe them both he rethinks his first opinion and believes they have been traveled equally. I guess that was his initial process of elimination in choosing which direction to go based on which road had been traveled the most. Since both were traveled equally he had to make a decision on his own. He attempted to look as far down each road as his eyes could see but found a bend it the road which prevented him from seeing as far...
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...that a poem or a short story can carry the same message or make the same point or so we think. Just because they may fall under the same category does not mean that the carry the same meaning. For example “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost and “A Worn Road” by Welty are both about the directions that can be taken in life. We all at one or another are faced with having to make a choice that will affect us for the rest of our life. Some paths may lead us down the right road to happiness and wealth. While other paths, may lead us down heartache and sorrow. At the end it is up to us on how we live the life that we choose for your self’s. The two reading that I choose to compare and contrast are “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost and “A Worn Road” by Welty. As it looks at first glance they might be about the same thing, but in reality they are not. One is a poem and the other written as a short story. They both talk about the paths, roads and choice in life. “The Road Not Taken” is about a journey and choice and decision on what or which way to go in life and also the unknown. This poem is about the decision and the direction of life and where it might take you. The second is a short story about an old women and her journey in life. She recalls stories and the path that she has traveled many of times. On her travels she is dreaming and talking to herself and letting her imagination get the best of her. The first...
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...B 2011 WRITING STYLE USED Turabian Thesis “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost is a lyrical poem in which the emotion, symbolism, and certain rhythmic patterns are used to emphasize the thematics of the poem and the message the speaker is trying to deliver by writing it. Outline I. Introduction a. “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost II. Theme a. Literal: i.e. “fork in the road” as an actual path b. Symbolic: i.e. “fork in the road” as a contemplated decision III. Mood of the speaker a. Uncertain at the opening b. Satisfied with the conclusion in the statement, “and that has made all the difference” IV. Symbolism a. Christian perspective b. Choice between good and evil V. Rhythmic patterns a. Assonance b. Alliteration c. Consonance VI. Conclusion Poetry Essay In order to acceptably examine a poem, the reader must be able to interpret the representation and significances in what the poet has written it. Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” is a lyrical poem in which the emotion, symbolism, and certain rhythmic patterns are used to accentuate the thematic of the poem. It also helps to interpret the message the author or presenter is trying to send by writing it. Poems often times will have an actual, literal meaning as well as an unseen, symbolic, fundamental meaning that the speaker is trying to express to the reader. For example, in this poem the poet begins by standing at a fork in the road. He takes some time to consider which path he will take...
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...stay bare through the winter. In spring, the first green to appear is really gold as the buds break open. The willows and maples have this temporary gold hue. In only a few days, the leaves mature to green. Figurative Language Figurative language uses "figures of speech" - a way of saying something other than the literal meaning of the words. For example, "All the world's a stage" Frost often referred to them simply as "figures." Frost said, "Every poem I write is figurative in two senses. It will have figures in it, of course; but it's also a figure in itself - a figure for something, and it's made so that you can get more than one figure out of it." Cook Voices p235 Metaphor A figure of speech in which a comparison is made between two things essentially unalike. To Frost, metaphor is really what poetry is all about. He is notably a poet of metaphors more than anything else. This is so important, we should hear directly from the poet. Frost said," Poetry begins in trivial metaphors, pretty metaphors, 'grace metaphors,' and goes on to the profoundest thinking that we have. Poetry provides the one permissible way of saying one thing and meaning another. People say, 'Why don't you say what you mean?' We never do that, do we, being all of us too much poets. We like to talk in parables and in hints and in indirections - whether from diffidence or from some other instinct". ... Excerpt from an essay entitled "Education by Poetry" by Robert Frost. Examples: The Silken...
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...“The Road Not Traveled. Outline: The Road Not Traveled • Decision Making • Mood Setting • Significant Title Literary Device • Communication • Contradictions Narrator Final Thoughts The theme of the poem is decision making. The Road Not Taken is a decision we have to make every day. The decisions we make in life determines the outcome of the future. Just as if the road that “was grassy and wanted wear” was less traveled, our decision depends on if we are going to take the grassy road that no one else took or take the other road that everyone took. I believe that the setting in the poem is a gloomy setting in deep thought. I feel as though he may have been walking to clear his mind and came upon a fork in the road and he had to make a decision to go left or to go right. The lines “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” “…Because it was grassy and wanted wear …”(Frost, Robert. “The Road Not Taken”, 1874-1963) are the lines that lead me to believe that he was out just walking to clear his mind when he came upon a fork in the road. A specific word in the poem is what gave me the information to think that the setting is gloomy and he was in deep thought; undergrowth. Undergrowth pertains to a deep forest or a area of land that has grown up to be thick and full of trees. The setting of the poem, The Road Not...
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...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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...into its symbolic definitions. Only now have I been taught the proper way to read a literary work as a formalistic critic might read. With this new approach to literature I can understand the underlying meaning to Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken". In addition to merely grasping the author's intension, I was able to justly incur that this poem, without directly mentioning anything about life's decisions, is in its entirety about just that. Robert Frost interpreted most of the decisions we make in life into this twenty-line poem of a man choosing which path to take in a "yellow wood". Everyday I make a decision to do a certain task, take that certain walk, or to sit at home and do absolutely nothing. Being one person, I can never know for sure what the exact outcome might be if I were to choose the other decision. For instance, I take a leisurely walk every night and I sacrifice my time to do something else. Although this may not always account to me personally, I do sometimes think what the other choice may have brought me. And often times, I complete the task with a sense of relief, a "sigh" perhaps, that the choice I made turned to be a well-made decision. Though most people rarely look into the sacrifice of decision making the way Robert Frost does, it is indeed a highly examined way too understand "a path less traveled by". The first stanza introduced the reader to the decision the author would have to make. "Two roads diverged...
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...way. Everyone in life or spirit, will often reflect back on the path or road one has choose to contemplate, with never truly knowing if it we did choose the right or wrong direction. I will compare and contrast the literary works of “The Road Not Taken”, by Robert Frost and “I Used to Live Here Once”, by Jean Rhys. The two literary works attention is on the journey that an individual has decided to take through life. One of the narratives focuses on symbolizing choice, while the other is death, but in the same way are similar, because life itself is a journey that can lead into a life or death situation. “A symbol is an object, person, or action that conveys two meaning: its own literal meaning and something it stands for as well,” (Clugston, 2010). “The Road Not Taken” uses symbolism by starting with “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,” (Frost, 1916). Two roads diverged is symbolizing the looking back, (a reflection point one has on life altering choices) on life’s lessons, (events) that have impacted one’s journey, while out of curiosity wondering where the other road may have lead. The yellow wood helps the reader to imagine fall leaves bedding on the woods floor, also enforcing the traveler has aged and is looking back in life. Frost uses symbolism with metaphors throughout the lines of his poem. This poem ends with showing us that a traveler is standing back reflecting on the split roads, or...
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...completely new forms of literature that were more of the times which intensified after World War I. The desire for the importance of literature in the modern world was the typical belief of most modernist writers, which included Frost. Robert Frost is a modern poet due to his poetry having been awarded with the mindfulness of the problems of man living in the modern world. Science and Technology were dominating the modern world of the times. Frost was quoted to say "The object in writing poetry is to make all poems sound as different as possible from each other. But for this, in addition to the tricks any poet knows, we need the help of context--meaning--subject matter. That is the greatest help towards variety. All that can be done with words is soon told. So also with meters. . . . The possibilities for tune from the dramatic tones of meaning struck across the rigidity of a limited meter are endless. And we are back in poetry as merely one more art of having something to say, sound or unsound. Probably better if sound, because deeper and from wider experience." (VanDoren). His ideas of keeping with himself are seen in his poetry throughout his life. “Mending Wall” is the first work in Frost's second book of poetry, “North of Boston,” which was published upon his return from England in 1915. While living in England with his family, Frost was...
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...The Road Not Taken Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth;Then took the other, as just as fair,And having perhaps the better claimBecause it was grassy and wanted wear,Though as for that the passing thereHad worn them really about the same,And both that morning equally layIn leaves no step had trodden black.Oh, I marked the first for another day!Yet knowing how way leads on to wayI doubted if I should ever come back.I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere 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 Symbolism and Theme in Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” High school graduation motivational speeches and even inspirational quotes often contain words from Robert Frost`s famous poem, "The Road Not Taken". "It is a beautiful poetic statement of bold independence and personal innovation". Whichever choice is taken in life, one will always wonder what possibilities the other choice may have held. Frost's setting and scene are imbued with symbolic meaning. The first stanza opens up with the line "The roads diverged in a yellow wood" (Frost 1). The use of the word "yellow" could demonstate either spring or fall- a calm time of the year. Lives are like roads, with split paths representing...
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...new forms of literature that were more of the times which intensified after World War I. The desire for the importance of literature in the modern world was the typical belief of most modernist writers, which included Frost. Robert Frost is a modern poet due to his poetry having been awarded with the mindfulness of the problems of man living in the modern world. Science and Technology were dominating the modern world of the times. Frost was quoted to say "The object in writing poetry is to make all poems sound as different as possible from each other. But for this, in addition to the tricks any poet knows, we need the help of context--meaning--subject matter. That is the greatest help towards variety. All that can be done with words is soon told. So also with meters. . . . The possibilities for tune from the dramatic tones of meaning struck across the rigidity of a limited meter are endless. And we are back in poetry as merely one more art of having something to say, sound or unsound. Probably better if sound, because deeper and from wider experience." (VanDoren). His ideas of keeping with himself are seen in his poetry throughout his life. “Mending Wall” is the first work in Frost's second book of poetry, “North of Boston,” which was published upon his return from England in 1915. While living in England with his family, Frost was exceptionally homesick...
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...(book, 2011) Symbolism of the Journey ENG 125 September 11, 2011 Symbolism of the Journey, a comparison of two stories The short stories “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty and “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost are both stories that involve using the journey as a symbol. The symbol that the journey portrays in both of these pieces of literature is that of life. Life as a human being involves the right of choice in one of the literary works, and a lack of choice in the second. This paper will compare and contrast these two literary works which share the same theme. The comparison of the two stories will involve a comparison of the content, form, and style in an effort to provide deep insight into the theme of the stories; as well as insight into the hidden meanings poetry offers its readers to touch us on a deeper level. Content In the story “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty, content is developed through a complex series of descriptions. The story begins with a description of the setting which is a cold December morning in a far off path through a pinewood forest. The character is an old Negro woman who is described as being very old and small and wearing a head tied red rag. The woman is further described as wearing a dark red stripped dress and apron and carrying a cane and an umbrella. These descriptions of the setting give the reader a clear picture of the setting and character in the story as well as how the character moves when the author describes her as moving...
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...the broad meaning of his words so that they apply to everyone. In his poem "Acquainted with the Night", Frost uses symbolism and rhythm skims to convey through the speaker what many feel are lonesome feelings of isolation from some awful deeds, which the speaker feels ashamed of. Others may view the poem as being full of optimistic, life proclaiming symbolism that reflects the speaker's pride in choosing the road less traveled. His use of symbolic ideas allows for his work to be interpreted in various ways, and every reader can find their own meaning to his words. Robert Frost experienced many losses in his life including his father in 1885, his mother in 1900, his sister in 1929, and four of his six children, two of which died at very early ages. Of course everyone experiences losses in their lives, but one can imagine the profound effect the death of a child would have on one's disposition. The often gloomy and even depressing tones of many of his poems can be seen as a projection of his own depression and feelings of loss. Most people read "Acquainted with the Night" as dealing with the ideas of loneliness, depression, sufferings, and even contemplation of suicide. Everyone can relate to the feelings of isolation as most go through a period of such feelings themselves, if to varying degrees. The first line of the poem tells the reader that night is a metaphor with profound symbolic meaning. Everyone is familiar with what night is, so there must be a deeper meaning behind the...
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...Two Similar Paths Eng125: Introduction To Literature February 7, 2011 The short stories entitled A Worn Path by Eudora Welty and The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost are extremely opposites in many different aspects however they can have somewhat of a similar meaning. They were both written twenty years apart. Either piece of literature has a long list of characters. A Worn Path’s main focus is about a black woman in the year of 1941. The journeys that are characterized in these writings are symbolic of some meaningful lifelong precedence that one should adhere to. I intend to show that these to paths may not cross one another but they do symbolize hope and promise is at the end of the journey. In The Road Not Taken, roads in the woods and forks in roads symbolize crises and decisions. Similar forks symbolize for us the center of free will and fate. (Frost, 1916) We are free to choose, but we do not really know beforehand what we are choosing between. Our direction is determined by a choice and it is impossible to separate the two. This poem does not advise. It does not say, “When you come to a fork in the road, study the footprints and take the road less traveled by. Frost’s focus is more complicated. First, there is no less-traveled road in this poem; it isn’t even an option. Next, the poem seems more concerned with the question of how the concrete present will look from a future vantage point. (Frost, 1916) In A Worn Path, is the tale of the unstoppable love and care...
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...By Stacy Tohar In the Road Not Taken by Robert Frost the reader is left with ambiguity about the personal impact on the traveler of choosing one road over the other, and therefore ambiguity about the impact on a person from making one life choice to the exclusion of another, as this poem is of course a poem about life choices. The definition of the word ambiguity is doubtfulness or uncertainty of meaning or intention.It is unclear whether the subject of the poem, the traveler, feels contentment, regret, or both about his choice of roads. However, from the poem’s conclusion, it appears that the author intended that the ambiguity remain without resolution, just as is often the case with life choices and the impact of those choices. In the Road Not Taken, the traveler stands at a fork in the road and must choose one road over the other. Of course, this is a metaphorical fork, symbolizing life choices and paths. Knowing that he must choose one road over the other, the traveler attempts to look as far down the way as possible in an attempt to see where each road will take him. This is as in life, where we must attempt to visualize the impact of choosing one life choice over another. However, as with life choices, the traveler cannot see the consequences of one choice over the other with any certainty: “And looked down one as far as I could to where it bent in the undergrowth.”(4-5). The traveler can only see that one road is more heavily traveled, and the other unworn,...
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