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The Road Not Taken's True Meaning
Robert Frost contribution to literature and society
The Road Not Taken's True Meaning
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Many people while reading poems take the blunt force of what is being said word by word, but that is where people go wrong. Poetry is deep and meaningful pieces of literature making understanding poems very challenging for some people. The most misunderstood poem ever written would have to be Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” mainly because people seem to be individualized and not read into the irony Robert Frost is telling. Being able to go deeper into your own thoughts and thinking outside of the box to find the true meaning of what is being said is how you figure out what the authors are trying to say. What seems like a straight forward poem that we constantly hear people saying “take the road less traveled” really takes on a whole …show more content…
George uses different pieces of literature from a variety of authors to bring people in perspective of what is being said in the poem. What George thinks is the major key in figuring out the meaning is by us as readers paying close attention to the three distinct ages that the speaker faces in the poem. Many authors have gave people hints telling them that the poem is a very tricky poem yet people still go with their instincts that have been glued into their brains about “choosing the road less traveled” (Frost). The way George is taking the poem is that there is the speaker which is a middle aged man, the younger self in the beginning of the poem and the older self towards the end of the poem. As the poem goes on the whole time it is talking about sorrows, claims, and choices during the three phases of life to make the person he is today. William George’s work like Nathan Cervo’s is very advanced and is meant for people who understand how to clarify the vocabulary in the source. This would be a great tool for me to use to make sure I am on the right track with my life and taking the path with less complications, making sure I have my head on straight with the correct goals to …show more content…
It’s everywhere, when discussing the poem the first thing that is going to be talked about is the misunderstanding. Christina Sterbenz talks about the misleading poem but in a non-scholarly way. She talks about the irony in which Frost wrote his famous poem. Choosing between two different paths that look almost identical and in the end saying “one less traveled… made all the difference.” When really what Sternbenz states “So the point of the poem is that everyone wants to look back and think that their choices matter. But in reality, shit just happens the way it happens, and it doesn’t matter.” (Sternbenz, 2014), showing that things are going to happen good and bad either way you go so just make a decision and live with whatever come next. This would be very helpful in telling myself that whenever decisions come along just choose one and work around the decision that has been
Poetry is a form of art in which an exclusive arrangement and choice of words help bring about a desired emotional effect. Robert Frost said that a poem is formed when “an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.” His popular poem, "The Road Not Taken," like any other poem, has as many interpretations as it has readers. Using rhetorical analysis, one can break down the meaning(s) of this seemingly simple poem.
“George Gray” is a poem about a man who missed out on many of life’s opportunities because he was so afraid of failure that he did not even try. He passed up love because he was afraid of being hurt, ambition because he dreaded all the changes that came with it and sorrow because he feared the pain. The poem begins with “George” staring at his own gravestone and realizing that there was nothing special to be said about him because he had done nothing with his life. He looked back on his life and realized that it would be so much harder then to regain all of his missed opportunities. The whole poem was a metaphor using a boat to represent “George’s” life and at the end, he let the boat sail freely and be guided by the winds of destiny. He regretted all of the opportunities that he had missed and by the time he realized that he never lived his life, it was too late to live it to its fullest. Therefore, life should be lived to its fullest so that when it is over, there are no regrets.
The poem is set in the fall when the leaves are changing colors and beginning to cover the ground. The speaker of the poem is faced with an unfamiliar fork in the road and is forced to decide which direction he or she must go. As the speaker is deliberating, he is “sorry” he cannot just travel both and it appears to be because the speaker has a fear of picking the wrong one (Frost 2). Although he “looked down one as far as I could” there was no seeing the end (4). Just like in a life, it is possible to have an idea of what will happen and there is no telling which choices will turn out beneficial and which will not. The speaker knows that although the paths are similar the outcome of picking the wrong one could be life changing. Even though he is upset he must trust in himself to know which one would be best for him in the long run.
“Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words,” Robert Frost once said. As is made fairly obvious by this quote, Frost was an adroit thinker. It seems like he spent much of his life thinking about the little things. He often pondered the meaning and symbolism of things he found in nature. Many readers find Robert Frost’s poems to be straightforward, yet his work contains deeper layers of complexity beneath the surface. His poems are not what they seem to be at first glance. These deeper layers of complexity can be clearly seen in his poems “The Road Not Taken”, “Fire and Ice”, and “Birches”.
In the eulogy that President John F. Kennedy gave for the lately departed poet, Robert Frost, only three out of the four common elements that Kunkel and Dennis found in eulogies can be found in this specific eulogy. The elements I found in this eulogy are positive reappraisal, praise, and problem-focused coping while self-disclosure of emotion, credibility, affirmation of vivid past relationships, and continuation of interactive bonds could not be found. John Kennedy imminently starts off with a positive reappraisal: “Robert Frost was one of the granite figures of our time in America. He was supremely two things—an artist and an American,” (lines 3-4). Kennedy is telling the thousands listening that Robert Frost not only had a good life but
The central image that Frost presents, which is the path, provides a clear picture that the reader can focus on in order to reveal something about the poem. The “two roads diverged in a yellow wood'; vividly portray the fact that it is always difficult to make a decision because it is impossible not to wonder about the opportunity that 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 that one encounters. 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 as he may strain his eyes to see how far the road stretches, eventually it surpasses his vision and he can never see where it is going to lead. It is the path that he chooses that sets him off on his journey and determines where he is going and what he will encounter.
Mending Wall, by Robert Frost portrays the routines of two neighbors who are constantly mending the fence, or wall, that separates their properties. If a stone is missing form the fence, you can bet that the two men are out there putting it back together piece by piece.
"Out, Out--" by Robert Frost is a poem about a young boy who dies as a result of cutting his hand using a saw. In order to give the reader a clear picture of this bizarre scenario, Frost utilizes imagery, personification, blank verse, and variation in sentence length to display various feelings and perceptions throughout the poem. Frost also makes a reference to Macbeth's speech in the play by Shakespear called Macbeth which is somewhat parallel to the occurrences in "Out, Out-."
Robert Frost’s poem “Out, out” is set in Vermont during the late afternoon and is about a young boy who is cutting wood for the family stove and gets his hand cut off ultimately resulting in death. Frost uses this poem as a way to show that life has little sympathy for the dead. He does this by using many literary techniques such as imagery, personification, allusion, and blank verse. All of these techniques are important when understanding this poem because it helps to convey certain feeling and emotions from Frost’s perspective. The theme, symbols, and literary techniques Frost uses are essential in coming to terms with how to portray this poem.
The meaning of Frost’s poem is similar to the book Night by Elie Wiesel. In both situations, the characters are tested to make a decision and accept the consequences that may develop. Elie
In his poem 'Mending Wall', Robert Frost presents to us the thoughts of barriers linking people, communication, friendship and the sense of security people gain from barriers. His messages are conveyed using poetic techniques such as imagery, structure and humor, revealing a complex side of the poem as well as achieving an overall light-hearted effect. Robert Frost has cleverly intertwined both a literal and metaphoric meaning into the poem, using the mending of a tangible wall as a symbolic representation of the barriers that separate the neighbors in their friendship.
...eled it until then and it sets up a story to tell everyone if he says he took the road less traveled by (Frost’s Early Poems). One can better understand this if he were to look at this situation like choosing between two degrees to pursue in college. They both may have the same prerequisites and mostly the same classes within the major, but this choice sets the stage for the rest of his life and the story he will tell others and recollect down the road. Through this poem, one can see that Frost is trying to portray that one’s decisions count at the very beginning and will affect one’s life until the end.
In this poem, Frost illustrates that every person has his own opinion. He states “Then took the other, just as fair, and having perhaps the better claim” (line 6-7). What make it better was “it was grassy and wanted wear” (line 8). It was something that was obviously not for everyone because it seems that the other people take the more popular one. “And both that morning equally lay/ In leaves no step had trodden black” (line 11). No one had yet to pass by on this road since the leaves have fallen. “I kept the first for another day” (line 13). The desire to travel down both paths is expressed and is not unusual, but “knowing how way leads onto way” (line 14). The speaker of this poem realizes that the decision is not just a temporary one, and he “doubted if I should ever come back”
In his poem 'Mending Wall', Robert Frost presents to us the ideas of barriers between people, communication, friendship and the sense of security people gain from barriers. His messages are conveyed using poetic techniques such as imagery, structure and humour, revealing a complex side of the poem as well as achieving an overall light-hearted effect. Robert Frost has cleverly intertwined both a literal and metaphoric meaning into the poem, using the mending of a tangible wall as a symbolic representation of the barriers that separate the neighbours in their friendship.
Robert Frost, well known American poet of 191 poems, has a common message in his writing. Focusing mainly on Birches, The Road Not Taken, Dust of Snow, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, Beech, Come In, and In Winter In, his main message is to always focus on the positive when everything else is trying to pull you down. This idea could also be seen as trying to always keep a positive attitude. The thesis above can be proven through a textual analysis.