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Road not taken by robert frost critical analysis
Road not taken by robert frost critical analysis
The road not taken by robert frost literary analysis
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In the daily battles of life, everyone is provided with unique opportunities, which leads to tough decisions. The satisfaction and happiness that comes from that decision depend on the fruits that it bears in the future. That is why it’s truly important to make sure you make the right decisions for yourself when opportunities approach you. That is the case in Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken.” In this poem, the poet personifies two roads and provides metaphors of its true meaning. Frost relays the message of life choices through direct symbolism, great use of imagery, and an influential paradox. The symbolism portrayed in Frost’s poem emphasizes the importance of life choices and decision making. With every decision in life, there is always …show more content…
The phrase, “yellow wood” helped distinguish the season as fall during the time (1). One can imagine the site of yellow leaves hanging on trees with shed leaves under them and feeling the cool breeze of air touching their skin. The author’s use of words makes the reader examine its true meaning which allows it to paint the perfect picture in his or her mind. Also, “To where it bent in the undergrowth”, emphasizes that one road was so clustered with the growth of plants and shrubs throughout (5). The ability to look farther down the road was not there. Many times in life, people prefer to make a choice while looking into the deep future, but just like the undergrowth, one can not see the complete future, no matter how far they seek it. Frost goes on to describe the same path as “grassy and wanted wear” (8). These lines give insight into how much worse that specific path was physically, but it also provides a unique perspective. “Grassy and wanted wear” also reveals that people often do not choose that path. The lack of feet strolling through the grass and people tending to the path allows it to get in its physical state. This correlates with real-life scenarios because the path that’s chosen the most will always have an easy walkway for you to transition, but the path that wants wear will be much more of a challenge due to the numerous obstacles and new experiences one has to
In his poem, The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost wrote, "Two roads diverge in the woods, and I took the one least traveled by/ And that has made all the difference." In this poem, the narrator had a choice of two roads. However, I've discovered that life is a little more complicated. Sometimes the path we embark on is not always the one we choose. Sometimes we are pushed or pulled in certain directions and we have to react to our environment.
I will now explain how Frost used literal and figurative techniques to describe a man traveling through the woods and his thoughts on deciding which road to take. Literally, the man appeared to be content with his travels until he reached the fork in the road, and had to make a decision. Figuratively, he is a man who was living his life and became troubled when he was faced with a big decision.
Decisions are an everyday part of life. Although many decisions made throughout the day may not be crucial to our path of life, most every decision will affect life in some way. Pop tart or bagel, milk or orange juice, as well as drive or take the bus are all choices people make to begin their day, but Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” is a perfect example of a life altering decision. Frost wrote this poem when his dear friend, Edward Thomas, was stuck between staying with Frost and becoming a poet, or going to war against Germany in World War I. “Two Roads”, later changed to “The Road Not Taken”, angered Thomas, and caused him to enlist in the war, only to be killed in action two months later at Arras on Easter Day. "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost has a literal meaning from the speaker, or traveler, of the road he did not take, but the deeper meaning certainly shows how decisions alter your life.
Frost’s use of metaphors and imagery makes the reader feel as if they have seen the complete journey of life. His use of imagery is so vivid. After reading this poem the reader is capable of interpreting this poem from different perspectives. It gives you a sense of understanding of the true meaning of valor. Everyone is here for a reason, but some people are here to take the task of valor.
In “The Road Not Taken” Frost emphasizes that every person is a traveler choosing the roads to follow on the map of their continuous journey-life. There is never a straight path that leads a person one sole direction in which to head. Regardless of the original message that Robert Frost had intended to convey, “The Road Not Taken” has left me with many different interpretations. Throughout this poem, it is obvious that decisions are not easy to make and each decision will lead you down a different path.
In his celebrated poem "The Road Not Taken," Robert Frost describes the decision one makes when reaching a fork in the road. Some interpret Frost as suggesting regret on the part of the traveler as to not choosing the path he forgoes, for in doing so he has lost something significant. Others believe he is grateful for the selection, as it has made him the man he is. The diverging roads are symbolic of the choices society is faced with every day of life. Choosing one course will lead the traveler in one direction, while the other will likely move away, toward a completely different journey. How does one know which is the right path; is there a right path? The answer lies within each individual upon reflection of personal choices during the course of life's unfolding, as well as the attitude in which one looks to the future.
This poem by Robert Frost was first read to me in the last year of my high school experience. Back then, not only did I have absolutely no interest in any literary work, but moreover, had no intension to lye there and analyze a poem 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.
“The Road Not Taken” examines the struggles people run into when they come to a place in their life where a life altering decisions has to be made. The man who is described in this poem is traveling when he comes upon “two roads diverged” (1). He then has to choose which path he will take to continue on his journey. After standing at the diversion for a while, he knows he has to make a final decision. One path was worn down and “bent in the undergrowth” (5), so he took the other path, which was described as “perhaps the better claim/ Because it was grassy and wanted wear” (6-7). The man of the poem begins to ponder about a time when he will be telling his story of the path he took. Although we are not sure if the man regrets his decision or is relieved, he lets us know taking the road less traveled “has made all the difference” (20).
Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” provide us contrasting and sometimes similar glimpses of life. “The Road Not Taken” is about taking control and living life. “Stopping by Woods on Snowy Evening” entails the desire for rest, perhaps due to the speaker’s feelings of weariness from facing life’s struggles. The poet also explains the tough choices people stand before when traveling the road of life. Sometimes people regret the possibilities of the road not chosen, sometimes people feel proud about the road they have chosen.
Therefore, Frost chooses to affirm that most people will not come back to that same fork in the road. Ultimately, philosophical ideals concerning the question on free will were likely what inspired Frost to write his compelling poem. The freedom of choice is explored in this poem as well as the possibility of predestination versus free will: the ability human’s possess to make choices. Some can argue that Frost’s path was already set out but in fact he was the one who had control of the option that he knew he would later reminisce on. For example, Sartre, a philosopher believes that humans simply exist and are free to make their own meaning of life.
He uses metaphor to illustrate the process of decision making and the acceptance of the result of that decision. Frost recognizes the difficulty of making life decision to the difficulty of choosing the road. For example, "Two Roads diverged in a yellow wood" (1). The two roads represent tough decision in life that must be made. Frost also recognizes the significance the decision will have on his future.
In Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”, Frost shows the everyday human struggle to make a choice that could change the course of one’s life. In his poem, a person has the choice to take one road or the other. One road is worn out from many people taking it, and the other is barely touched, for fewer have taken that road. Throughout the poem, the speaker learns that just because so many other people have done one thing, or walked one way, does not mean everyone has to. Sometimes you just have to go your own way.
Frost uses nature as a reflection of human experiences; just like humanity it can have seasons and life cycles. He uses different scenes to depict a certain mood for readers to step into the psychological happening of a man. The idea of how seasons change, Frost compares it through the life cycles that humans encounter. Contrary to popular opinion, I believe that nature is not Frost’s central theme in his poetry; it is about the relationship that man has with nature in which can be seen from “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”, “The Road Not Taken”, and “An Old Man’s Winter Night.”
In the deep crevices between the tufts of grass, the shadows stalked slowly upward, submerging the sandy earth in an inky sea. The sun sank until only its last, thin razor of light glimmered over the fields. Time stretched its ancient joint...
There are many choices that one needs to make on a daily basis to simply get through the day. Life choices however are more important and have an everlasting effect on the individual. They are less frequent but have more of an impact on one’s life. The writer Robert Frost chose to use the poem “The Road not Taken” to show how one’s decisions can change the outcome of your life. Frost used the details of picking the road, the inability to reverse his choice, the consequences of his judgment, along with the external factors that influenced his judgments to express to the readers how life’s decisions make a difference all by writing a poem.