Let Me Die a Young Man's Death, by Roger McGough, The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost, and Where the Sidewalk Ends, by Shel Silverstein

A vast number of poets choose to write about and express their thoughts on life and how to go about living life. Be it living towards a better future or living in such a way that is different from the social norms of society. “Let Me Die a Youngman’s Death” written by Roger McGough, “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost and “Where the Sidewalk Ends” by Shel Silverstein all share the same theme of life. It is their perceptions about how life should be lived and the ways in which people make decisions and certain lifestyle choices where their messages differ. McGough wants to live a life with no boundaries, reckless and wild. He hopes that he may die with a bang, so he can be remembered, not simply fade away and give in to old age. “The Road Not Taken” states that when there is a fork in the road, there are two ways in which a person can go. Ultimately, in order to succeed or make it anywhere in life, for that matter, one needs to decide and take the risk. Silverstein, on the contrary, believes that the world is moving too fast, and that people need to slow down enjoy all of life’s pleasures; forget about the seriousness of the world. Each of these poets displays their thoughts through the use of various techniques within their poems. These include repetition, assonance and alliteration, diction.

Repetition is another technique which all of the poets make use of in these particular poems. Repetition reinforces different aspects surrounding the main theme drawing close attention to the message which they were trying to get across. A perfect example of this would be from Where the Sidewalk Ends when Silverstein says “where the side walk ends” and “Walk with a walk that is measured and slow,” By not only using the phrase “where the s...

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... the various techniques each poet has used in their poems one can understand how they are used in relation to the theme/s of life. Repetition is used to reinforce the main points about life that the poet was trying to get across. It was the size of the phrases or words being repeated that reflected their overall importance and how this was then perceived by readers. The diction although simple and meant for a general audience was different in the way that words were used to evoke different thoughts and emotions about life. Assonance and alliteration brought musicality and rhythm to the poetry however; it also sets the pace of the rhythm thus reflecting McGough and Silverstein’s respective views of life. Roger McGough, Robert Frost and Shel Silverstein have all successfully used these techniques to portray their different views about life, decisions and how to live.