The Road Not Taken Rhyme Scheme Essay

Introduction

The rhyme scheme of Frost’s ‘The Road Not Taken’ negates the idea of the ‘choice’ of the author in the poem, insofar as each quintain is dominated by three lines of an initial rhyme in iambic tetrameter and only two of the second, the effect of this is to show the imbalance of the choice that the author is making and so helps to tell the story. However, it could be argued that the ending rhyme being the second rhyme suggests that the narrator is unwilling to fully let go of the less dominant choice, it is this human reluctance that Frost manages to capture within his poem, ‘And sorry I could not Travel Both’ (2), showing that the narrator had hesitations about the future and the certain fear of the unknown, a relatable fear to

In three of the four quatrains, Frost rhymes the first two and the ending line, the effect of this is to set a rhythm for the reader. The exception to the rhyme in the penultimate line of each stanza comes naturally and serves to highlight the final rhyme, not itself; ‘the darkest evening of the year’ (8), conveying the a tone of calm and somehow transitory isolation in the superlative ‘darkest’ and ‘the year’ suggesting that this moment of reflection is distinct to the narrative voice. Is this voice that makes Frost’s poem a narrative tale, bringing us along a very simple journey on a moment of melancholic reflection. This is true of all but the final stanza, in which the rhyme scheme changes to the final two lines of the poem repeating the same phrase. The use of a singular line being repeated, ‘And miles to go before I sleep’ (15), which enhances the poems already lulling rhythm to that comparable to the moment when one first falls asleep. The hypnotic edge of this line are similar to that of a child’s story and is reflected in the simple language of the poem, however, it is obvious that Frost’s message to the reader, insofar as becoming a ‘moral’, is about contemplation and taking a moment of pause in

The vague characterisation in ‘Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening’ is used to encourage a moment of still reflection to the world. It is, arguably, a simple message and the narrative ‘plot’ no more than a man taking a minute to look in some woods. However, the importance of the message comes from this simplicity and how universal it is. The overpowering pull of obligations and ‘[having] promises to keep’ (14) resonates a feeling of necessary separation from society once in a while, but also the brevity of which that separation can take place. Because of the simplistic nature of the poem it is possible to connect with the narrative voice on a personal level, transferring your own parallel emotions to the poem to give it greater meaning and so finishing the depth of the poem that comes from relating with