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Symbolism in robert frost
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost Poetry Explication
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost Poetry Explication
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Robert Frost, author of “The Road Not Taken” and many other renowned poems, was born on March 26, 1874 in the city San Francisco. Frost attended Lawrence High School, where he met his future wife, Elinor White. Frost married Elinor on December 19, 1985 and had their first child, Elliot, in 1896. He attended Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire in 1892 and then transferred to Harvard University in Boston. He ended up dropping out after two years due to health concerns, never earning a formal degree. In 1900, Frost and his family moved to New Hampshire; Frost wanted to start farming. However, this did not work out for him; he felt that his true calling was writing poetry . In 1912, Frost is faced with an important decision; he decided …show more content…
The first metaphor Frost uses in this poem can actually be found in the first line: “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood.” The two roads splitting in the woods is a metaphor for a choice you must make when presented with two different options. Wherever the speaker’s life has taken him so far, he has come to the point where he must make an important decision to go any further (Schmoop). The second metaphor Frost uses can be found in lines four and five: “And looked down one as far as I could / To where it bent in the undergrowth.” Looking down the road is a metaphor for the future; when making a decision, we can only predict so much. Just like how the speaker can only see the path in the woods for so far we can only see the consequences of our decision in the near future. A third metaphor can be found in lines 13 through 15: “ Oh, I kept the first for another day! / Yet knowing how way leads on to way, / I doubted if I should ever come back.” Here, it’s clear the speaker wanted to take both roads; however, he realizes that he will probably never be able to come back to this crossroads. This is a metaphor for a decision that changes everything; a decision you have made where you have reached a point of no
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.
Choices in life can be as simple as deciding where to go out to eat or what to wear and as difficult as deciding which college to enroll in and who to marry. The most strenuous part is not knowing if you made the right decision because even the simplest choices can shape the future. There are no guarantees in life so every decision counts. Second guessing is as natural to humans as breathing, which makes the decision making process that much harder because it is more than just picking something and sticking with it, there is always the curiosity of what if? Even when faced with the most difficult decisions one must live with the choices they have made, which is very similar to what the speaker of “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost is forced to deal with.
Robert Lee Frost was born on March 26, 1874 in San Francisco. When his father died, he moved to Massachusetts with his family to be closer to his grandparents. He loved to stay active through sports and activities such as trapping animals and climbing trees. He married his co- valedictorian, Elinor Miriam White, in 1895. He dropped out of both Dartmouth and Harvard in his lifetime. Robert and Elinor settled on a farm in Massachusetts, which his grandfather bought him. It was one of the many farms on which he would live in throughout his lifetime. Frost spent the next 9 years writing poetry while poultry farming. When poultry farming did not work out, he went back to teaching English. He moved to England in 1912 and became friends with many people who were also in the writing business. After moving back to America in 1915, Frost bought a farm in New Hampshire and began reading his poems aloud at public gatherings. Out of the blue, he suddenly had many family disasters. Frost’s youngest daughter and wife died and his son committed suicide, soon after which another daughter institutionalized. Darker poetry, su...
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”
Frost’s life filled with misfortune, but his life did not begin as such. Frost’s journey began in the bustling city of San Francisco, California on March 26, 1874. ("Robert Frost biography") Frost lived there with his mother, father, and sister. Frost was an inquisitive young boy whose life was filled with a curiosity for nature. ("Frost's early poems") He was very happy until, at age eleven, his first tragedy struck. Frost’s father, William Frost, a journalist and a large influence in Robert’s life, died from tuberculosis. ("Robert Frost - Poems, Biography, Quotes") Young Frost and his family left soon after to move in with his paternal grandfather in Lawrence, Massachusetts.(“Poet Robert Frost”) Frost’s grandfather encouraged him throughout his schooling in Lawrence to get better at whatever he wanted to do and be passionate about it. Of course for Frost, this was poetry. After his graduation in 1892, Frost attended the prestigious Dartmouth University and later attended Harvard University, both of which he dropped out of in order to help his family. (“Poet Robert Frost”) In the interim between his colleges, Frost married Elinor White. Elinor gave birth
This could be a metaphor for looking into his future. To where it bent in the undergrowth; He could only see as far as the first bend in the road. That also could show that he can not see that far into his future. Then took the other, as just as fair, Frost decided upon taking the other road, as it was just as good as the first in his opinion.
Decisions, decisions! So, what we do is come up with some justification for the choice we have made, even though we are already questioning our decision, even as we make it. When the choices are so close to being equal, does it real...
Robert Frost was born on March 26, 1874 in San Francisco, California. His parents were Isabelle Moodie Frost who was a teacher and William Prescott Frost Jr. who was a journalist perusing a career in California. His fathers dream and career ended in 1885 when his life was taken due to tuberculosis. This incident changed Roberts’s life along with his sisters because it forced his mother to move him and his sister Jeanie to Lawrence, Massachusetts where they were going to be taken care of by their grandparents. Neither Robert nor Jeanie was able to be raised by their mother due to the fact that she was teaching at a variety of schools throughout Massachusetts and New Hampshire. He was one of the top students at Lawrence High School and graduated as the valedictorian along with Elinor White whom he married in 1895. Robert had always been interested in poetry and amazed by it, so he continued his education after high school at Dartmouth College while Elinor continued her education at St. Lawrence University. During the first twelve years of his marriage, he had six children with his wife, but two died young and left him with one son and three daughters.
Robert Frost was born on March 26, 1874 in San Francisco, California. Frosts parents’ names were William Prescott Frost, Jr. and Isabelle Moodie Frost. His only siblings name was Jeanie. William Prescott Frost, Jr. was a journalist with ambitions of establishing a career in California, and in 1873 he and his wife moved to San Francisco. He died from tuberculosis in 1885. While their mother taught at a variety of schools in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, Robert and Jeanie grew up in Lawrence, and Robert graduated from high school in 1892. A top student in his class, he shared valedictorian honors with Elinor White, with whom he had already fallen in love (Frost 1). For several years, Robert Frost’s mother earned a living by teaching in various schools; starting in Salem, New Hampshire undoubtedly she had a profound affect her son’s development (O’Neill 3). After studying briefly at Dartmouth, he worked as a bobbin boy in a cotton mill, as a cobbler, a school teacher, and a journalist; he later entered Harvard but left after two years to try farming. In 1912 he went to England, where he received his first acclaim as a poet (Frost 2).
The two roads in the poem relate to various paths one might be faced with in life. One path “bent in the undergrowth” (5) which means it had taken many times. However, the other path “was grassy and wanted wear” (8). This is the path in one’s life, which seems “unpopular” at the time. Not many people choose the path that is not typically chosen by others. This is what Frost is doing in his poem as he uses these solid metaphors: challenging his readers to “go against the flow” as the man did.
This is a wonderful poem with many different themes and ideas. One of the biggest themes is not being afraid to take a chance. Some of the other themes include, not following the crowd, trying new things, and standing for something. This poem stated that the author "took the one (road) less traveled by, and that has made all the difference" so the author is telling the reader that we too should not be afraid to take another path.
Robert Frost utilizes several poetic techniques to reveal the theme in his poem, “The Road Not Taken”, which is stressing the importance the decision making of one is, regardless of whether or not it is agreement with the resolution of their peers, and how it can affect their future. The techniques exercised in this piece of work are symbolism, imagery, and tone. Symbolism is the most powerfully used technique due to the fact a good number of lines located in this poem is used to signify a certain object or idea related to our life or today’s world. Imagery is significant in drawing out the theme for the reason that it allows the reader to construct a depiction in their mind, permitting them to relate more to the poem and interpret the theme their own way. In this poem, imagery permits the reader to imagine the scene that this poem takes place in resulting in an enhanced understanding of the theme. The tone this work presents is an insecure attitude which allows the theme to be brought out due to the fact the theme relates to a dilemma in one’s life. As seen by the reader, these techniques strongly aid in the revealing of this specific theme. The first technique Frost utilizes to uncover the theme is the strongest method, symbolism.
In Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken” there are many complexities that ultimately lead to the poem’s unity. At first glance this poem seems to be a very typical coming of age poem where the speaker has come to a major fork in the road and he must decide which path to take. At first glance this would be a very good statement to make; however, as the reader digs deeper and searches for the complexity and the nuances of the poem the original assessment seems to be shallow and underdeveloped. In order to truly appreciate this poem as a work of art, the reader must search for the unity and complexity within it, otherwise this poetic work of art will go by unnoticed and cast off as a coming of age poem and nothing else.
Everyone needs a sense of morals in life. These morals can be learned from family members, past experiences or even nature. Robert Frost takes imagery, emotion, symbolism, and he often uses nature in his poetry to not only paint a picture in the readers mind, but also to create a more of each work.
Robert Frost was born on March 26th, 1874 in San Francisco, California. He was born to Isabelle Moodie Frost and William Prescott Frost. William Frost, a Harvard graduate, worked for the San Francisco Daily Evening Post, and Frost’s mother was a school teacher. After spending twelve years in San Francisco, Frost moved to the town of Lawrence, Massachusetts after his father died of tuberculosis. While attending Lawrence High School, Frost published several poems in the school magazine and was named class poet. He also played right end on the high school’s football team. In the fall of 1891, Frost was on top of the world; high school senior;editor of the school newspaper; and competing for the class valedictorian. Frost graduated top of his class in 1892, sharing valedictorian honors with his soon to be wife, Elinor White.