Sebastian Trevino 10/2/2016
Ms.Mayorga Period 2
Why should poets convey their thoughts through symbolism, imagery, figurative language, etc? In the poems “Nothing Gold Can Stay” and “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost both use figurative language, symbolism and imagery to convey the reader’s thoughts differently. The poems topics are distinctly different, “Nothing Gold Can Stay” uses an allusion of Adam and Eve in “So Eden sank to grief” (lines 6). The poem “The Road Not Taken” uses symbolism to describe life as shown in “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood”(lines 1). The poems can often use the same approaches such as figurative language and symbolism to captivate the reader.
Adding on to the previous paragraph, Frost in the poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay” Frost uses an allusion in “So Eden sank to grief So dawn goes down to day Nothing gold can stay”(lines 6-8). This is an allusion because it refers to the story of Adam and Eve in which both are in paradise but are soon thrown out after giving in to temptation. This helps to convey the
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Using the word yellow tells us it takes place in Fall, most likely from all the leaves that fall and change color. Frost then says “And sorry I could not travel both” in the second line, the speaker wants the opportunity of going down both roads but its only possible to go down one road the poet also uses the word “sorry” indicating that there’s some sort of regret. The poet follows this up with “And be one traveler, long I stood” in the third line, the speaker is uncertain on which road to take and takes a long time choosing the line also indicates that he is walking the road
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.
Robert Frost took great action involving rhyme schemes and symbolism in his literature. Symbolism is used in literature to provide detail and imagery to the object or idea. It's important to use symbolism in literature for the reader to have more information than what is actually stated about the object or idea. Symbolism enhances the main idea of the story and helps the reader put together the pieces. Rhyme Schemes are used to help the poem flow. Some poems will have a form that make it easy to read. Other poems will contain a form that makes it more difficult than other. At times writers use complicated forms to have the reader go back and reread the poem to really understand the meaning. Frost makes a great use of these two literary devices. (1248)
Frost uses a lot of imagery to inform the reader of the other choices. Both roads had been traveled the same, but had different appearances. The grass could have given the illusion that the road in the second stanza would provide better opportunity. There is a saying, “don’t let the green grass fool you,” meaning although the grass is green, it doesn’t have to be the best choice. The yellow wood could represent that it was time for a change to take place in his life just like when the leaves change color in the fall of the year. From a biblical point of view, a chang...
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.
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 the first stanza, the speaker creates an image in the reader’s mind by saying “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood” (Line 1). By saying the color yellow, the reader is now thinking it is probably Fall. The reader also knows the speaker is at a fork in the road, by the word diverged. As the reader continues on, they would learn that the speaker is sorry he cannot take both paths. At the conclusion of the stanza, the speaker looks down the one of the paths as far as he can see and notices there is a bend in the
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
And sorry I could not travel both, and be one traveler, long I stood, and looked down one as far as I could (line 5-7)". In this poem he says "I" a lot. The I's shows that Frost is uncertain of which path to take. Either the less traveled one or the most traveled one. Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost show that we shouldn't follow the crowd and be your own person.
The setting takes place in the daylight of the woods. I felt that Frost set the poem in the woods because it helps reader imagine trees, leaves, and bushes. Therefore readers know that the speaker is alone without any road signs or knowledge of any direction on which road to take. The “yellow wood”(1) means that its somewhere in the fall when the leaves are changing colors. The “yellow” brings out a beautiful image of the autumn to readers. The “yellow wood” means there is a continuous decision one makes in li...
I know that my view of the piece is not the only true way to go but I also know that this is poetry and it is meant to be looked at from different angles. I wouldn't be surprised if someone took the angle of saying that Frost was drunk and couldn't find his way home. There is no real answer to what this poem is about and I'm just taking the realist approach and saying that "The Road Not Taken," is not about life's ultimate choice but rather simply about a walk in the park.
The persona had two roads to chose from and wonders what would have happened had he taken the other road. Frost’s title reflects this. The first three lines, "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, / And sorry I could not travel both /And be one traveler, long I stood", tell us the speaker must choose between two roads he finds equally appealing. It is apparent the narrator has a difficult choice to make and is carefully considering his options.
The main theme of the poem that Frost attempts to convey is how important the decisions that one makes can be, and how they affect one’s future. In lines 2-3, he expresses the emotions of doubt and confusion by saying, “And sorry I could not travel/ And be one traveler, long I stood”, which explains how the speaker contemplated their decision of which road to take. In the closing, line 20 of the poem further reestablishes the theme when it states, “that has made all the difference”, meaning that making the decision of which road to take for themselves is the important key for a successful future. Frost helps to express this theme by using symbolism to portray a road as one’s journey of life. Using symbolism, Frost suggests that the speaker of this poem is taking the harder of the two roads presented before them, because the road the speaker chooses, “leaves no step had trodden black” (12...
Frost’s diction could be described as simplistic. Frost does not use large vocabulary words, but rather uses simpler everyday words that most people word use. By using a simpler vocabulary it allows the one to understand the meaning of the poem more clearly. The language used is a testament to Frost’s style of writing that he is known for. The language used is clear in this poem, such as “And both that morning equally lay / In leaves no step had trodden black. / Oh, I kept the first for another day!” (11-13). This type of diction helps the reader to analyze and interpret the poem more deeply. As the use of everyday language allows the poem to become more relatable and reach a more diverse audience. Diction is an important element of this poem as it adds to the poem’s
Nature as imagery is a largely spread idea in most of Frosts poems. However he is not telling us about nature or trying to explain nature to us, rather, he is using it as a source of narrative to metaphorically position something else. This, we can deduce,...
Frost uses several literary devices in this brief account, such as imagery, personification, metaphor, and alliteration. Descriptions of “yellow wood,” depicting an autumn forest, and “no step [in the leaves being] trodden black,” indicating a fresh and natural recently untrodden environment, are included to create a picture in the reader’s mind and make the situation ore real and easily related to. It is possible that Frost may have purposely used the word “yellow” to imply the splitting paths. ("Cummings Study Guides") When describing the two paths, the narrator mentions that one “was grassy and wanted wear,” using personification to make it seem as if that path is calling to him to travel upon it. In the same phrase, Frost also makes use of alliteration to draw attention to the calling of the first path. ("Use of Literary Devices in Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken")