More handpicked essays just for you.
Critical appreciation of the road not taken
Analysis about the road not taken
Critical appreciation of the road not taken
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
In the poem “The Road Not Taken”, Robert Frost provides a look at the choices one has in life, how one comes to decide which choices are better, and what are the consequences of these choices. The speaker in the poem, in a casual yet serious tone, tells of a journey in the woods that brings him to a fork in the road. The traveler is forced to make a decision between the two paths, as he must decide which path to take. Thematically, the poem argues that no matter how small a decision is, that decision will affect a person’s life forever. 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 …show more content…
The road less traveled by “was grassy and wanted wear” (8), but at the same time, worn “really about the same” (10). This implies the less traveled road makes travelers turn back because the road was worn the same as the other, yet still wanted more wear. Since the roads were worn “really about the same” (10) the road not taken by others was traveled in some way. The road may not have been traveled fully to the end, however, the travelers begin to travel down it, for as long as one could see, then find it difficult to continue and turned back. The road less traveled by is less completed, not less attempted. The title “The Road Not Taken” has a double meaning. The title refers to the choosing of a road less traveled but also to the regret for the road of lost possibility, eliminations, and changes. The title reminds us that the choices in action and knowledge, that one makes, may exclude those choices of …show more content…
As human beings, we should have the knowledge and strength to be able to make rational, intelligent decisions involving our own lives. On the other hand, this poem suggests our choices are not always made for the right reasons or lead us in the right direction. Frost says we are not able to easily choose our paths. As humans, we want the paths to be given to us without any crossroads. With this poem Frost tries to give the traveler a conscious that needs a place to go, so that the traveler had to choose between either path, and a conscious that may conceal deep regrets, by having second thoughts about the road he is not traveling. He does this by making the traveler think genuinely about what road to take and the consequences each road brings with it. He uses the title “The Road Not Taken” to allow the reader to think which of the two roads Frost truly means is not taken, instead of telling the reader exactly what road the poem is truly about. The title “The Road Not Taken” is broader then using “the road not traveled” or “the road traveled”. The traveler is also telling this poem in the past. The traveler “shall be telling” (16) this story, but only after “ages and ages” (17). We know this because Frost used the word “took” in the last stanza. The change in tense of the verb is signifying that only after the survival of many different experiences can he now tell others about the road he
“The Road Not Taken,” is undoubtedly the most misinterpreted poem by Robert Frost. Some scholars believe the poem is about humans taking the high road--about individualism and nonconformity. However, to understand the underlying meaning the poem conveys, the poem 's diction and tone must be read closely. As a first read through, the poem may boil down to a simple message, but avid Frost readers know that there is more than what meets the eye. Contrary to popular belief, the “The Road Not Taken,” is not about choosing the best path, but instead about the regret and the indecisiveness, which are synonymous with human nature. The tone and diction employed by Frost, strongly suggest that “The Road Not Taken” is not about individualism and nonconformity, but instead a carefully crafted poem about the human desire to avoid regret and find significance.
Robert Frost’s controversial poem “The Road Not Taken” leaves us with a lot to think about, and in a state of mixed feelings. But what he has made undisputable is that in life there will be many crossroads and the choice to “take the road less traveled by” isn’t always the easiest one, and maybe it isn’t the best one either, but the most important thing is that you always, always do what you think is best and persevere through it, because after all, the choices made by others won’t matter. What counts is the decision you made and that at the end of the road when you think back you don’t regret it or wish you would’ve done it differently.
In Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” personification is used through the symbolization of the roads. Frost’s metaphorical embodiment of the two roads reflected as ways, journey and even as an adventure in life. He describes the decision people need to take in their lives as he had to, when he was needed to choose between two roads to go in his life. The poem amplifies Frost’s own life and decisions. The poem is addressed to all people who get in to their crossroads in life, where they need to decide between two roads to travel in. The paradox is when Frost regrets on choosing one road over another because he loses all its possibilities. However, he chose the better road even though he contrasted it when he realizes that both roads are mainly the same. Frost uses also an antithesis as the fact that he cannot go in both ways, although he wants to.
In the Robert Frost poem ‘’The Road Not Taken’’ there is a pervasive and in many ways intrinsic sense of journey throughout. In such, the poem explores an aspect associated with human decision, or indecision, relative to the oxymoron, that choices with the least the difference should bear the most indifference, but realistically, carry the most difficulty. This is conveyed through the use of several pivotal techniques. Where the first such instance is the use of an extended metaphor, where the poem as a whole becomes a literary embodiment of something more, the journey of life. The second technique used is the writing style of first person. Where in using this, the reader can depict a clear train of thought from the walker and understand why and how he made the choice he made, and the ramifications of such. Lastly, we can depict a clear repetition of indecision throughout the first three stanzas, indecision that ultimately proves to be fruitless and subsequently telling us more than the arrival at a clear decision ever could.
My father introduced me to "The Road Not Taken" when I was a young teenager because he figured that I was beginning a period of my life where I would be forced to make many important decisions, and he saw this poem as a source of guidance through those decisions. This poem carries truth and edification in its words. It forms a beautiful analogy of life and all its complications. After my father finished reciting the poem, I never gave a second thought that day to Robert Frost or his poetry. It was weeks, possibly months, before I resumed thought on "The Road Not Taken." It was not until one year ago that I actually read it. Nevertheless, I did remember that poem, and no matter how many times I put it aside to contemplate other things, it was always waiting for my return. Through all of my high school years, it tagged along beside me, reminding me that change is good, reminding me that risk is what life is all about.
“The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost is a poem about choices. At the core, the poem is about different choices changing one’s life. A closer look, however, the reader begins to see the metaphors and question the deeper meaning of Frost’s work (Kirszner & Mandell, 2012).
In life, everyone has choices that they face on a day to day basis. Each choice may lead to another choice, and that can result in a positive or a negative consequence which shapes who the person is today. In the poem titled “The Road Not Taken,” Robert Frost sets up a situation where the narrator faces a dilemma of whether to settle upon one path or another. By using the elements of poem, Frost reinforces the train of thought of the narrator and how the thoughts developed into a decision between the two roads.
624). The title of the poem clearly emphasizes the road that was not used, rather than focusing on the road that was selected less. Which is an important distinction given that one statement accentuates the choice the traveler did not make versus the other emphasizing the selection of a less travelled path. Hence, the contradiction of the title and the end of the poem convolutes the primary point of the poem and allows readers to draw different conclusions regarding the overarching thought Frost was attempting to
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.
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.
In the poem “The Road Not Taken”, author Robert Frost uses the simple image of a road to represent a person’s journey through life. A well-established poet, Frost does a proficient job of transforming a seemingly common road to one of great importance, which along the way helps one identify who they really are. This poem is one of self-discovery. Frost incorporates strong elements of poetry such as theme, symbolism, rhyme scheme, diction, imagery, and tone to help create one of his most well known pieces about the human experience.
Throughout life, we are forced to make decisions that can and will greatly impact our life and change it significantly. Robert Frost’s poem, The Road Not Taken is about how one choice can make a world of difference. The speaker of this poem knows that there is a very important decision to be made and knows that there is no possible way for him to know if his decision will benefit him or not until the future. Frost uses symbols such as the roads and nature to show the reader how in life we must all make decisions that are tough but need to be made.
Robert Frost’s poem, "The Road Not Taken", is an insightful idealistic attempt to illustrate the paradox of free will. In the first line, Frost uses the metaphor "Two roads diverged" (1), to establish not only the hard decision the traveler must make in the poem, but life itself. The decisions we make in life, like the traveler in this poem, are not to be taken carelessly. Many have a desire to be adventurous, yet fear possibilities of failing if we are different from others. In this poem, the road that he decides to take “wanted wear.” This road is not a well-traveled path and no one has taken it before. The central idea of Frost’s poem is individualism. Frost shows that being his own person makes life so much less difficult because he is able to act the way he would like to without worrying about everyone else. Frost shows us that we should all express our feelings and be our own person, even if no one else will follow. He took the path that no one else did “and that has made all the difference.”
In reading Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” for the first time, I felt that it had a good message with meaning behind it. However the more I read it, the more meaning I found behind his words. The speaker in this poem comes to a point on his travels where he must choose which path to take when reaches a fork in the road. While trying to make a decision he wishes that he could take both paths, but in the end chooses the one that appears to be less worn to him. The speaker thinks that in the time to come he will talk about how choosing which path to take was final and life changing. Even though this is the overall meaning to the poem, there is much more to pick out of it by closely looking at the many figures of speech throughout it.
Perhaps one of the most well-known poems in modern America is a work by Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken. This poem consists of four stanzas that depict the story of the narrator traveling through the woods early in the morning and coming upon a fork in the path, where he milled about for a while before deciding upon one of the two paths, wishing he could take both, but knowing otherwise, seeing himself telling of this experience in the future.