The Importance of Each Decision in The Road Not Taken
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -- / I took the one less traveled by, / And that has made all the difference." Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" is a lyrical poem about the decisions that one must make in life. When a man approaches a fork in the road on which he is traveling, he must choose which path to take. The choice that he makes, as with any choices made in life, affects him in a way that "has made all the difference . Thematically, the poem argues that no matter how small a decision is, that decision will affect a person's life forever.
"The Road Not Taken" is told as a first-person narrative. The narrator is looking back on the decisions that have affected him. The decision that is illustrated in the poem occurred at a much earlier point in the narrator's life. It would be possible for a reader to be drawn into the poem to such a degree that the reader would become the narrator. Everyone has made decisions, and since it is the purpose of this poem to discuss and address those decisions, it would be easy to look beyond the narrator and see oneself. The word choice used in the poem very effectively portrays the speaker. The language used is very simple, almost as if the narrator is not speaking, but thinking, for the language of thoughts tends to be simple without using words that require a dictionary to define. The simple, almost quiet and seducing tone acts to draw the reader into the poem allowing the reader to become the narrator.
Throughout the poem, Frost uses images that could be interpreted as either quite simple and very specific or incredibly involved and extremely general. For example, by interpreting images such as "Two roads... in a yello...
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...ming lines do not necessarily contain the same number of syllables. This choice by Frost pulls the reader into the poem, but maintains the thought-like atmosphere as the narrator looks back unto his life at the decisions that he made and their results.
In his perhaps best known poem, Frost recognizes something that everyone should realize. The simple picture of a man deciding which path to follow is suddenly changed into a description of life by the mastery of Frost's poetic hand. No matter how small a decision appears to be at the time that it is made, that decision will affect a person's life forever, or as Frost puts it, each and every choice will make "all the difference."
Work Cited
Frost, Robert. "The Road Not Taken." The North Introduction To Literature. 6th ed. Eds. Carl E.Bain, Jerome Beaty, and J. Paul Hunter. New York: W.W Norton, 1995. 1097.
In ‘The Road Not Taken’ Frost has used the journey to offer ideas about how effective decisions are made. He also explores how our choices in life move us through life so that returning to previous times and situations becomes unlikely if not impossible
...n countries are considering the development of a special education system, necessary planning must be implemented to inform and educate all staff members and involvement of researchers to discuss and examine the entire educational program. The most important part of the system must consider the students well-being with the least obstructive involvement in students school and educational life. All factors of the students life must be presented including home life which creates an necessary and crucial involvement of the parents. Inclusion requires constant assessment of practices and results to better inform all parties of student progress. As inclusion becomes more widespread, a collaboration of developers and data must be analyzed to determine specific, effective strategies in creating happy, contributing citizens. (Wisconsin Education Association Council, 2007)
Although the poems share common features of structure, style and a common theme, there is a distinct difference in the imagery and perspectives in the respective poems. The poem “The Lover Not Taken” shares an identical structure with “The Road Not Taken,” with an extra stanza containing two lines where Farley throws in the punch line to make a point. Both the poems develop a unique pattern of rhyming, where the first, third and fourth line rhyme; also, second and the fifth line end with rhyming words. Despite the use of similar words such as “stood” (2) and “sigh” (16), Farley manages to create an unrestrained and dynamic lead character, while Frost portrays a slow pace. Farley, although portraying a similar theme to that of Frost’s poem, intentionally contradicts the ideas in “The Road Not Taken,” only to unexpectedly choose the path “less travelled by” – the path of lust over love (Frost 19).
Previous government legislation in the UK supported the medical model approach in regards to education of children with special educational needs (SEN). Children with SEN were seen as handicapped and placed in segregated educational provisions under the direction of medical professionals (Huge and Copper, 2007). However, with the introduction of the social model government legislations in regards to education began to change. Legislations and polices such as the Warnock Report (1978), The 1981, 1993 and 1996 Educational Acts and the 1997 Green Paper Excellence for all Children, all pushed for a more inclusive educational system. In the last 15 years further legislations have been put in place to strengthen the educational rights of children with SEN.
Frost is trying to say for every road someone takes, there is always a road that is not chosen, and can end up making significant changes to our lives. We will always think about the other road that we didn’t take and how we could have different outcomes.
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 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.
Frost, Robert. "The Road Not Taken." The Poetry of Robert Frost. Ed. Edward Connery, Lathem. New York: Hot, Rinehart and Winston, 1969. 105.
"to assure that all children with disabilities have available to them…a free appropriate public education which emphasizes special education and relat...
Some people go through their lives without reflecting about how their decisions have shaped them as a person. The poems “Fire and Ice” and “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost both use the importance of decision making and its effects on the way we live to highlight how our path through life is defined by our choices. At the same time, Frost uses the extreme opposites in “Fire and Ice” and the similarities of the choices in “The Road Not Taken” to explore human nature and permanence of decisions.
Decisions separate one’s life from another. Robert Frost proves this to be true in his poem “The Road Not Taken.” The metaphorical twist Frost uses in his words and sentence structure emphasizes the importance of different decisions and how those choices will impact the rest of one’s life.
Special needs litigation is one of the most common legal issue dealt with in educational circles. IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Act) does not define “appropriate” which leaves the interpretation of an adequate level of educational services and responsibilities open to a great deal of subjectivity. This analysis provides a brief summary of special needs cases and the implications for school systems and educational administrators.
The overarching theme throughout the entire poem is that of choices. The concept of “two roads diverged,” or a split in the road, is a metaphor representing a choice which the narrator must make. Being “sorry [he] could not travel both… [being] one traveler” illustrates that, although he wishes he could see the results of both choices, as seen in saying he “looked as far as [he] could to where it bent,” he is but one pers...
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.
The speaker continues to convey his message in the second stanza of ?The Road Not Taken.? In the opening line of this part of the poem, the speaker says, ?Then took the other, as just as fair.? Here, he is turning his attention to the second road...