Figuratively, “The Road Not Taken” can be applied in a person’s life. The traveller is a person who had two choices which is represented by the two roads in the poem. The Traveller then contemplates how both paths may chance his life (as someone might think about when choosing between two ideas) and he chooses the path that was less travelled by which could represent a person picking the harder option over the simpler one that probably most people would have chosen. This poem however has tones of regret which the title of the poem reflects as it is titled “The Road Not Taken”. This emphasises the regret in the poem. The poet also writes “I shall be telling this with a sigh/somewhere ages and ages hence” which also continues the undertones of regret.
The image of the two roads is an effective metaphor because when people need to pick between two choices the two can be a suitable analogy. The overall effect of the poem is one of wisdom and advice, the speaker in the poem had a choice and he made it however the poem is saying that although he picked the harder way then he would have liked to choose the easier route now.
The poem is well structured with an ABAAB rhyme scheme, there are four stanzas on each line and there are nine syllables. This is important because it creates an evenly set out poem with a symmetrical beginning and ending. This could also parallel the fact that although this poem sounds regretful it could be interpreted as bravery.
The second poem I have looked at is “The Choosing” by Liz Lochhead. This poem begins with “We were first equal Mary and I/with same colour ribbons in mouse coloured hair” again this poems theme is choices. This poem begins with the emphasised point of equality between Mary and the speaker “and with equal shyness/we curtseyed to the lady councillor” which is echoed throughout the beginning of the poem with the line “A common bond in being cleverest” being the last. In the middle of the poem the poet changes her rhyming scheme to a more regular one that the sporadic beginning. I think that she has chosen to do this to emphasis how important this section of the poem is and ultimately draws the reader. During the end of the poem the reader finds out what the speaker in the poem has real resentment that her choice was education over a social life but I think she’s angrier over the fact that it was not her choice.
The first three stanzas of the poem give the reader an image of two little girls that were equal in every way. The repetitive use of the word “equal” also emphasises this point. In the second stanza there is a form of alliteration which in this case is “Collin’s Children’s Classics” and this is used to give the poem a smoother sounding flow. I think that the first three stanzas are effective in conveying this message because they are told in such a personal way that it makes the reader thing that they are true events. They are also effective because the reader focuses more on specific details
I remember
The competition for top desk
At school service
And my terrible fear
Of her superiority off sums
In the above quote the detail that the poet picked is her friend’s superiority at sums rather than say “Mary was better at mathematics” which gives the story yet again a personal tone.
The middle two stanzas are the unique point of this poem as they tell the reader what has happened to spoil the equality between the girls
I don’t know exactly why they moved,
But anyway they went.
Something about a three-roomed apartment
And a cheaper rent
This is strange compared to the other stanzas in the poem as it has a regular ABAB rhyme scheme rather than the non-existent rhyming that is present in the rest of the poem. The middle of the poem is also marking the start of the end of the friendship between the girls and the beginning of the consequences of the choices that were made for them.
The next stanza explains why Mary’s family moved and her father’s aloof dislike of sending girls to high school. The way in which the poet describes it as if the speaker watches Mary’s father gives the reader the image of a fallen man sitting away from all the children in a public area such as a bus.
On the next stanza it is a step forward into the future, the speaker is again sitting on a bus but when she sees her friend Mary with her husband. This shows the final consequences of the choices that the poet has been speaking about.
The speaker and her friend had the same beginnings as they were both equal however lack of money had made Mary’s family leave and Mary not to go to high school to finish her education. Later when they meet again the speaker is coming from a library with her “arms full of books” whilst Mary’s “arms are round the full-shaped vase that is her body” The poet uses the word “arms” in both of these descriptions which are a direct juxtaposition of each other; the speaker represents education and Mary represents a social life and marriage.
The final lines of the poem are in a rhyme
I think of those prizes that were ours for the taking
And wonder when the choices got made
We don’t remember making
This, as the middle of the poem shows, draws the reader’s attention to this particular piece because these lines stand out as they have a definite rhyme scheme. The poet has decided to make these lines rhyme to give the poem a sense of closure.
This poem has no definite rhyme scheme except the aforementioned lines however it does incorporate a few essences of poetry. Use of alliteration, antithesis and occasional rhymes to give this poem interesting and enjoyable read.
Both these poems have themes of choosing and ultimately regret. However in “The Road Not Taken” the author is more general rather than the personal tone used in “The Choosing”. Also in Choosing the poet uses a direct approach to telling the poem rather than the metaphorical approach in Road. Both poems do have a rhyme scheme that appears (in Choosing, albeit slowly) however in Road it is most noticeable.
Towards the future I think that I will remember both of the stories given by these poems and try to apply them to my own life. As a wise man once said “Man’s power of choice enables him to think like an angle of a devil, a king or a salve. Whatever he chooses, mind will create a manifest.” Fredrick Bailes (1889-1970) I think that choices will determine the life that we will chose for ourselves and rather than leave it up to destiny or chance we should chose to go the extra bit further to achieve good marks in exams (or in coursework) or anything else that stands in out way from achieving our real potential
Choose your life and never look back. Choices are made for reasons.