The road not taken
Week1 Friday, 15th September, 2006 English Literature Poetry The Road Not Taken "The Road Not Taken" is one of Robert Frost's most familiar and most popular poems. It is made up of four stanzas of five lines each, and each line has between eight and ten syllables in a roughly iambic rhythm; the lines in each stanza rhyme in an abaab pattern. The popularity of the poem is largely a result of the simplicity of its symbolism: The speaker must choose between diverging paths in a wood, and he sees that choice as a metaphor for choosing between different directions in life. Nevertheless, for such a seemingly simple poem, it has been subject to very different interpretations of how the speaker feels about his situation and how the reader is to view the speaker. In 1961, Frost himself commented that "The Road Not Taken" is "a tricky poem, very tricky." Frost wrote the poem in the first person, which raises the question of whether the speaker is the poet himself or a persona, a character created for the purposes of the poem. According to the Lawrance Thompson biography, Robert Frost: The Years of Triumph (1971), Frost would often introduce the poem in public readings by saying that the speaker was based on his Welsh friend Edward Thomas. In Frost's words, Thomas was "a person who, whichever road he went, would be sorry he didn't go the other." In the first stanza of
The Road not taken
The Road not taken This poem clearly demonstrates Frost's belief that it is the road that one chooses that makes him the man who he is. The first line, "two roads diverged into a yellow wood," starts off the poem explaining 2 choices available to the author in life, using the extended metaphors of "roads" and "wood." As well, the word "yellow" is symbolism for the uncertainty Frost has in making his choice. The yellow wood shows us that his life is seen as unpredictable, and he is unsure as to where these 2 choices will lead him in life. In the line "And sorry I could not travel both", the word 'both' immediately indicates that Frost wanted to take both the paths, but being 'one traveller', he had to make a choice. The choice, it is clearly shown, was not an easy one "...long I stood and looked down as far as I could..." "Both that morning equally lay in leaves no step had trodden black." The leaves represent opportunities in the choice. Immediately he realizes that his choice was perhaps not too wise because both the paths had worn out. In the third stanza of the poem, Frost is trying to console himself that he will travel the other path some other day "Oh, I kept the first for another day". The desire to travel down both paths is expressed yet the poet knows very well, that he will not be able to take back his decision, "I doubted if I should ever come back". This is
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that, the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference. Analysis on Road Not Taken This poem, The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost is magnificently written, including numerous metaphors, which all center around an extended metaphor. Throughout the poem, Frost describes a wood and 2 roads, which are the extended metaphors. The author is comparing choices that must be made in life to roads in a wood. What choice one makes affects his or her life. Each choice leads one on to different obstacles and outcomes, the same way a road does. As well, the wood is a metaphor for life. There are many different choices in life, the same way there are many
Dead Poets Society
Katie Goering 9 December 2004 9W Ms. Werner Dead Poets Society Directed by Peter Weir How do the quotations and poems demonstrate the main themes or ideas of the film, Dead Poets Society? The film, Dead Poets Society, directed by Peter Weir, is set in the 1950's at Welton Academy in the United States. Welton is a school that is based on honor, discipline, tradition, and excellence. The teachers at this school are extremely strict and academic. The Dead Poets Society has many important themes and messages, which should be considered in one's daily life. The film teaches to enjoy oneself and live life to the fullest. It also demonstrates the value of friendship, which is dealt with in the film as loyalty, betrayal, forgiveness, and love. Dead Poets Society also shows the significance of poetry and how it expresses many emotions frequently experienced by people. Mr. Keating informs the boys that poetry helps people understand themselves, feel alive, and appreciate life. Another message in the film involves making the right decisions, learning from selections one makes, and the results of one's choices. Finally, Dead Poets Society touches on finding one's voice and doing what one believes is right. However, Dead Poets Society is not the only place these lessons are shown. They are also displayed in numerous poems and quotations, which only emphasizes their importance.
For and Against : the Crossroad of LifeScience or Arts?
Two-sided Essays For and Against : the Crossroad of Life Science or Arts? At the age of 15, much of one's attention would be diverted to one major dilemma: the science stream, or the arts stream? Such a choice is crucial, for the rest of one's life is very much dependent on this one decision. Among the many crossroads in life, this is but the first of them. To the average teenager, perhaps choosing Science would be the most obvious path. The society in general looks well upon those who chose Science, for it is supposedly better and more prestigious, and it is only the brighter lot who could get in. These lucky people were even given the first helpings in terms of jobs and salaries; and while they sit back in luxury enjoying their premium breakfast, those who chose arts would perhaps be typing furiously away while their instant coffee sits and cools in its Styrofoam cup. Possibly that was an exaggeration, but it is a fact, that generally those who had taken the Science stream have opportunities at their feet, and have the goddess of fortune smiling upon them. On the other hand, the mediocre Arts student may not have guaranteed success, moreover how often do they gain the respect they deserve for their hard work? The doctors and scientists seem to have stolen all the spotlight, so what of the secretary or writer? Occasionally luck is on their side- they become famous for
Robert Frost Overview
Robert Frost is considered one of the "most popular American poets of his time." He won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry four times. Congress also voted him a gold medal, in "recognition of his poetry, which has enriched the culture of the United States and the philosophy of the world" (Costello 543). The poem "Birches" was first published in 1915 (Thomason 18). In Robert Frost's "Birches," the theme of reality vs. imagination is discovered through images of bent birches, symbolism of a boy swinging the trees, and the tone of words used. The conflict of reality vs. imagination is explored through images of bent birches. Reality is depicted as birches bending and cracking after a freezing rain from the ice that was left behind. Frost let's the reader know that this is reality in lines 3-4: "I like to think some boy's been swinging them. But swinging doesn't bend them down to stay." He tells the reader the real reason of what bent the birches in line 5 when he states "Ice-storms do that." In the next six lines, Erica Smith notes, "we are inclined to view the ice storm negatively because Frost has used it to refute his hoped-for explanation in line three" (Smith 20). A couple of lines later Frost gives us an insight into how reality is: They are dragged to the withered bracken by the load And they seem not to break; though once they are bowed So low for long, they
On 'Mending Wall' by Robert Frost.
On 'Mending Wall' From the very title of this poem Robert Frost implies his intention of presenting an everlasting barricade in human relationship, symbolized by the image of a wall. Close analysis reveals a work that functions on many levels. On the surface, 'Mending Wall' pictures a scene in which the narrator and his neighbor cooperate with one another to mend a cracked wall and then begin a reasoning dispute over the significance/insignificance of having a wall between them. However, as the poem develops, more underlying conflicts are unfolded which cast a different light on the scene before the readers. Frost takes on these issues to explore some of the more complex aspects of human relationship in modern days. The poem opens with a comment of the puzzled narrator about an unknown force that 'sends the frozen-ground-swell under it/And spills the upper boulders in the sun', producing measurable gaps in the wall. By the use of an unlikely compound noun: 'frozen-ground-swell', instead of a proper word, such as 'ice' or 'icicle', and the failure to relate the cracks as consequences of the former phenomenon the comment is likely to be the voice of a youth as well as a remark to the natural wonder. Then the depiction of gaps caused by hunters disrupts the scene and brings in a preliminary conflict within the narrator's mind; that is, ironically, the narrator approves only of
Robert Frost is an American poet - What do you find specifically American in his poems and what do you find is universal?
ROBERT FROST IS AN AMERICAN POET. WHAT DO YOU FIND SPECIFICALLY AMERICAN IN HIS POEMS AND WHAT DO YOU FIND IS UNIVERSAL? Robert Frost wrote many poems about everyday rural life that are closely linked with human emotions. Most of his poems contain hidden meanings that are not clear at first sight. Firstly, I will talk of the specifically American aspects in Frost's poems. One thing sometimes found in Frosts poems that is American is the place in which the poem is set. The locations of Frosts poems often give a feeling of wide stretching forests and fields that go on for miles that don't exist in many other countries. "I let my neighbor know beyond the hill; And on a day we meet to walk the line" This phrase, from "Mending Wall", immediately suggests vast amounts of space as the speaker talks of, "beyond the hill", having a hill on ones land indicates that it must be spacious, and, "we meet to walk the line", this 'walking the line' gives an image of a boundary between two sizeable pieces of territory. "After Apple-Picking" also gives a sense of immense space with its' title and subject matter. The title tells the reader of the event that is occurring in Frost's orchard. Having an orchard on ones property implies a huge amount of land is owned. "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood", "And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth" These
Closely analyse the poems 'Sacifice' by Taufiq Rafat and 'Out, Out' by Robert Frost. Explain what the poems tell us about the cultures from which they originate.
Closely analyse the poems 'Sacifice' by Taufiq Rafat and 'Out, Out' by Robert Frost. Explain what the poems tell us about the cultures from which they originate. In preparation for this essay I read and analysed a series of poems. Some of these poems include 'Tich Miller' by Wendy Cope and 'City Jungle' by Pie Corbett. For the main part of the essay I read the two poems 'Sacifice' by Taufiq Rafat and 'Out, Out' by Robert Frost and found out, about the two different cultures. 'Sacifice' is about a goat being sacrificed when they are laying the foundations of a friend's house, where as 'Out, Out' is about a boy having his hand chopped off by a buzz saw. In class, as a group we took down notes about the two poems. I will now individually show my understanding of the two poems and write an analysis for them both. I will now analyse 'Sacrifice' by Taufiq Rafat. The poem is about laying the foundations of a house. To do this they have to perform a ritual. The ritual is that the owner of the house has to sacrifice a goat. In the first stanza we can see that the poet feels empathy for the goat as it says 'I can feel its point on my throat'. It is suggesting that he has taken the persona of the goat and feels what it feels. This stanza is almost out of order, as the poet Rafat could have put line five 'We are laying the foundations of a friend's house' as his first line. He could
The Poetry of Robert Frost
The Poetry of Robert Frost Robert Frost was born in San Francisco in 1874. His family moved to Massachusetts in 1885 after his father died. It wasn't until he moved to England in 1912 that his writing career took off. By 1942 he had won four Pulitzer Prizes for his works. By the time he died in 1963 he had produced enough work to be considered one of America's premier twentieth century poets. "The Road Not Taken" and "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" are two of Frost's most famous poems. Both are simple and concern the speaker and a natural setting. Symbolism is prominent in both the poems and hides the underlying meanings. Frost's "The Road Not Taken" is written in a free verse style and at first is overly simple. The obvious meaning is the choices we face in life. The speaker describes a walk in the woods when he comes across a fork in the path. He can not travel down both and feels that he will miss out if he chooses the wrong one. He decides in the end to take the path which is "less travelled" (ll. 19). The poem ends with the reader never finding how the journey turned out. The deeper meaning of this poem is whether or not it is better to conform to the social order or rebel against it by taking "The Road Not Taken". The fork in the path is seen by some critics as a personal one for Frost. The fork represents a choice that he made during his life. The narrator
