Looking at Poem Analysis

¶ … George on "The Road Not Taken" by American poet, Robert Frost, is accurate in its capturing of the presence of 3 ages associated with the persona in the poem. A number of contradictions are included in this analysis, pertaining to the poem's time frame. This essay will explore the poem's analysis in terms of selecting the appropriate path to be taken in a given life event, while being aware of how paths lead to other paths.

One has to realize that choices dictate life, and hence, should choose wisely, as a decision once made is not easy to reverse. Robert Frost's widely-known poem, The Road Not Taken, portrays life's journey. This paper will briefly summarize the poem, analyzing its key themes. Choosing appropriate paths Indication of two roads (line 1) Analyzing both paths (line 4) c. Decision to choose one path (line 5) d. This path needed discovery as it was less travelled (line 8, 20) Choices dictate life a. Road less travelled was chosen (line 17, 19) b.

The Choices made led to Disappointment (line 16) c. Going back to the path travelled by most (line 15) d. This less-travelled path has changed his life (line 20) Analysis One among the most popular and familiar of Robert Frost's poems is "The Road Not Taken." It comprises of four five-line stanzas, with each line having eight to ten syllables, existing in an almost iambic rhythm. Every stanza's lines rhyme according to the A-B-A-A-B pattern.

The poem's popularity is mainly on account of its simple symbolism: while walking through a wood, the narrator is faced with a choice between two diverging paths; he "metaphorizes" this choice as a choice between the divergent paths one comes across in life's journey. Nevertheless, for this seemingly simple piece of poetry, different interpreters have adopted different views as to how the narrator feels with regard to his situation, as well as what view readers must take, in relation to him.

In the year 1961, the poet himself remarked that this poem of his is very tricky indeed (Jason). Marinaro states that this poem isn't merely about somebody trying to arrive at a decision as to which path he must take on his stroll. It actually alludes to life's journey. The two "diverged" roads in the "yellow wood" indicate one's life. The speaker's choice concerning the path to be taken signifies the different choices one must make and their impact on our future.

If one thinks of the phrase, 'down the road', applied typically to describe anything that may transpire in the near or distant future, one can see how the poet is connecting traveling to life (Marinaro). The poem is written in "first-person," raising doubts of whether its narrator is Frost himself or some character he created for this particular poem.

Lawrence Thompson, in his biography of Robert Frost, titled, Robert Frost: The Years of Triumph (1971) writes that the poet would frequently introduce this poem to the public by commenting that he based its narrator on Edward Thomas, a Welsh friend of his. Frost states that Thomas was an individual who, when faced with alternatives, would always feel sorry that he did not choose the other one.

The poem's first stanza hints at a forest setting in the autumn season ("yellow wood"), with the speaker having to decide between two roads headed along different directions. The narrator is regretful that he won't be able to take both roads, and pauses long, to make his final decision. He appears to prefer one road, in the poem's first and second stanzas. But, by the time readers reach its third stanza, the narrator is shown coming to the conclusion that both paths are almost equivalent.

In the middle of this stanza, he attempts to reassure himself that someday, he will come back and choose the other path. However, towards this stanza's ending, and the start of the next stanza, he reverts to his original feelings of regret and sorrow. He comes to the realization that he, most likely, won't ever come back and stroll along the other path. This (fourth and last) stanza shows him considering how his present choice will reflect on his future.

He feels that upon looking back after a few years, he will realize that the path he chose was in fact the one "less traveled" upon. Further, he believes he will realize, later, the huge difference his decision made with regards to his future.

There are two significant details, which indicate that the narrator feels he will, at a later time, be plagued by feelings of regret regarding his choice: 1) it is stated that the narrator will "sigh" while relating his tale; and 2) the poem's title "The Road Not Taken," implies he won't ever cease thinking about that alternate road (Jason). This poem's effectiveness is based on the fact that it encompasses a single, three-dimensional, elaborate metaphor, capturing readers within it.

It is known from the outset that The Road Not Taken denotes a metaphor; however, this metaphor is exceedingly realistic, making readers feel they are actually present there. The atmosphere's crispness and the dried, yellow leaves rustling on trees can actually be felt as one reads the poem. One may even feel the event happening within oneself. This supposedly simple metaphor merely says that the reader reached a fork in the road, a point where he had to choose one of two paths. Frost, however, goes into such detail that.