Preview

Road Not Taken Outline

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1057 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Road Not Taken Outline
Poetry Essay
“The Road Not Taken” - by Robert Frost
Thesis
“The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost is a poem that symbolizes literal and metaphorical forks in the road, to which decisions that are made can have a drastic impact on an individuals life.

Outline

I. Introduction
A. Robert Frost, “The Road Not Taken”
B. Theme

II. Title
A. Setting
1. Literal
2. Symbolic

III. Symbolism
A. Decision Making
1. Timing
2. Solitude

IV. Mood
A. Narrator
B. Start
C. Final Stanza

V. Meter & Rhythm
A. Quintains
B. Masculine

VI. Conclusion

Poetry Essay
“The Road Not Taken” - by Robert Frost “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost is a poem that symbolizes literal and metaphorical forks in the road, to which decisions that are made can have a drastic impact on an individuals life. It centers around the topic of choices. The narrator takes us through a once difficult decision that he is faced with and how he looks back on it afterward. The title of Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken,” is vital to determining its
…show more content…
A visual that the fork represents a decision that must be made where each road leads to different destinations. A handful of lines provide metaphors that would support this, but it is the ones in the final two stanzas that really relay the message. The narrator says, “Oh, I kept the first for another day! / Yet knowing how way leads on to way, / I doubted if I should ever come back” (Frost, p.689). The audience can see that there is a dilemma that is faced where these roads will probably lead in a direction where the narrator cannot return. The poem concludes with the statement, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- / I took the one less traveled by, / And that has made all the difference” (Frost, p.689). One can only conclude from these words that the decision to take one road rather than the other, has “made all the difference” (Frost,

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    "The Road Not Taken" captured my attention because I was able to relate to the literary work in a personal way. The poem contains a metaphor in which an individual has to make a decision between two important choices. This touched me because it reminded me of the time when I came to this country and I faced a situation where I had to choose between two important things. Let me explain, one of the reasons that I came to the United States was to help my family financially. Since I did not speak English, I was only able to get a job that paid minimum wage. I was very frustrated because I needed more money than what I was getting paid each week. The situation got worse when one of my relatives got very sick. Everything came down to two choices. I could continue my venture in this country or I could go back to my home country, Peru. In "The Road Not Taken," Frost underscores these powerful moments in our lives. It speaks of situations when life encourages, changes, or improves us. There were…

    • 915 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Beach Burial Slessor

    • 1457 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost is a first person narrative tale of a monumental moment in the author’s life. He is faced between the choice of a moment and a lifetime manifested in his poem. Walking down a rural road the narrator encounters a point on his travel that diverges into two separate similar paths. In Robert Frost’s poem "The Road Not Taken", Frost presents the idea of man facing the difficult unalterable choice of a lifetime. This idea in Frost’s poem is embodied in the fork in the road, the decision between the two paths, and the speaker’s decision to select the road not taken.…

    • 1457 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Frost first introduces the primary symbol of the poem in the first line; “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both.” If interpreted literally the poem is that of a man at a separation of paths in a yellow wood. The symbolism in the poem, however, involves the use of both roads as symbols of the choices made in the speaker’s life and the consequences of making those choices. In addition to the two roads symbolizing a crossing in the speaker’s life, there is a sense of regret in the speaker’s words. “And sorry I could not travel both.” Even though the speaker after much examination of both paths eventually makes a decision about which path he will choose to take, he also establishes that the decision, whether made irrationally or thought long and hard about, will change the speaker’s life in unpredictable ways. Without this symbolism represented by the fork in the road, this poem would have no choice but to be taken literally and would lose the recondite meaning behind the two paths diverged in a yellow…

    • 551 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Road Not Taken What is the connotative meaning to the road not taken and how does it explain the purpose of the poem? To begin, the title of the poem is “The Road Not Taken”, by Robert Frost. The poem is about two roads that go different ways and a person having to choose one of the roads. One of the roads look like many people have gone through it and the other road mysterious with almost no sight of being taken recently.…

    • 390 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    "The Road Not Taken" concentrates on the narrator's decision between the conformist and non-conformist paths of life. Line 18 and 19 of this poem says, "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by And that has made all the difference."(Frost…

    • 579 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Journeys- Robert Frost

    • 910 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Frost's poem, “The Road Not Taken,” is an extended metaphor for lost possibilities or missed opportunities. The persona reflects upon the impacts of a decision and, perchance, what may have been. This is evident in, “I shall be telling this with a sigh/ Somewhere ages and ages hence.” Thus, the responder can conceive the persona is dubious as to whether the right decision has been made.…

    • 910 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The poem ‘The Road Not Taken’ is about the choices in life that affect where we will end up in the future. This is conveyed through the speakers dilemma of choosing a path in a diverged road. It talks of the speaker standing in the woods, considering which path to take as the road they are travelling on forks into two. One road has been trodden many times before, and the other is less travelled and more over-grown. The speaker chooses the less travelled road and says to themselves that they will take the other road one day, even though deep in their mind they know that it is unlikely that they ever will.…

    • 950 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The title of this poem, "The Road Not Taken," implies a strong feeling of regret. I do not believe that was Robert Frost's intentions. I believe that this poem make a strong statement supporting the right choice. Frost does recognize that making the correct choice could be difficult. The road the traveler chooses may not be the easiest, however it is the may be most rewarding.…

    • 947 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Road Not Taken

    • 608 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Grimes, Linda Sue. "Robert Frost 's Tricky Poem: Analysis of 'The Road Not Taken. '" American…

    • 608 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the previous verses Frost explains in narrative one road to be the road that the traveler like stated earlier can be assumed to be Frost himself, to be road he will choose. However, that is not the case in that we find that the lyric has changed. Bringing confrontation with the other road to be explained as “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”. Frost emotions have changed when he gazed upon the second road. This is what brought the irony of the poem and also shows good use of nominally poetry. Meaning the sectioning a poem to where it was written, putting the poem “The Road Not Taken” into that category. I believe the second verse of the poem grabs the attention of the reader, Frost changing the tone of the poem showing dilemma the traveler faces. This also brings the curiosity of the reader and brings them to make decision themselves of which path they would choose and would the traveler choose the same…

    • 1001 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This essay discusses the poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost. This poem describes a man who is walking in the woods. As he is walking, he finds that the path he is on splits into two roads. He is forced to decide which road to take in order to continue his journey. Throughout the rest of the poem, he describes the experience of his journey. Frost uses many poetic devices throughout this poem. He uses metaphor to describe the road as a part of life. He also uses rhyme scheme to show the important phrases and words to help the reader understand and comprehend the message behind the poem. Finally, Frost makes use of alliteration and similes to draw the reader closer to the text and compare his experience to other occurrences…

    • 583 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Eng 125 Week 1 Assignment

    • 668 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The poem captured my interest through the use of images and persona. The ability of Robert Frost to use these elements and weave a poem that relates to the proverbial “fork in the road” drew me into the text. I was able to relive my critical life path decisions by reading the poem. I was also able…

    • 668 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost shows the narrator coming to a fork in the wood, which offers two paths to take. By use of symbolism and various verb tenses in different stanzas the author was able to convey the overall meaning of the poem. The narrator scrutinized the road but does not find a noticeable difference in the two paths and thus was stuck deciding whether which road is the better decision. However, in the fourth stanza, by the allegory “I took the one less traveled by” shows that the narrator wishes to take the path which leads to individualism. The narrator portrayed that in life there are decisions we must make that must be based on our own agenda.…

    • 601 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In “The Road Not Taken” Frost emphasizes that every person is a traveler choosing the roads to follow on their continuous journey-life. There is never a straight path that leads a person in one direction but many. You may chose to take the same path as others but you can make a path to go your own way in life. This poem leaves me to break it up into 3 parts; 1 choices are difficult to make, 2 you should evaluate choices, and 3 follow your own dreams.…

    • 294 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Road Not Taken Meaning

    • 831 Words
    • 4 Pages

    This first stanza is generally interpreted as a person coming to an important event in their life, some life changing moment that requires deep thought. From the line "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood" it springs to mind an event of some magnitude. However, the author does not point out that this event is of any great significance. Everyday we are faced with a simple diverging of roads in our lives and we make a choice, whether it is which road to take to work or what to wear. Most of us make the best choice we can and move on. In this poem, the traveler is seemingly unable to make these simple choices and becomes stuck looking at every decision with fear: "And sorry I could not travel both/And be one traveler, long I stood". Things that most people would decide with ease he obsesses over. Unable to make a decision, he stands frozen at the split in the road.…

    • 831 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays