Preview

How Did Robert Frost Interpret The Road Not Taken

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
258 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How Did Robert Frost Interpret The Road Not Taken
Robert Frost was one of the most popular and critically respected American poets of the 20th century. He was a modernist who was skilled at representing a wide range of human experiences in his poems. Three times Pulitzer prize winner and the Congressional Gold Medal recipient, Frost was appointed as Poet Laureate of Vermont in 1961. Readers are likely to interpret his poems in many different ways depending upon their emotional state. Among the three poems assigned for the reading, I was much impressed with “The Road Not Taken” because of its simplicity and meaningfulness. Frost himself commented that it was “a tricky poem, very tricky.”
In the fourth stanza of the poem, Frost writes: I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Lorcher, T. (2010). Robert Frost Poems: An analysis of “The Road Not Taken”. Retrieved from http://www.brighthub.com…

    • 2619 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    How would you feel if you have choose between two decisions that might be crucial to your life and put your life upside down?Robert is in a fork in the road he has two decisions which one will he choose?In The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost uses Imagery and antithesis to explain how life is sometimes. Plus being patience and choosing the right decision.…

    • 106 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • 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
  • Good Essays

    In “The Road Not Taken,” Robert Frost gives his readers a speaker standing at a “fork” in the road- or having to make a decision. Robert Frost uses extended metaphor, irony, and an unreliable narrator to show his reader’s that, when choosing life courses, one must consider where the path is actually going verses from how it may appear. Decisions fill the lives of human beings, and this speaker faces the remorse he holds for the decisions he’s made.…

    • 718 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pretty How Town Poem

    • 563 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Although E. E. Cummings’ poem “anyone lived in a pretty how town” emphasizes themes of independence, defiance, and love; and Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” emphasizes themes of making choices and feeling regret; it is apparent that by analyzing the poems side by side that they both highlight the concept of being forced to choose one side or the other and the difference between the right choice and the common choice. No two poems can be exactly similar to another; so despite having many similarities, the two poems are vastly different.…

    • 563 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Robert Frost’s well known poem “The Road Not Taken” has essentially “taken” over American literature and culture by storm. However, the poem seems to have been ripped to shreds as people tend to use fragments of it for their personal purposes. Its famous title and words can be found from the lyrics in various singers’ songs to authors’ books that have been ranked international best sellers using these words. This has caused the poem lose its true value and meaning. Contrary to popular belief, the publicity and popularity that the poem encompasses is due to all the wrong reasons (Orr).…

    • 293 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Unit Plan

    • 4267 Words
    • 13 Pages

    Cited: Frost, Robert. “The Road Not Taken.” The Norton Anthology of Poetry. 4th edition. Ed. Margaret Ferguson, Mary Jo Salter, and Jon Stallworthy. New York: Norton, 1997. 701-702. Print.…

    • 4267 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Robert Frost’s iconic poem The Road Not Taken is a work heavily reliant on the use of symbolism and allegory to convey the implicit meaning. The poem is a narrative of a moment in a man’s life where he must make a choice, standing at a separation of paths in a yellow wood. The Road Not Taken is a poem with a universal message that is relevant to all about a difficult choice people will unavoidable have to make at some point in their lives. By examining this often misunderstood work of poetry and analyzing the use of symbolism and allegory it will become clear that these two devices…

    • 551 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Road Not Taken Outline

    • 1057 Words
    • 5 Pages

    “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.…

    • 1057 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Road Not Taken Tone

    • 1060 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Poetry has graced the world of literature for centuries. Writers have entertained their thoughts on paper with their use of language, symbols, and imagery. For as long as there have been poets writing poetry, there has been people trying to interpret their meaning. Often, these interpretations are based on what the reader wants to see versus the authors intended purpose. Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” is a popular poem that is often misinterpreted as a message to nonconformity. However, the poem’s use of symbolism and subtle irony reflects a regretful tone to cultivate its true message about the complexities of decision making and missed opportunities.…

    • 1060 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Robert Frost Annotation

    • 128 Words
    • 1 Page

    Remembered as a poetic genius of the 20th century, Robert Frost is one of the most celebrated and prominent poets in American history. Frost’s use of repetition, exquisite detail, and rhyme scheme produces a poem that leaves the reader with a distinct, unforgettable image. Furthermore, Frost’s trying life serves as inspiration for his work, especially for some of his most prominent works, including “The Road Not Taken.” Although his careers spans across the 20th century, Robert succeeds at tying his poetry to 19th century propensities and styles, while mixing in new techniques of the 20th century (“Robert Frost” Poetry Foundation). Robert Frost is a distinguished poet who used personal experiences and alluring observations to speak to people…

    • 128 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    "On "The Road Not Taken"" Welcome to English « Department of English, College of LAS, University of Illinois. 10 Apr. 2010. http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/frost/road.htm.…

    • 752 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” remains one of my personal favorites in spite of many years of literary study. The advice of this poem has helped me to understand that when I choose atypical paths it creates a ripple effect that produces differences so profound I can hardly imagine my life without that nonstandard choice. However, I had to realize on my own that every choice has the capacity to become such a divergence. With this realization comes a certain weight to daily choices, and anything beyond that calls for careful thought and planning. The world is full of uncertainties, but assiduous preparation can produce wise choices that lead to the fulfillment of long term goals.…

    • 157 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As noted above, Frost uses many techniques to explain the significant of the poem. The most important aspect of the poem is the extended metaphor of the…

    • 583 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Eng 125 Week 1 Assignment

    • 668 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The poem “The road not taken” by Robert Frost outlines a scenario every human being on the planet has encountered. The images and emotions evoked are masterfully woven into the style that Frost used. Using the formalist approach this poem is easily stripped down to the intent of sharing a common decision making process with the readers. Robert Frost is able to skillfully use writing techniques to share a common experience of which road to take in life and create a poem that evokes those memories every time.…

    • 668 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays