robert frost
The poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost addresses the idea of decision making and choosing what direction life will take you. The poem is about the speaker arriving at a fork in the road, where both paths are carpeted with leaves. The persona, who is believed to be Frost himself, chooses to take the road less traveled by. He tells himself that he will take the other road another day, although he knows it is unlikely that he will have the opportunity to do so. The poem concludes with the speaker satisfied by his choice in taking the road less traveled by. The poem consists of four stanzas, each containing five lines. The rhyme rigid scheme is ABAAB. Then, in the last line the rhyme is broken with the word "difference" making the ending stand out from the rest of the poem. Each line contains four stressed syllables. Frost uses a metaphor comparing the road to life, and the fork to making decisions. The first stanza conveys a mood of change and introduces the idea of a life altering decision, which is the basis for the poem. First Frost sets the scene with his opening words, "Two roads diverged" (1). The speaker is standing at a junction in the road ponde
He is basically saying that what road or choice is picked now will affect his life just as much as what can not be undone. He creates a sense of nostalgia in line 17 when he says that he will be telling the story for years to come. The second line, "Sorry I could not have traveled both" (2) expresses the persona's curiosity to explore several possibilities in life. When Frost says, "And be one traveler" (3) it is obvious that speaker can not travel down both paths. In line six Frost uses the phrase, "Just as fair" (6), to imply that his decision needs careful consideration because once it is made, there is no turning back. The third stanza makes it clear that every time a choice presents itself there is a new journey or path to be traveled. By the end of the second stanza, the speaker still has not made a choice about which path to take. This is shown in lines eleven and twelve when Frost says, "And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black" (11-12). He realizes that he needs to make a choice and pick one path over the other. Although the roads have little difference in appearance since they are "worn about the same" (10) they both lead to undeterminable futures. In the poem Frost made his decision to take the road less traveled by based on his personal beliefs and consideration, without the influence of society. Once again, Frost points to uncertainty in the future by using the word "perhaps" in line seven. In the second stanza the persona continues to examine both paths and ponder which road to take. Frost realizes that the chosen road can make a difference in who you are and the way you live.
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