Summary Of The Road Not Taken By Robert Frost

Improved Essays
Robert Frost’s catalog of poetry by all means contains some of the most noteworthy works that have ever been created. “The Road Not Taken” is no exception to this statement. You could ask many people who have the most dismal knowledge when it comes to poetry about Robert Frost and more than likely the first work that will come out of their mouth is “The Road Not Taken”. You may ask yourself, “Why, among Robert Frost’s massive catalog of incredible works of poetry such as “After Apple-Picking” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”, is “The Road Not Taken” the work that is most recognizable to most people?” Many could come up with various assumptions to why this is the case. For example, maybe it is because it is read to you when you are …show more content…
One of the first examples of great word choice that can be found in this poem is in the line, “Two woods diverged in a yellow wood,” (l. 1). The significance of the word choice in this line comes in the form of Robert Frost’s usage of the word yellow to set us up for the symbolism of the entire poem by establishing what season that this poem is set in. There is also a dramatic choice of words in the last line of the first stanza which reads, “To where it bent in the undergrowth” (l. 5). Robert Frost’s choice of using the word bent when describing how the path disappears into the undergrowth shows a sense of abruptness. It’s as if it wasn’t enough for Robert Frost to use the word disappeared, he had to show some sense that there was an inevitable change no matter which path the narrator chose. Another form of great word choice takes place in the line, “Because it was grassy and wanted wear:” (l. 8). The statement that the second path the narrator viewed “wanted wear” is one of the more powerful elements of this poem. This is due to the fact that it shows that the path in question is sort of yearning for a chance to be chosen. Which directly connects with the symbolism of the poem that helps show how the choice that not many people make is right there and it is ready to be taken you just have to put faith into …show more content…
With the help of the beautiful setting, immense symbolism, and fantastic word choice it is easy to see how “The Road Not Taken” has been one of the most popular works by Robert Frost. It is a poem that anyone can really grasp and really connect with. It is also one of the easier poems to understand and figure out what message or story that Robert Frost tries to convey to the reader of this literary work. All in all the real reason that this is one of Robert Frosts most popular, if not his most popular poem, is that he beautifully assembled scenery and symbolism in “The Road Not Taken” and that has made all the

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    “The Road Not Taken” talks about two choices that an individual has about something and choosing the hard one is more fruitful. In the story there had been two times he could have made choices. The first time was when he went to Newfoundland eleven years ago. He was not very responsible with his actions when he had impregnated Jenny. However, Robert Frost chooses the harder route and is, thus, more successful.…

    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Robert Frost Robert Frost, most famous for such works as “The Road Not Taken” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” inspired the world with his poetry. Because most of the time he was coping with the death of a loved one, a large majority of his poems contemplate the purpose of life and what comes after death, simultaneously reflecting his constant feelings of isolation and grief. Born on March 26, 1874, to William Prescott Frost Jr. and Isabelle Modie Frost, Robert Frost lived in San Francisco for the first eleven years of his life. His mother introduced him to Shakespeare and other similar literature at an early age, instilling in him an early passion for reading and learning.…

    • 1840 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Cosi Inner Journey

    • 963 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Road Not Taken talks about the decisions people have to make throughout their life’s inner journey and where these decisions will lead them. As written in Stanza Two “Then took the other, as just as fair, and having perhaps the better claim”, Robert Frost is expressing that these options we have in life and the decisions we make are not easy to do and at times it may be stressful and confusing but to continue on with our life’s inner journey we must make a decision. Although at the time we may have chosen the wrong pathway or road but we should always be optimistic as the future holds great experiences and surprises for us. We can see this concept through Julie in the novel “Cosi”, she experienced rough patches throughout her life which put her away in a mental illness hospital but through time and hard work she managed to fix her life and get herself back on track for the rest of her life’s inner…

    • 963 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Lawrence Durrell once said that “Journeys like artists are born not made. A thousand differing circumstances contribute to them, few of them willed or determined by the will- whatever we may think...”. Journeys is a term that implies travel, the notion of a journey can be either physical, inner or imaginative and can result in negative or positive outcomes. Journeys result in transformation of new insights, experiences, cultures and perspectives. Journeys that are undertaken by individuals display consequences and changes that aid in shaping an individual’s perspective on interpersonal relationships, personal identity and existential outlook.…

    • 1117 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The poems use of vague language allows for interpretations about life choices. There are so many choices in life that can lead to different opportunities in the future, but a choice has to be made. "The Road Not Taken" may be interpreted in more than one way. The poem illustrates someone strolling in the woods. The person sees the two roads diverge and is deciding on which road to take.…

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    One might say that their thoughts may be too complex as both poems are superficial, simple and the goals of the poem are clear, proving there is nothing beyond that. Nevertheless, the imagery is deep and creative leaving a lot for the reader to interpret, the symbolism demonstrated in each poem provides insight beyond the poems themselves, and impactful literary devices that show how immersed each poet’s mind are indulged into their writing. The detailed picture Robert Frost and Dylan Thomas create in their poems is due to their enhanced capabilities in using imagery. In “The Road Not Taken” Frost is able to deceive his readers by using two words.…

    • 1417 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There comes a point in life where we are bound to take crucial decisions in order to move forward. Some choices would prove to be exactly what we were hoping for and others will make us wonder what would have happened if we had taken the other available path. Robert Frost presents this enigma on his poem ‘The Road Not Taken’. He most chose between two paths and he is conflicted about not being able to “travel both.” He looks at one road until it disappears from his sight, yet he decides to travel the other path “because it was grassy and wanted wear” (Frost).…

    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In Robert Frost poem, “The Road Not Taken” the writer employs the use of a metaphor to demonstrate the concept of choice. The line, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood” symbolizes the very difficult task that the writer is faced with in terms of which way he should proceed. This decision will undoubtedly be a life altering one since there are only two unknown possible outcomes. The choice is presented in the form of one option which has been tested many times before and the other which not many been brave enough to take. There is no turning back once our path is chosen.…

    • 121 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost is about a man, who was ambulating through the woods, came across two roads and found it hard to optate a path. Many people seem to think that this poem is about being different and taking the road no one else has taken. Then again, I optically discern a man. Who is highly indecisive and discombobulated, and needs to make a decision in order to move forward.…

    • 427 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost is viewed to choose the path of their own desire. In the first line “Two roads diverged in a yellow road/ And sorry I could not travel both” (line1-2) represents how in reality, many people would come to a decision to make a choice of which journey they would embark on. The choices they make would change their lives for the better, and represents how curiosity persuaded one to take both roads to experience different perspectives to gain more knowledge about life. Through the first stanza, it says how the narrator how far the road last before bending in the undergrowth representing how one cannot predict how events go as we expected nor what consequences they would face as they must prepare for what…

    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In 1916, the poet Robert Frost published the iconic poem “The Road Not Taken” to the world. This poem is written in a first person perspective and it begins with a person explaining to the reader that they have come to a halt in the road. The road had forked into two separate roads, each going into two different directions. The person was unsure on which path they should choose, so they decided to figure out where they each went. According to the speaker, one of the roads had nicer grass and the road was less worn-down, so they thought of going that way.…

    • 985 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost is a short poem about a character who encounters with two roads that diverged in a yellow wood, and he has to choose which road to go. For the narrator it is impossible to see what lies ahead, he examines booth roads accurately and thinks that one road is less worn by passers that another. However, he realizes that both roads are likely equally traveled and complains that he will probably never return to take the other path. Moreover, the narrator thinks of how he will tell this story in the future with a sigh. Consequently, he chooses the road that he perceived to be less traveled and says “and that made all the difference.”…

    • 1101 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The Road Not Taken Essay

    • 1275 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Road Not Taken and the Road Less Traveled Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken,” written in 1916 and published in Mountain Interval in 1920, quickly became a popular part of the American literary tradition. Superficially, it appears to be a celebration of the creation of an individual destiny, without following the example of those who have come before. However, there is more to the poem than this simple interpretation. Examined more closely, it is obvious that the narrator feels much more ambivalence about his choice than is initially apparent.…

    • 1275 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    The name of the poem is quoted universally even though some people do not know what the context of the poem is. For instance, “‘The Road Not Taken’ has been used in advertisements for Mentos, Nicorette, the multibillion-dollar insurance company AIG, and the job-search Web site Monster.com, which deployed the poem during Super Bowl XXXIV to great success” (Orr). The point of view of Frost 's poem is telling us that, sometimes, could choose the one that not too many people has chosen. Also, in rhetorical, Frost prefers to use word of choice, symbolic, and metaphor in his poem…

    • 1313 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The colloquial idiom to “kill time” is commonly heard in passing. Whether it is a baby’s first steps, a first car, or even a marriage ceremony, a communal ideology remains that life contains nothing more than waiting for the momentous events. However, this theory of “killing time” whilst waiting for the future also kills any chances of obtaining a purposeful life. Monotony has become an epidemic in today’s society, leaving thousands feeling trapped and vainly seeking some shred of meaning in their life. The great American poet, Robert Frost, gives unique insight on the recognizable struggle between balancing the demands of society with one’s personal search for purpose.…

    • 1140 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays

Related Topics