Dichotomy In Frost's The Road Not Taken By Robert Frost

What makes us regret? When we look at a past action and believe we could have done better in that situation. This feeling stems from feelings of discontent with one’s current situation and a belief that, given the chance, we would make different choices now. A traveler is faced with a decision between two roads that are seemingly similar but have very different long-term results. The dichotomy presented to readers in Robert Frosts “The road not taken” can lead to many conclusions about the meaning of the work. However, it seems the theme of this story is that choices, which seem small now, can bear unexpected results and such things are outside of our control. When analyzing a poem, it is crucial to notice the diction and how it effects the tone of the piece. At a glance, we see signs of reminiscence in our narrator. The language used to describe our setting gives the reader a better understanding of the narrator’s reminiscent feelings. Frost writes “And be one traveler, long I stood and looked down one as far as I could”, due to the fact that this is written in the past tense the imagery presented here is in the form of a memory and paints a portrait of profound loneliness. We learn here that the narrator stood for a long time but we are not told how long; if we were told how long then the reader might become too interested in the …show more content…
Using diction Frost shows us that regret is not necessary because there is not really a good way to predict the massive implications of a tiny decision. With key choices of diction Frost works to show us the feelings of the narrator so we can better relate to them; Using rhyme schemes and other literary devices the narrator shapes how we see the issues associated with unfortunate life choices. These devices all work to demonstrate the theme, that small choices can have big impacts and we are unable to control