Answers
The Road Not Taken Analysis
- Institution
- University Of South Africa (Unisa)
The Road Not Taken poem
[Show more]
Content preview
C entr al i mage o f the po em: B y us i ng thi s ti tl e the po et dr aw s the reader ' s attenti o n to the po em' s fo cus o n thei mage o f a per s o n s tandi ng at cho i ce that w as no t made, r ather than the cho i ce that w as made.
a fo rk i n the path & deci di ng The path that w as no t cho s en, i r o ni cal l y, beco mes the mo re attr acti ve o ne, and
to take o ne path rather than o ccupi es the s peaker' s tho ughts much mo re than the path that he di d cho o s e.
ano ther (cho i ce between two
o pti o ns i n l i fe). The Road Not Taken
Robert Frost (1874–1963)
Deno tes a fo rk i n the
r o ad.
C o nno tes a l i fe cho i ce
(metapho r ). Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
“o” assonance “a” assonance
Anapho r a: Repeti ti o n o f “And”
i n l i nes 2-4, 7, 11 & 20. And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood Enjambment
Image o f the s peaker s tandi ng
o n hi s to es & s tretchi ng hi s
And looked down one as far as I could
neck, peer i ng al o ng the path,
tryi ng to get a cl earer vi ew o f
the ro ad & hi s futur e, w hi ch i s To where it bent in the undergrowth; 5
“ bent” - unkno wn &
He takes the mo r e appeal i ng
unpr edi ctabl e.
path (“ better cl ai m”), the
“a” assonance
Anti thes i s : Thro ugho ut the “o ther ” o ne that w as “gras s y ”
Then took the other, as just as fair, and no t w o rn do w n by
po em the s peaker s ays that
thes e paths were “fai r ”, “the tr avel l er s .
And having perhaps the better claim,
s ame” & “equal l y ” appeal i ng, It r efers to the s po t at the fo r k
Lacked
but he s ays i n l i ne 7 that he i n the ro ad w here pas s er s -by
cho s e “the better cl ai m”. Because it was grassy and wanted wear; w o ul d have s to pped to po nder
thei r deci s i o n as to whi ch path
Though as for that, the passing there to take.
The s po t w o ul d be wo r n Enjambment
do wn as tr avel l er s s to o d
Had worn them really just about the same, 10
The two paths (“r o ads ”) ar e
aro und, mo vi ng thei r feet,
tr yi ng to co me to a deci s i o n s i mi l ar: s tanz a 2: “as j us t as
abo ut thei r futur e. fai r ” & “the pas s i ng ther e...the
s ame”; s tanz a 3: “ bo th that
The s peaker ' s i ntenti o n i s And both that morning equally lay mo r ni ng equal l y l ay ”.
to retur n s o that he can
Thes e w o rds ar e co nnected
travel al o ng the o ther path
s o me ti me i n the futur e. In leaves no step had trodden black. becaus e, o n that par ti cul ar day,
the s peaker fo und hi ms el f w here
Thi s i s i ro ni c, becaus e he
Oh, I kept the first for another day! tw o ways (paths ) l ay befo re hi m.
wi l l be unabl e to travel
back i nto the pas t & al ter Ex cl amati o n mar k emphas i s es
hi s deci s i o n. Yet knowing how way leads on to way, the s peaker' s regr et.
The s peaker kno ws that he
w i l l no t go back to that I doubted if I should ever come back. 15
s ame s po t i n the w o o d and
then take the o ther path.
Of regret C o l o n: ex pl anati o n fo l l o w s .
The s peaker ex er ci s es I shall be telling this with a sigh Metapho r : the “path” i s a
fr eedo m o f i ndependent Therefore metapho r fo r a l i fe cho i ce
cho i ce. Repeti ti o n o f “I” Somewhere ages and ages hence: made by the s peaker.
co nveys that he made
Hyphen: apply emphasis
the deci s i o n. Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – to the words that follow.
Li ne 20: He i s s ati s fi ed The s peaker fo und hi ms el f o n a
w i th hi s deci s i o n. I took the one less travelled by, l i fe path that w as no t po pul ar
o r cho s en by many peo pl e
And that has made all the difference. 20 s i nce i t i s “l es s travel l ed by ”.
, Anaphora: The deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several successive verses,
clauses, or paragraphs
Antithesis: A contrast or opposition between two things.
Enjambment: The running on of the thought from one line, couplet, or stanza to the next without a
syntactical break/punctuated pause.
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through EFT, credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying this summary from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller lizagloy. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy this summary for R50,00. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
48756 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy summaries for 15 years now