I need some help analysing this poem for my high school english class. I am very confused on what the 2nd and 3rd stanzas describing the roads mean. I need some help figuring out what the mood/feeling is and then what the poem's message/theme is. Also I need to identify any figures of speech of these (similies, metaphors, personifcation, apostrophe, allusion, hyperbole, oxymoron, synecdoche, metonymy, or symbol), any sound devices of these (alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia, conconance, refrain, parallelism, or anaphora), any rhyme types of these (internal rhyme, end rhyme, or slant rhyme), and what the images in the poem say about it. The main images I could indentify are the yellow wood, and the description of each path. Finally I need to releate to the theme of the poem figures of speech, images, sound devices, rhyme, and meter. Could someone verify if I have identifyed the meter as iambic tetrameter and the rhyme scheme as abaabcdccdefeefghggh correctly? Thank you so much for the help.

Shelley L.

Shelley, read everything on the other thread here and elsewhere then come back to us with 2 or 3 specific questions. Here's a site that will help you with all the poetic terms:

[www.poeticbyway.com]


Les

I'm sorry I went overboard by asking too much. I found most things by looking at the poem again and at other sources but I still need help on a few things. I am still confused by what Frost is trying to say in the middle 2 stanzas and what the mood of the poem is. Also I am struggling to identify sound devices (alliteration, etc) and need a little direction. Thanks again.

[www.english.uiuc.edu]

Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

He picks the second road, because he thinks that it needs walking on (although there's not a lot of difference)

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

He's still comparing in the first two lines. Then he says- 'I can come back' to the first- although he knows he probably won't.

Mood- Read it out loud. Is he angry, ecstatic, sad? (Notice the words 'doubted' and 'sigh')

pam

hello my name is stephanie
I am working on analysing a variety of poems from W, Shakespeare
and am having some dificulties with the analysis of a few of shakespeares poems.

i have deconstructed 5 others but no luck in deconstructing the following
~Winter
~Sigh no more
~ All the world's a stage
~ Fear no more

i would very much appreciate it if you could deconstruct these few.
thankyou this is very much appreciated

from steph :)

Steph, if you want to change the subject from Robert Frost to some poems of Shakespeare, you should start a new topic before posting your query. See the options at the top of this thread. Then someone who knows what you are talking about is more likely to see your request and give you some help.

I suggest you also post the actual poems, for the convenience of those trying to help.

I'm afraid I can't help you to 'deconstruct' any poems, because I don't know what you mean by that. Is deconstruction some special kind of analysis? Sounds too much like destruction for my liking.

I understand that deconstruction is something spawned by post-modernism, but all that happened long after my schooling. Though I have questioned lots of young people who are supposed to know, none has been able to give me explanations of post-modernism and deconstruction that made sense. If that's the point, that it's all about showing that nothing makes sense, that meaning is illusory or unknowable, then it strikes me as a self-defeating philosophy, particularly where poetry appreciation is concerned. Forgive my ignorance and this little rant. If you can put me straight on what you mean by deconstruction, that might help me.

Ian

Desconstruction means taking the poem apart and analysing each part in depth. It's like peeling the layers off an onion; its a way of analysing a text, by deconstructing the layers and analysing each.

Thanks for offering that, Kara, but I am still not clear what deconstruction means in practice.

I'm all in favour of being observant about details and different aspects of a poem where that enriches one's appreciation of the poem (or, in some cases, explains why the poem doesn't work). Reading lots of poetry, and taking time to notice why some poems - maybe only a small percentage - appeal, and why others definitely don't, can be a good way to develop that ability. Ultimately this is about applying personal taste refined by experience.

I also accept that many (not all) poems, by using metaphors and other symbols, have meanings at more than one level, and sometimes can be artfully ambiguous. These are aspects worth noticing, when present.

I am however dubious about any system of analysis that reduces all poetry to the level of 'text', and conceives of that as something invariably layered like an onion to be pulled apart and assessed piece by piece. A good poem is a holistic entity, and needs first and foremost to be considered as a whole, like a living being. It is unlikely to be fairly appreciated just by fragmenting it and examining the bits in isolation.

If what you mean by peeling off the layers is analysing the poem through the successive lenses of current critical theories (Marxist, feminist, Freudian, racist, etc), well, such theories are driven by ideological fashions rather than by any reverence for poetry. Sometimes they can illuminate a worthwhile aspect. More often, applying them to a particular poem is so inappropriate as to be absurd.

Maybe deconstruction, as you know it, is nothing like what I have described above. If so, I probably need to see examples of how it's applied in practice to understand it.

Ian



Post Edited (07-07-04 09:16)

Ian,

Deconstruction may not be as bad as you think. Personally, I find it rather an improvement on New Criticism as espoused by Eliot, Brooks and Bateson. One of the problems with all critical theories is that they take themselves far too seriously and a huge amount of discussion and debate over definitions hides some of the simple ideas that underly theory.

Instead of the unified interpretation of New Criticsim, Deconstruction takes something of an opposite view in that there is an assumption that a poem's meaning will be indertiminate or undecided. This opens the (sensible) possibility that there can be a number of interpretations, none of which are necessarily correct.

Of course, this is all vastly simplified. One of the proponents of Deconstruction, Timothy Bahti, said:

"for New Criticism texts were fundamentally ambiguous and interpretations fundamentally were not. Today [i.e. in Deconstruction], texts are ambiguous and interpretations are indeterminate."

Surprisingly, in the US, there has been enormous debate about the word indeterminate. Some supporters claim that undecidability is a far better description. I may not understand the nuances here, but it seems to me that any approach that accepts, even insists, that there are a range of interpretations - only a range, not infinite - is to be welcomed as being more rooted in the real world than an approach that insists on a single interpretation. The extent to which indeterminate and undecided are truly different in this context are for far better minds than mine to worry about.

Chesil

A representative anecdote:

I once wrote a line in a poem for school: "He wraps his blind ambition in a plastic bag"

I was amazed to see the "interpretations" from people....all it meant was that the person I was talking about had a copy of the book by Watergate notable John Dean, and he was a fanatic about preserving it !

That's the point, Johnny, it meant different things to different people. A single interpretation, even the authorial one cannot be considered the only valid interpretation.

Chesil

I was always tempted to put some of my "spam poetry" out there to see what interpretations they would generate.

I need a Metaphor analysis of
Bending Wall
The Ax held
Stopping by the woods
HELP

Carol, as you are not asking about 'The Road Not Taken', you will have a better prospect of attracting the help you need if you start a new thread for your request, and give it a new title. Go to the top of this thread and click on the New Topic option.

Yes, I was asked to do an explication of this poem and find critics that agreed with and disagreed with this poem can you help me?

Allison, I assume you are referring to Robert Frost's poem 'The Road Not Taken'. What do you mean by a critic agreeing or disagreeing with it?



Post Edited (09-30-04 00:58)

Hi,
My name is Lauren and I am a Year 12 student. At the moment twe are studying 'The road not taken''. We are studying it in relation to Journeys any help on meanings in the form, context, metaphors. Any help will be greatly appreciated

Lauren

Lauren,

There are a couple of topics specifically on the 'physical journeys' concept. You might want to look over those. Also, try looking at the other responses on this thread. Clicking on Flat View might be easiest.

Road can be seen as a literal journey- 'I went through the woods, and picked this path rather than that one'- or a metaphorical journey- 'Think about traveling down paths as an example of how one travels through life.'

My assumption is that Frost meant for both meanings to be there.

pam

Hi,

I am just learning about poetry in my freshman year at college. Are there other parts to this poem that are literal? What are some of them.

Darcy

Literal - as opposed to figurative? Frost said he really did take long walks in the woods with Edward Thomas, from which he was inspired to write this poem, but other than that I don't follow what you are looking for.

i have to analyze the road not taken.. but i dont get how to do that.. i ahve to probe the meaning of the poem's theme and how the different types of figurative language, meter, rhythm, rhyme and other details create and contribute to the theme.. it says my essay has to be thesis driven.. i have no idea what it means.. im only a freshman in high school and these things confuse me.. it will be greatly aprreciated if someone helps me thank you!

[www.english.uiuc.edu]

hello. im a year 11 student and i was looking for some help on the road not taken by robert frost. i have to write a research paper the use of metaphors in this poem. any websites or opinions would be welcome thanks.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;


Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,


And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.


I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

Backtrack this very road and you will be rewarded.

You might be interested in these sample questions set for 15 year olds in their GCSE examination in the UK.

Note: these are the questions. I'm leaving it to you experts to know the answers!

1. The poet faces a choice of two roads, or forest tracks. What does he seem to be looking for to help him decide which route to take?
2. What does the answer you have just given tell you about his personality and the way he approaches decisions?
3. If the decision is so difficult, why can he not return another time and try the other road do you think?
4. Can you find any signs of regret at the choice he has made?
5. How would he now be feeling if he had followed the road not taken?
6. Sometimes writers are deliberately ambiguous: that is, they create a double meaning to make you think. What do you think he means in the last line?
7. The poem could be seen as an extended metaphor; in other words, the fork in the road need not be taken literally as a decision about a route. To what else in life could it apply? Can you list the kind of decisions in life to which he might be referring?
8. Which of these words and phrases best describe the style: flowery; plain; everyday words; full of images; simple; descriptive; conversational.
9. 'Yellow' in line 1 seems an odd choice of adjective. What other two-syllable words could he have used? What effect do you think he hoped for by the choice of 'yellow'?



Stephen

I like the questions Stephen, thanks for sharing them. I feel teachers of college literature sometimes become so involved in the minutiae of a poem that they fail to teach the basics. These questions show a clear understanding of the basic issues involved with this particular poem.


Les

I need some help in the poem "The Road not taken" please somebody can tell me where is the speaker standing when he have to make the decision.

Thank you!!!

He is standing at a point where the two roads divide. Now, does that mean he has come to a "Y" in the road, or an intersection like an "X" (or a plus "+")?

the mood of the road not taken is of reflection and sadness for the reason of frost not being able to take both roads. the thesis is that of choices. the whole poem is an extended metaphor of choices you make in life.

for my english speech i have to be the persona in "the road not taken". Analysysing how this character identifies, explains and reflects upon the concept of journeys. Does anyone have any suggestions or information? Thankyou

Everyone is a traveler, choosing the roads to follow on the map of their continuous journey, life. There is never a straight path that leaves one with but a sole direction in which to head. Regardless of the original message that Robert Frost had intended to convey, his poem, "The Road Not Taken", has left its readers with many different interpretations. It is one's past, present and the attitude with which he looks upon his future that determines the shade of the light that he will see the poem in. In any case however, this poem clearly demonstrates Frost's belief that it is the road that one chooses that makes him the man who he is. "And sorry I could not travel both..." It is always difficult to make a decision because it is impossible not to wonder about the opportunity cost, what will be missed out on. There is a strong sense of regret before the choice is even made and it lies in the knowledge that in one lifetime, it is impossible to travel down every path. In an attempt to make a decision, the traveler "looks down one as far as I could". The road that will be chosen leads to the unknown, as does any choice in life. As much he may strain his eyes to see as far the road stretches, eventually it surpasses his vision and he can never see where it is going to lead. It is the way that he chooses here that sets him off on his journey and decides where he is going. "Then took the other, just as fair, and having perhaps the better claim." What made it have the better claim is that "it was grassland wanted wear." It was something that was obviously not for everyone because it seemed that the majority of people took the other path therefore he calls it "the road less traveled by". The fact that the traveler took this path over the more popular, secure one indicates the type of personality he has, one that does not want to necessarily follow the crowd but do more of what has never been done, what is new and different. "And both that morning equally lay in leaves no step had trodden black." The leaves had covered the ground and since the time they had fallen no one had yet to pass by on this road. Perhaps Frost does this because each time a person comes to the point where they have to make a choice, it is new to them, somewhere they have never been and they tend to feel as though no one else had ever been there either. "I kept the first for another day!" The desire to travel down both paths is expressed and is not unusual, but "knowing how way leads on to way", the speaker of this poem realizes that the decision is not just a temporary one and he "doubted if I should ever come back." This is his common sense speaking and acknowledging that what he chooses now will affect every other choice he makes afterward. Once you have performed an act or spoken a word that crystallizes who you are, there is no turning back and it cannot be undone. Once again at the end of the poem the regret hangs over the traveler like a heavy cloud about to burst. He realizes that at the end of his life, "somewhere ages and ages hence", he will have regrets about having never gone back and traveling down the roads he did not take. Yet he remains proud of his decision and he recognizes that it was this path that he chose that made him turn out the way and he did and live his life the way in which he lived. "I took the road less traveled by and that had made all the difference." To this man, what was most important, what really made the difference, is that he did what he wanted, even if it meant taking the road less traveled. If he hadn't, he wouldn't be the same man he is now. There are many equally valid meanings to this poem and Robert Frost may have intended this. He may have been trying to achieve a universal understanding. In other words, there is no judgment, no specificity, no moral. There is simply a narrator who makes a decision in his life that had changed the direction of his life from what it may have otherwise been. It allows all readers from all different experiences to relate to the poem.

Been a pleasure

I have to write a poetic analysis of robert Frost's The Road not taken and i was wondering what type of literary techniques(like figurative language, diction, imagery, tone and rythm) are used the most in this poem. Please help anything helps.
thanks, Dyana

Here you go:

[www.english.uiuc.edu]


Les

I need help finding the foot and meter for this poem. Can any one help?

I need help finding the foot and meter for this poem. Can any one help?

Iambic tetrameter with anapestic substitutions. And mebbe a trochee, sure.

Hello!!! I have an assessment and its asking me to write an essay on 'The journey, not the arrival, matters. And i dont know how to interpret it in relation with this poem. It also wants me to discuss the statement, focusing on how composers of texts represent the concept of the journey. Please help. Thankyou!!!

I have to find a metaphor which includes Tenor, Vehicle, Tension, and ground from "The Road Not Taken" if anyone who can help me, please reply.
Thanks!

>Tenor, Vehicle, Tension, and ground ...

Aha! Real portry terms - gives me a frisson.

Tenor is what is meant but not stated, vehicle is what is actually said, ground is their common ground, but what the heck is 'tension'?

Oh, well, no matter. We will make something up. Richards is long dead now and he won't be able to contradict us.

[www.press.jhu.edu]

>Two roads diverged in a yellow wood

Let's see, now. The two roads would be the vehicle,what is stated; life's timeline would then be the tenor, what (I am guessing) is meant; the fact that they both branch away from us (give us choices) the ground. That leaves tension, which is what, their difference(s)?

Hellow,
i need to know what does new criticsim mean??
How can i use it for text analysis??

[www.google.com]

great job!

dear sir,

I would like to request you about the example of a thesis about an analysis of figures of speech in poetry of the road not taken by robert frost


thank you very much for attention and I hope you reply my letter



Your faithfully,



ita rifiani

Please help me fine all the figures of speech in this poem

[tinyurl.com]

Somebody plese help me on this poem i'm stuck, if u have ne thin email me asap please.

this is one of my favourite poems
i read the mood as regretful
but there can be so many different interpretations
use TEE
technique
example
effect

apparently thats wat gets good marks in the HSC

I wrote this before on some other forum but they removed it and that's why I repeat it here or I wouldn't normally. Someone on that forum said that maybe Frost's sigh is an indication that he regretted making that decision of taking the road less travelled by. I would say that if we find out whether the poem was written before or after Frost got acclaim for his other poetry, we can tell from that sigh if he regretted it or relished it. Some there suggested that because Frost himself took the road he wanted to, therefore, we should also do the same. In which case if we want to take the road OTHER than the one Frost took, then that would be the right decision as we would be following our heart just as Frost followed his.

Oh! And that reminds me, as words are spirit or have life in them because there's a distinct voice speaking through them, therefore don't mess with anybody's written words anywhere or you mess with their spirit. Ask yourself this question, if what I say wasn't true then how come after the writer is long gone, there's a voice that still speaks from the words, why does the voice not become dead and the words lifeless, but that doesn't happen. Perhaps in our universe, when we say, "Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, but infinitesimally small amounts can dissipate," perhaps those small amounts go and reside inside the written word. So, the second rule of thumb, the written word stays, always! Don't mess with it, no matter what, only the person whose word it is can.