work cited for robert frost the road not taken analysis

The idea that the paths are equal is explicitly stated in the third stanza, as is the concept that once the choice has been made, there is no recapturing the other option, bringing the poem into greater contextual meaning. The natural setting manages to evoke an abstract philosophical concept regarding the journey of human life and a sense of the time and security to consider it. This invokes a sense of security, an idea of brighter prospects and perhaps a clearer view of what may occur in the future. While the first path was described as having undergrowth that prevented a longer view, the second path is described as grassy, indicating that perhaps it is more in the sun.

Rather than pausing to determine which road he’s going to take, he seems to be wishing he could take both roads at the same time and remember all of the experiences of both. The wood he is in is yellow, which is a color most often associated in the Western culture with happiness, friendship and pleasant sunshine. Frost is able to do this by using words such as ‘diverge’, which suggests leisure time and a lack of concern. It opens with the line “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood.” This immediately places the reader within an idyllic, timeless, peaceful place within nature. The first stanza of the poem establishes the setting and the mood of the poem. “The Road Not Taken” is one of his early poems, written in 1915 at a time when Frost was just returning to America after having spent some time in England. One of the more common themes within Frost’s poetry is the theme of wandering alone in the wilderness, often as a means of either finding one’s way or losing oneself in the greater landscape. Much of Frost’s life can be seen in light of the conflict between city and academic life and long walks in the country as a means of finding revelation. However, by this time, his writing was beginning to gain recognition and he was developing his own style and poetic approach. His grandfather bought him a farm that Frost attempted to work, but eventually returned to teaching, through it all demonstrating a heavy preference and talent in the area of literature. Lawrence University and they could get married (Gerber 1967).įrom here Frost again attended school, this time at Harvard, until it became necessary for him to devote himself full-time to supporting a growing family.

He did this and other odd jobs until his fiancé Eleanor graduated from St. However, things didn’t work out quite the way he’d planned and he soon returned home to take over his mother’s unruly classroom. Life was always a struggle for Frost and his family, but he did well in school and helped on the farm and eventually earned a scholarship to Dartmouth, supplemented by his grandfather, in 1892.

Work cited for robert frost the road not taken analysis