Stopping by the Woods of the Road Not Taken

A detailed Summary of Stopping by the Woods of the Road Not Taken

Stopping by the Woods of the Road Not Taken

Robert Frost's poems often seem quite simple and easy to read by even the most novice reader. On the surface his poems seem clear enough, but a more in depth analysis of them reveal poems that are very complex and intricate. In his poems we find every element of poetry working together to project images and provide emotions we can relate the poems to. Two of his poems "The Road Not Taken" and "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" uses these elements to convey the images of decisions we are forced to make by getting older.

"The Road Not Taken" tells the story of a traveler happening upon two roads. Choosing one of the roads, he travels it without regrets. We can look at the poem and obviously see there is a traveler who must choose between two different roads to travel. Looking at the words we find that many conclusions can be drawn from their literal and connotative meanings. Two roads are diverging in a yellow wood, and each road represents a path in life that we have to take. Frost's reference to a yellow wood means that it is fall. In the fall all of the trees turn yellow, lose their leaves, and eventually start over again in the

In "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," Frost tells the story of yet another traveler confronted with a decision; in this case, it concerns stopping or going. He wants to stay and watch the snowfall. Now, the traveler could just be watching the snowfall because it is a pretty sight, but with no one around and a snowstorm on the way, the traveler could have ulterior motives. By stopping in these woods, he could be contemplating killing himself. The traveler's horse feels uneasy about stopping for he knows the storm is coming. Animals, just as most humans, are afraid to die, which could happen if they stayed put.

When Frost mentions the path bending in the undergrowth, he is stating that the traveler can no longer see his path. While weighing his options, the undergrowth is the part of our lives that we can only let time show us. If we choose a certain path, we will ultimately reach the undergrowth and be able to tell what lies after it.

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spring. Our traveler is at a point in his life where every thing that has happened up until that point has come to an end and pretty soon he has to start over and choose his path in life. The road he has been traveling has come to an end. This relates to becoming an adult. When graduating from high school, we are faced with major decisions such as going t!

Each poem shows that it is inevitable that we grow up and must make decisions. However both of them show that even though we must grow and change in life there are no set paths to follow, we all live day by day hopefully learning from our experie

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Approximate Word count = 1103
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English