How Literary Techniques in 'The Road Not Taken' Affect Readers
We have no idea which path we may go down, yet it could be a good one or a bad one. We have to decide which path to take. To understand better this concept we will make a review of Robert Frost's “The Road Not Taken” - an analysis essay in which we can notice how author has shown everyone what that looks like in his poem.
Frost was't trying to show us how to make decisions; instead, he was just writing a poem as a joke for his friend, Edward Thomas. Little did he know that his “joke” would turn into one of the most read poems today. He never knew that he would still be inspiring people today with this poem. Some of mankind use this poem to get through all of their decisions, and some use it as part of their speech at graduation. Frost might have influenced them to make those decisions.
What is road, fork in the road, or yellow wood? These are examples of metaphors in “The Road Not Taken.” “The “road” in the poem is a metaphor for a decision; it represents a decision shown in his or her life. “This allows the reader to understand that two choices are presented to a traveler and a decision must be made.” “Bent in the undergrowth”, symbolizes that however long something looks, anticipating the result of each outcome is exceptionally difficult. While “the fork in the road” “metaphorically represents the choices we make to determine the course of our lives.” The “yellow wood” means the poem is set in autumn. This also means there were leaves on the ground that might have obscured tracks in the roads.
Imagery is used in “The Road Not Taken” to enhance the reader’s experience. In this line of imagery, Frost analyzes “Because it was grassy and wanted wear” to obtain a better understanding of the traveler’s process for making choices. It lays out his perspective of the path; we may not be there, but we can imagine it with the use of imagery. Stanza one line one reveals that “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood.” According to bartleby, “Frost really emphasizes the two roads separating from each other.” Another reader on Bartleby states that this line “tells us that the setting is autumn, because the leaves are changing, and have turned yellow.” “In another line “In leaves no step had trodden black” , trodden is more appropriate than another word such as crushed or pulverized, because it is the past form of trod, or to step in something, and gives an image of human feet stepping on the freshly fallen leaves.”
Overall, Robert Frost uses personification, imagery, metaphors, and similes in “The Road Not Taken” to portray how difficult making decisions is in life. Frost helps the reader envision what the traveler in the story is seeing or feeling.
