ENGLISH LITERATURE

Assignment No. 1

Instructor: Dr. Swaleha Naqvi

Submitted by:

Darain Syed
M. Noor-ul-Aleem Hasan
BBA- 2K11- A

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 Original Poem: The Road Not Taken
Poet: Robert Frost
Written Year: 1916

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 marked 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.

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Step 1- Analysis
We have chosen a poem that touched our hearts the very first time that we set upon

selecting one. It is none other than Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken.” It seemed

like a real reflection of what we have actually been through this early in our lives since it

relates to the reader's life in making difficult decisions.

Subject Matter: The writer has two divergent roads besides him, going through the

woods in autumn and he wishes that he could travel both of them. The traveler looked at

both the roads and he found that the one of them was traveled more than the other one

though neither road had been travelled lately. He said that he would leave the other one

for another day. But he doubted he would ever come back as he was skeptical whether he

would ever get a chance to travel the road he had left. Then he says that he took the road

less traveled by and that has made all the difference. Though I could not figure out

whether the “sigh” represents whether he was glad he chose the least explored path or

regretting that he had made a wrong decision. The basic theme that wherever the

speaker's life has taken him so far, he has come to the point where, to go any farther, he

needs to make a choice that takes him down one path and precludes him from taking the

other.

Devices Used: The central device used in the poem is metaphor. The “diverging

paths” in the woods are used as a metaphor for choices in life.  Extended metaphor is

used as sometimes the “road” is a metaphor for future, sometimes for a sudden decision

and sometimes as a metaphor for a decision that changes everything – once you've made

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it you can never go back. One of the literary devices employed is antithesis- the first

stanza of the poem describes a traveler who comes to a fork in a road through a "yellow

wood" and wishes he could "travel both" routes, but at the same time he realizes that the

thought of traveling both roads is impractical and therefore rejects it. He also uses

personification when he mentions "wanted wear", while we all know that a road can not

think and would not have any desire at all.

Meter, rhyme and rhetoric: The poem is arranged into four stanzas of five lines each.

The rhyme scheme is ABAAB, which means that the first line in each stanza rhymes with

the third and fourth lines, while the second line rhymes with the fifth line. There are four

stressed syllables per line. Though the poem is written nominally in the iambic

tetrameter, most of the lines are written in a loose or interrupted iambic meter to obtain

a more colloquial tone. The nested couplets within the stanzas subliminally focus the ear,

while attention to the pattern is found in the final rhyme. Because most of the lines

contain nine syllables, the poem cannot be strictly iambic. The overall effect of the rhyme

scheme is analogous to that of the Petrarchan sonnet. The rhymes are strict and

masculine, with the notable exception of the last line that is free verse and has a feminine

touch in it. In line 19, one of the roads is being affirmed as less traveled, even though the

narrator seemed unsure before. And then we get the famous line "and that has made all

the difference," which solidifies the figurative level of this poem by saying that taking the

road that the speaker took, making the choice that he made, has changed his life.

Imagery: The imagery presented in the poem is that of autumn and that it was morning

as it has been mentioned in line 11 and 12: “And both that morning equally lay/ In leaves

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no step had trodden black.” We also see a contradiction of the earlier claim that one path

is less worn than the other. This line shows us that the leaves have freshly fallen –

perhaps masking which path was more or less traveled the day before. In Line 18, the

first line is repeated that depicts that the nature is still important to the speaker. Its

imagery was very effective as it allowed me to put myself into the writer’s shoes and

picture everything in my own mind as the writer has used the colour, space as well as the

level of abstraction pretty effectively.

Themes: The basic themes used in the poem are- individualism as the speaker chooses

to go his own way, taking the “road less traveled” (line 19); caution as before deciding

to take the "road less traveled", the speaker takes time to consider the other road. He says,

"Long I stood / And looked down one as far as I could" (lines 3-4); commitment as the

speaker does not have second thoughts after making his decision; accepting a challenge

since it may be that the road the speaker chooses is less traveled because it presents trials

or perils. Such challenges seem to appeal to the speaker. Hence, the basic theme “wrong

turn or not”, the roads we take can end up making significant changes in our lives. It

seems fair to say that this poem is about the human tendency to look back and attribute

blame to minor events in one's life, or to make more meaning of things than they may

deserve.

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Step 2- Personal Experiences
Making good decisions is a crucial skill at every level. 
Peter Drucker.

If we see making decisions is the main part of our life. It takes a huge proportion of our

time. Deciding whether to do good or bad, whether to pursue education or not. All of

these affect our life. One can also argue that these decisions make our life more exciting

and more interesting. We learn from our mistakes and the wrong decisions we make in

our life. These decisions can be easy to handle with and sometimes these decisions are

hard to cope with. Even when making a decision you are not sure what to choose. One

decision can affect one part of your life and the other you choose can affect the other part

of your life. It can be both your family at one end and your friends at another. It can also

be your family at one end and your education at another. Very rarely will you an

opportunity to deal with both ends and tackle the situation. In my own personal

experience I’ve also realized that when this point of making a decision arrives. Even this

is really frightening because you don’t expect this point to come.

We usually listen to our heart. That is, that we choose whatever is more attracting and

more fun. Whether it is right or wrong, or whether we decide to leave something behind

and take something else along. In such cases we leave out what is boring and take what is

fun. But in the end we should think over every step we take in life. Not only will that it

affect other people in our life. But also that tomorrow we don’t regret over the decision

we made. So it is best to act out smart and think over what we are doing and what

outcome it will give. Only God knows what happens in future the worst decision made

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can give the best outcome and sometimes the worst decision made can give a best

outcome. It all depends upon luck.

This poem reminded us of the movie “Lord of the rings” in which the character Frodo

Baggins had a choice to throw away the ring. But the ring invokes greed in his heart and

he throws away or gives it to someone else. This takes him through a life taking

adventure.

Also there is this movie named “Trust” in which there is a sixteen year old girl. Who

meets a man online and they become friend and she meets him in person. Eventually she

trusts him and this online man exploits it and uses it for himself. In this case she knew

that whatever she was doing was wrong but still she went on doing it. In the end she

couldn’t mend what she did because it was too late.

The battle of 1857 also came in my mind which was fought between the British and the

Indians. The reason it was fought was to gain independence. Even though the war was

fought, many people died and in the end the Indians had to face defeat. Not only that it

was a bad decision but also worsened the situation for the Indians. After it was fought

they couldn’t change what they had already done.

I myself have had experiences when I was young and I would usually go for fun leisure

time and not give much attention to my studies at that time. I would usually get a bad

result and I usually couldn’t stop myself because entertainment and leisure for me

seemed much more attractive to me rather than studies. Also when I was young I can

recall of those times when I would do something from which my parents would forbid me

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to do. Like having ice cream in winters and having junk food and I would end up either

having a fever or food poisoning.

Such small incidents always occur in life. In which we either assume what we did was

right or we think that both decisions have the same outcome and tend to go for one hence

in such a case life is full of such events to make decisions.

Step 3:

A Step

In life the paths we confront

We choose on which to take

Each decision in life is like a stunt

And sometimes it’s like life on stake

The path taken can make your feet ache

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 Some paths are right and some wrong

But the moment, the path taken

Can turn out to be very long

At the end your awaken

From what has made you shaken

In the path you stepped

It’s hard to turn around

Because what’s exciting, we accept

But the decision should be sound

As you step on the ground

Step 4:
While writing the First stanza. I wrote about how each decision we make in life. Each

decision itself can be a minor stunt we pull or a bigger one. Its fate that decides what

decision we make has a result in store for us. Decisions can be life taking too. So you

never know where fate can take you from your decisions. Sometimes the result of minor

decisions is even big. The outcome is bigger than expected and affects the life of many.

In certain circumstances even the path you have taken all the way long you suffering

even when you take that decision.

Also in life when you make a decision or choose between two. Whatever decision

you’ve made it takes you such a point that from there it is too hard to turn back and fix

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what you’ve already done. In such a case it can either be two things. Firstly you are

already enduring the pain after making that decision and you waiting for the time for it to

be over. In the end you get such an unexpected result that awaken you and makes you

realize that taking that decision was very wrong. The second case can be such that you

make your decision you are unaware of what you have done and in the end the decision

gives an outcome that can awaken you and tells you of the wrong decision taken in the

first place.

In the last stanza, I’ve written about that how when you once make up your mind about

making a decision. It becomes very hard to turn around from the decision made. So

before making any decision one should think a lot. So that soon as one makes a step he

should not repent later on what decision he has made. At some point you’re attracted to a

particular path because it seems exciting and attractive. This basically diverges your mind

from thinking rationally and you end up making a wrong decision. So basically before

making your move, stepping on the ground and before making a decision one should

think of all the pros and cons. So that one does not end up in a situation where one isn’t

able to turn around.

Also this poem follows the rhyme scheme of the original poem. It also has five feet but

we did not follow the meter of the original poem.

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What critics say?

Jay Parini:

According to Jay Parini he says that a close look at the poem reveals that Frost's walker

encounters two nearly identical paths, so Frost insists, repeatedly. He says that when

looking at the poem the walker looks down one, first, then the other, "as just as fair."

Meaning their both alike and as if the reader hasn't gotten the message, Frost says for a

third time. "And both that morning equally lay/ In leaves no step had trodden black."

What, then, can we make of the final stanza? Jay Parini thinks is that Frost, the wily

ironist, is saying something like this: "When I am old, like all old men, I shall make a

myth of my life. I shall pretend, as we all do, that I took the less traveled road. But I shall

be lying." Jay Parini thinks that Frost signals the mockingly self-inflated tone of the last

stanza by repeating the word "I," which rhymes - several times - with the inflated word

"sigh." Also that Frost wants the reader to know that what he will be saying, that he took

the road less traveled, is a fraudulent position, hence the sigh.

Robert Faggin:
Robert Faggins says that the drama of the poem is of the persona making a choice

between two roads. As evolved creatures, we should be able to make choices, but the

poem suggests that our choices are irrational and aesthetic. The sense of meaning and

morality derived from choice is not reconciled but, rather obliterated and canceled by a

nonmoral monism. He says that Frost is trying to reconcile impulse with a con- science

that needs goals and harbors deep regrets. The verb Frost uses is taken, which means

something less conscious than chosen. The importance of this opposition to Frost is

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evident in the way he changed the tide of "Take Something Like a Star" to "Choose

Something Like a Star," and he continued to alter tides in readings and

publications. Take  suggests more of an unconscious grasp than a deliberate choice.

References:

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