![]() He does make a decision, hoping that he may be able to visit this place again, yet realizing that such an opportunity is unlikely. Although the paths look equally attractive, the speaker knows that his choice at this moment may have a significant influence on his future. ![]() ![]() The speaker of the poem must choose one path instead of another. The poem relies on a metaphor in which the journey through life is compared to a journey on a road. Like many of Frost’s poems, “The Road Not Taken” is set in a rural natural environment which encourages the speaker toward introspection. The message of going against the grain and making tough decisions based on what is best for oneself strongly resonates with readers, as we are all really on the road of life, making decisions every day that alter our path and allow us to grow as human beings.“The Road Not Taken,” first published in Mountain Interval in 1916, is one of Frost’s most well-known poems, and its concluding three lines may be his most famous. The narrator says "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- / I took the one less traveled by, / And that has made all the difference." The connotation here is that the narrator made a choice that may not have been popular or may have been difficult - a choice that others wouldn't have made - and that has brought some reward or satisfaction in life. The narrator chose to do something different and has had a different life for it.įrost’s poem has been read and re-read by many for decades, you might even remember analyzing it in a high school English class the denotation and connotation throughout the work greatly contribute to the overall message, which has become widely familiar to many. The traveler's choice of path is about much more than a road going through the woods. Using the term "traveler" with the choice represented by the roads reinforces the notion that the poem is about a person making a choice that will influence the trajectory of his or her life. The Choice The person has a way to go before being at the final destination and being able to rest. While the denotation of the word means simply one who is on a journey, the connotation in the poem is that of a person on a journey through life. The word "traveler" also connotes weariness. The setting greatly contributes to the overall meaning of the poem. When we feel like we are running out of time in our lives, our choices have a lot more depending on them and the decision we end up making holds a lot more significance. In this way, the yellow woods also serve as a reminder of the narrator's mortality, increasing the gravity of the decision before them. The fact that the woods are yellow also connotes that the narrator is nearing the end of life - or the "autumn" of life. However, the connotation of the wood is that it represents life itself, which can be confusing and make the clear choice we need to make hard to see. On the surface, the narrator is simply in a "yellow wood." The yellow implies that it is fall since the leaves are turning. The setting for the poem also holds additional meaning. The word choice here is strategic what better way to depict the tough decision of what direction to take your life than two separate roads in front of you? The narrator is not just choosing a road to cut through the woods, but a path to take through life. Each road represents a different choice the narrator can make, and each choice will lead to a different series of events, or path in life. The connotation of "road" in the poem is both choice and the journey of life. In the first line of "The Road Not Taken," the “two roads diverged” in a wood are more than just roads they are a good example of an extended metaphor , or a metaphor that is referenced several times throughout a work. The denotation of a word is its actual meaning, while the connotation of a word is the meaning that is implied. Upon breaking up the different parts of Robert Frost’s poem, one can better understand both the denotative and connotative meaning throughout.
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