My Favourite Poem(So far...)

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
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 kept 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.

1.One method of using figurative language used in this poem is that of symbolism, shown as choosing between two roads to walk on. The choosing of roads in the poem refers to different choices he made in life, and the roads themselves refer to the experiences in life. He chooses to use roads to symbolise experiences in life as the surroundings of the roads represent different phases in life, not all of which are necessarily the same.

Another is the use of personification, also in the case of the roads. As the poem goes, the roads "wanted wear", and as roads cannot think, they cannot want. Wanting, is what humans do.

Use of hyper boles is shown as "somewhere ages and ages hence", as it is exaggerated greatly.

2. This poem is about making decisions in life. And that choices you make will affect you in the future, be it good or bad. What I perceive of this poem is that choices are inevitable in life, and you will only live to regret or treasure it after you have travelled it. I like it with the fact that it relates to normal people's everyday life and that people can understand it better as it is a subject closer to them than some other profound poems. Choices is something we have to make everyday, be it choosing to do your chores or not etc. However, this poem is evidently about making choices that are likely to affect you in life in the future. The way he describes the choices and how he has to make them show that he has not regretted making that choice, despite it being the one less favoured by others. It is simple, yet profound, and the way its message is conveyed is understandable by people of all ages allows me to enjoy it.