Whose woods these are I think I know,
His house is in the village though. He
will not see me stopping here, to watch
his woods fill up with snow.
Doesn't suggest the
direction of the poem.
It almost sounds
innocen. Like the
person in the poem is
just admireing the
beauty around them.
Imagry of the
woods fill up
with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
to stop without a farmhouse near
between the woods and frozen lake
the darkest night of the year.
Enjambment
you get a feeling of isolation. Tone
starts to shift negative and the poem
loses its innocents. We get a sense that
something is lurking in the shadows.
He gives his harness bells a shake
to ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sounds the sweep
of easy wind and downy flake.
Personification, of the horse.
The horse asking if there is
some mistake adds to the
uneasy feeling of the poem.
Isolated feeling is reinforced.
These woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep, and miles to
go before I sleep, and miles to go before I
sleep.
Repetition.
Metaphor for death,
sleep.
The contrasting images
of lovely dark and deep,
leave it up to the reader
to choose and interprate.
He brings up the
promises he must keep at
the last minuet like he is
dreading having to leave.
its like his choice has
already been made, and
now he deals with the
consequences.
Contrasting images.
Nothing Gold can stay.
Poem.
Natures First green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold/
•The first line gives us the
setting of the poem—we're
in nature. The speaker,
though, says this first green
is actually gold.
Imagery. You see nature,
but it looks gold. Gold is
the colour we associate
with something rare and
expensive or special.
•Now that our speaker has told
us that nature is gold before it's
green, he goes on to say that gold
is the hardest hue, or colour, for
nature to hold, or keep. So the
first colour we see in spring
doesn't stick around very long
Personification of nature,
saying its first green is the
hardest of hers (nature) to hold.
Early leaf's a flower,
but only so an hour.
The first stage of something is
beautiful, but appearances fade quickly
Imagery. Seeing the
early leaf as a flower.
Then leaf subsides to
leaf, so edan sank to
greif.
Repetition of “leaf” affirms
that the leaf lasts longer
than the short bloom of
the flower. The
appearance of something
may change, but there are
parts of it that may remain
the same.
Allusion. Frost alludes to
the fall of Eden in the
bible.Theological value to
poem: Life brings bliss
and inevitable hardships.
So dawn goes down to day,
Nothing gold can stay.
Shifts focus from seasons to a short day.
Nothing is permanent. Life is a cycle of
constant change. Some changes last
longer than others
Imagery. You see dawn turn to day.
Rhyme Scheme: AABBCCDD Diction:
Simple, no word is longer than 2
syllables Meter: short trimeter,
contributes to the shortness of the
poem
Road not taken.
Poem
First published in 1916 ,
“The Road Not Taken"
Title
The road’ is the symbol of the choice made by us in
life. Many times, we regret the choice we make but
what is done once cannot be undone. Man regrets
for what he has denied himself in life , rather than
what he has chosen. Hence, the poet has given his
poem the title “The Road Not Taken”. The word
"road" not only means "way", it also means "journey"
or a "stage of journey". Here "road" does not signify
any ordinary road, but functions a metaphor of a
vital decision.
Metaphor, for a vital decision.
The poem revolves
around the metaphor
comparing the
decisions we make on
the journey of life to a
fork in the road. Just as
we must decide which
road to take when
traveling in order to
arrive at a location, we
must make decisions in
life that will greatly
impact our destination.
The speaker is a
“traveler” on the road
of life who wishes that
he could go both
directions and avoid
making a decision.
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;
The speaker describes his position. He has been out for walking in the woods and
comes in between the diversion of two roads, he stands there looking as far down
each one as he can see. He would like to try out both, but doubts he could do that,
so therefore he continues to look down the roads for a long time trying to make his
decision about which road to take.
This poem talks about the choices one
has to make in life and their
consequences. One day while walking in
a wooded area full of trees the poet
comes to a place where he has to
decide which road he should take. He
starts debating over the choices as he
realizes he cannot walk on both.
However he decides to take the second
path with the intention of travelling on
the first some other time in future.
Message of the poem. Robert Frost’s poem “ The road not
taken” seems to hold out the mortal that
life is a continuous journey full of
divergence now and then. The important
thing is to move on without looking back
whether the choice of paths taken was
right or wrong. The right or wrong are
relative terms. We cannot get everything
in life and have to make choices.
Whatever direction in our life takes is
determined by the choice made by us . In
the journey of life, one can seldom come
back to travel the ‘roads’ not taken
earlier.
Then took the other, as just as fairAnd
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,
He looked down the first one “to where it bend in the undergrowth”, and
then the second one , and he decided to take the other path, because it
seemed to have less traveled than the first. But then he goes on to say that
they actually were very similarly worn. The second one that he took seems
less traveled but as he thinks about it, he realizes that they were “really
about the same”. Not exactly the same but only “about the same”.
Personification in brackets.
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.
The third stanza continues with the cogitation about the possible
differences between the two road. He had noticed that the leaves
were both fresh fallen on them both and had not been walked on,
but then again claims that maybe he would come back and also
walk the first one sometimes, but he doubted he would be able to,
because in life one thing leads to another and time is short.
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
In this poem the word “difference” is taken in a positive way. But there is nothing
in the poem that suggests that this difference signals a positive outcome. The
speaker could not offer such information, because he has not lived the
“difference” yet. The other word that leads non-discerning readers astray is the
word “sigh.” By taking “difference” to mean a positive difference, they think that
the sigh is one of nostalgic relief; however, a sigh can also mean regret. There is
the “oh, dear” kind of sigh, but also the “what a relief” kind of sigh. Which one is
it? We do not know. If it is the relief sigh, then the difference means the speaker is
glad he took the road he did; if it is the regret sigh, then the difference would not
be good, and the speaker would be sighing in regret.
Fire and ice.
Poem
The central theme of
"Fire and Ice" is that
human emotions are
destructive when allowed
to run amok. They can
destroy a person morally;
they can destroy him
mentally and physically.
Not frequently, unbridled
emotions—such as those
of an Adolf Hitler—can
destroy entire countries
and even threaten to
destroy civilization itself.
it is in the power of the
decisions humans make
In life.
"Fire and Ice" bears many
of the characteristics that
represent the body of work
for Robert Frost. It is
written in a simple manner,
using a language set and
vernacular that is designed
to be easily understood. As
is also a trend with Frost in
his poetry, the subject
matter of the poem deals
deeply with human nature,
exploring the implicit
human emotions of desire
and hatred. This subject
matter, too, has a large
capacity to be relatable to
the audience, as it shares
in collective human
experience, in feelings that
are experienced by all. Also
in concurrence to the
habits of Frost, these
darker, deeper themes are
presented in contrast to
the simplicity and
openness of the actual
language of the poem,
done intentionally to
highlight the underlying
theme.
Theme: the dangers of extremism, and choices of humans.
Uncontrolled sexual desire can lead to rape,
child molestation, and the spread of disease.
Do you think Frost had this type of desire in
mind when he wrote "Fire and Ice"?
Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice.
Alliteration (S)ome (s)ay the
(w)orld (w)ill end in fire, (S)ome
(s)ay in ice.
Anaphora (Some say) the world1
will end in fire, (Some say) in ice.
From what I tasted of desire, I hold
with those who favour fire.
Alliteration. I
hold (w)ith those
(w)ho (f)avour
(f)ire.
But if I had to perish
twice, I think I know
enough of hate.
To say that for destruction ice, is
also great, and would suffice.