Literature is one of the purest forms of human expression. The opportunity to read a literary piece is a gift in that it allows the reader a unique ability to enter into another world, a world that the author has taken the time to share with you, opening doors and windows into the soul of not only the writer but you the reader as well. Websters defines literature as writings having excellence of form or expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest 2011 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated but to the individual, literature is so much more. The actual meaning of the word varies based upon the individual that uses it.
The poem THE ROAD NOT TAKEN was written by author Robert Frost in 1916. Frost was born in 1874 in San Francisco Ca. He traveled with his family at the age of 11. He began writing poetry while in high school. He attended Dartmouth College as well as Harvard University but did not graduate from either institution, although in 1957 he was awarded honorary degrees from both Cambridge and Oxford, by the end of his career, he had been awarded a total of 44 honorary degrees in all. Frost tried his hand at farming, teaching, and even an editor of a local newspaper, but was unsuccessful. His first published poem was featured in The Independent, a New York newspaper, for which he was paid $15.00. Inspired and motivated, Frost finally got his high school sweetheart Elinor White, to accept his proposal of marriage and they moved to England so that he could devote all his time to writing. Robert Frosts first child, a son was born nine months after he and his wife married, but unfortunately n his third year of life he became gravely ill with cholera infantum and died. Life was rough for the Frosts early on in his career, with both of them working full time jobs teaching while trying to raise a family. Roberts grandfather was a staunch supporter of his grandson and a much needed assistance in helping the family with their financial shortages, helping the family to rent their first actual home and bequeathing Frost an annuity of $500.00 upon his death.
While in England, Frost befriended and sought the tutelage of several important and eventually famous poets such asT.E.Hulme, William Yeats, Rupert Brooke, Robert Graves and Ezra Pound to name a few. In 1913,almost immediately after the move to England, Frost published his first two collections of literary works A Boys Will and North of Boston with a London publisher Although Frost was making a success of his poetic writing style, he was forced to return back to the U.S.in 1915 due to financial need.
Upon Robert Frost return to the U.S., he was hailed as an esteemed writer and sought after by Universities in and around New England. During his illustrious career he was awarded the Pulitzers Prize four times. He continued to write beautiful poems and speak about the poetic process. His unique style and artful use of ordinary language and the rural settings that he spoke of made his poems sought after and revered. He continued to write about complex ideas and the definition of the human spirit until his death on January 29, 1963. A decade after Robert Frost was laid to rest; a very unfavorable biography was released by his designated official biographer, Lawrance Thompson, who portrayed Frost as a monster of Egotism. New York Times Book Review, 9 Aug. 1970. This monster myth which plagued Frosts reputation was corrected in 1972 by The Family Letters of Robert and Elinor Frost authored by Arnold Grade. During his lifetime, Frost published over 121 pieces of literary works and collections.
In the poem, The Road Not Taken, one of the main things that captured my interest, was my ability to connect, on an internal level, with what the writer was speaking about. As Frost spoke about paths in a wood, I could relate to the ambiguity that was used. The yellow woods, overgrown and barren, except for the paths, allowed me to see within my minds eye, this world, harsh and dying, from the use or misuse of us, the inhabitants of it. I was able to relate to the paths being the choices that one must make in life, choices that you know not where they might lead you. The grass simulated life and living , letting the reader imagine that life, in the physical since of it was along those unknown paths, waiting to be explored, to be lived. As the traveler looks down the paths, just as a person tries to peer into their future, he was unable to see what was at the end, just as we are unable to know what life has in store for us, until we begin to live it, taking chances into the unknown, unsure of where we may end up. Eventually the traveler chooses the path that seems least worn, maybe not the path that most would take, but a statement to his individualism, his sense of adventure, choices no matter how who you are that one must at some time make within your lifetime. The metaphoric uses, as well of the persona, which allowed the reader to replace with themselves, Invited me had captured my interest in such a way that it motivated me to research and read other work done by this author.
In chapter 16 of our textbook, Clugston, R. W. (2010). Journey into literature. San Diego, California: Bridgepoint Education, Inc several analytical approaches were described. The writer chose to use the reader response approach to complete this assignment. When using this approach, there are several specific questions that one must ask themselves in order to connect with the literature and do an effective critical analysis on the piece.
In the piece, The Road Not Taken, the readers imagination was best captured in the personal ability to connect with the metaphoric symbolism that was used by the writer. The metaphoric use of the woods was used to give the reader the image of the world as a whole, with the paths representing the choices that one makes in life. By using this style, it was easy for the reader to interchange places with the persona of the traveler, who was also the narrator in this instance. For the reader, a combination of emotions, aspirations and feelings were the connecting factors within the writing. In connecting with the piece, the reader did not so much feel a desire to escape a past or present association as much as seeing the current association of the continual choices into the unknown that one must make within this life.
The reader was motivated by this piece to continue to follow the paths within his life, that although not always what others feel is what is the best or what they might have chosen, are what is meant for his life. In the area of relationships, there are paths that have diverted or had unseen bends in them, which after reading this gave the reader a comfort in knowing that everyone goes through these type of situations and choices that you make, while not always popular with those around you, must be made to ensure your personal contentment with life.
The reader, while not really a poetry reader by nature was able to connect with this piece of literature in the way that he connects with the urban literature, which is his reading preference. In was a strange connection being that the two works are not only of two vastly different worlds but also from two different times and perspectives, but while being so different also so much the same.
Finally, the reader was able to connect and reinforce their beliefs that choices in ones life are paths that must be taken, and while the outcome may be unknown to you at the beginning, life is like that and you are not the only one that feels this way.
In ending, this reader can evaluate this work as a piece of literary art that is timeless. This is honestly the first true understanding of what is meant when the word classical is used to describe something. This piece of literature transcends periods, lifestyles, heritage, culture and personal preferences. By opening ones self up to the exploration of literature and this piece in particular has widen the readers horizon and given them a broader perspective of life itself.
REFERENCE PAGE
Internal.org poets
www.bryantmcgill.com/World_Poetry
The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-century Poetry in English. Copyright 1994 by Oxford University Press.
http://www.anb.org/articles/16/16-00598.html; American National Biography Online Feb. 2000
2001 Copyright (c) 2000 American Council of Learned Societies
(New York Times Book Review, 9 Aug. 1970
Clugston, R. W. (2010). Journey into literature. San Diego, California: Bridgepoint Education, Inc
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