Poetry Homeworkby: Marie Pastorino

THE ROAD NOT TAKENBY ROBERT FROST

Analysis by Marie PastorinoHW: February 12

Diction Connotative diction

Ex: “two roads diverged in a yellow wood” The poet was presented with two paths in life and the choice of

which path to take. Ex: “then took the other, as just as fair, and having perhaps

the better claim, because it was grassy and wanted wear” He took the path that seemed more appealing and less popular.

Ex: “Though as for that passing there had worn them really about the same.” In reality they were both equally used up by people and equally

worn out. Ex: “In leaves no step had trodden black”

There was no way to determine which path was more popular and therefor no way to be influenced on which to take.

Images This poem appeals to the sense of sight

Ex: “two roads diverged in a yellow wood” This presents a pleasant, autumn day which

could denote to a casual situation where the speaker is given a choice to make.

Ex: “grassy and wanted wear” It looked like an appealing path of life to take

that others hadn’t taken before

Details Both paths were exactly the same, and the speaker is

only saying that he took the one less traveled because he wants justification for taking that path of life and a reason for the decision that he made. Evidence of this is as follows: “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.”

The speaker is imagining himself as an old man looking back at a decision in life that he made years ago. “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.” Its as though the speaker is trying to comfort and reassure himself

that he made the best decision.

Language The language is formal and figurative. The entire poem is a metaphor for

making a difficult decision in life. Assonance: There is assonance in the

poem which is evident in the repetition of vowel sounds “a,” “ou”, “e”’ and “i.”

Sentence Structure The speaker goes back and forth from

telling about his experience trying to make a decision of what road to take to justifying the decision that he ended up making.

Its hard to tell whether the poem is being told in the present tense or from a man looking back at a decision that he made in the past.

POWER BY ADRIENNE RICH

Hw: February 15

Diction Most of the diction in this poem is

denotative because it’s meant to mean exactly what the words denote to. Ex: “today a backhoe divulged out of a

crumbling flank of earth one bottle” The poet literally dug up a bottle which

reminded her of something that she read that day or vice versa.

Images Sense of sight

Ex: “one bottle amber perfect a hundred-year old” This shows that even though the bottle was

buried under the dirt for so long it is still in perfect condition.

Ex: “cataracts on her eyes” We can see the amount of damage to a valued

part of the anatomy Currie was willing to take for her passion.

Images Continued Sense of touch

Ex: “The cracked and suppurating skin of her finger-ends till she could no longer hold a test-tube or a pencil” This shows the amount of pain and suffering she

was willing to endure for her profession. It also shows that she wouldn’t give up until she

physically wasn’t capable of working.

Details The speaker feels like people work in a futile effort for

their power. A persons “power” usually lies in their profession or passion , just like the maker of the drugs power lied in the medicine that was once in the bottle that the speaker dug up. All their work is a futile effort though because their power ends up killing them, as it literally did in Marie Curries case because the radiation from her research caused her to develop aplastic anemia. Even if it doesn’t kill them their power becomes useless and ends up in the dirt just as the medicine bottle did. Ex: “She died a famous woman denying her woundsdenying her wounds came from the same source as her power”

Language The language is fairly simple and easy to

understand. The speaker displays their intelligence by

knowing about Marie Curries accomplishments as well as what caused her death.

Sentence Structure The sentences have several gaps in them

to make it seem like each phrase that is separated by a gap is a though coming into the poets head.