Dickinson's I Could Not Stop for Death and Frost's The Road not Taken - Essay Example

Your Compare and Contrast: Dickinson's I Could Not Stop for Death and Frost's The Road not Taken Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost are two of the most influential writers in American literature. They have been counted as such because of their mastery of words and in observing life, in general. Emily Dickinson was a reclusive poet who was not received as such until she died. She is a dark poet and she frequently wrote about death and dying. Her poetry was such, but it never put people on the edge, as in other grotesque and gothic writing. Her poem, I Could Not Stop for Death (1890), is touted as one of the best poems in the genre as her techniques in literature are deemed flawless. Robert Frost, on the other hand, is a modern writer. His poem, The Road not Taken (1915), is one of the most popular poems there is. It is very simple and uplifting and most people quote it because everyone can relate to it: about the difficulties of decision making. Both poems, I Could Not Stop for Death and The Road Not Taken, are touted as modern gems in literature. Both tackle life in different styles, but still, the poems communicate what everyone is curious about: what to do in times of trouble. For Dickinson, it is death. It attempts to answer the question, What is in store after death? or maybe What happens when one is dying? For Frost, the poem attempts to answer the question, What is the right thing to do? In life, as a living person, we all answer these questions. However, we ask them in various ways. These two poets asked them through poems. They are quite similar in form and in their style. They used iambic pentameter and they used foreshadowing in a manner that would echo the “flashback” effects in movies. As for theme, they are both dark, as Dickinson tackled death and Frost tackled uncertainty. Both of the poems also employ easy words and the reader will not at all feel intimidated when reading the poems. First, the structure of the poems. Dickinson’s poem has five stanzas with four lines each. Frost’s poem has four stanzas with five lines each. Both are written in iambic meters. Both have regular patterns, especially in rhyme. It is more obvious in Frost’s case, as in the words all rhyme in the end, every other line. Dickinson sometimes ditches the rhyming but then the rhythm of the poem is there. The meters also tell the reader of the competence of both the poets. They are there but they are quite subtle. In Dickinson’s case, the stress per syllable is quite obvious when one speaks the poem loudly enough. The stress occurs on every other syllable in a word. Frost’s poem also employs the same technique. The style that they wrote the poems is also similar. Both employ the “surprise” factor. They use that technique at the end of the poem. In Dickinson’s poem, with the line: Since then 'tis centuries; but each Feels shorter than the day It tells the reader that she is already dead. This occurs in the last stanza, when the poem finishes off. It is a surprise since the reader, all throughout the previous lines, will think of the bucolic and idyllic images that the poem paints. To put it into context, the poem personifies about Death like he a gentleman and fetches the narrator for something like a date. This is then followed by images of: We passed the fields of gazing grain, We passed the setting sun. It is idyllic and peaceful. This tells the readers what kind of attitude the poet has about Death. This surprise factor is also used in Frost’s poem. In the first parts of the poem, we read that the narrator is faced with a conundrum: to choose this path or that path. He does not know the answer but he takes a path anyway, and moves on. Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim Because it was grassy and wanted wear, The reader, at this point, would be led to believe that the persona will be all right with the decision he made. However, with the last line, especially the word sigh, let’s us believe that he may regret this decision, or at least expects himself to regret the decision. We may never know for sure but what is sure is that he is taking full responsibility over his action. The irony that is present here is that even if he has made a decision, the question of whether it is a right or wrong decision will keep on haunting the narrator. As he said, one can never go back. That echoes Dickinson’s poem: One can never go back. Like death, decision-making is something that one can never undo. It is final and one should accept it. Although both authors use the same techniques, the subjects are quite different. These subjects, though, are similar in a sense that they are inevitable in life, and one can almost hear the questions of the people about these conundrums. Dickinson tries to explain how one dies, or at least how she interprets it: it is a solemn, nostalgic and familiar ride. Like a flashback from the movies, as one might add. The narrator in the poem takes a ride with death, and dies with the sunset. They both reach a home which was underground, a symbol of the grave. Frost tackles the issue of decision making. Like Dickinson, Frost employs the descriptive technique that great poets have mastered, taking the reader into the poem itself. The poem asks the issue about life’s decision. Many people have interpreted the message of the poem as “take the road less traveled”, but the poem actually says otherwise. The poem says to take the road in which you please and there will be no alternate when you reach that decision because, well, decisions change lives and once you commit to a decision, you can’t go back to that same road because everything’s changed. Like death, decision making is final. References: Dickinson, Emily. Because I Could Not Stop for Death. Poemhunter.com, posted 20 January 2003. Web. December 4, 2011. Frost, Robert. Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening (1915). Poemhunter.com, posted 3 January 2003. Web. December 4, 2011. Read More