Question

What are the main auditory elements in "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost? Is there rhyme, meter, alliteration, assonance, euphony, cacophony, repetition, and onomatopoeia?

Accepted Answer

The main auditory poetic elements in "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost are rhyme and meter. The poem consists of four five-line stanzas with regular end rhymes following the pattern ABAAB.
The meter of the poem is iambic tetrameter, but is somewhat irregular with frequent anapestic substitutions and trochaic inversions, which give it a conversational tone despite frequently end-stopped lines, in which syntactic breaks occur at the rhyme words.
There are a few examples of alliteration, such as "wanted wear", but generally Frost uses very few auditory devices in this poem. The reason for this has to do with his philosophy that a poem should be constructed around "the sound of sense" rather than elaborately artificial sonic patterns. Although Frost approved of meter, famously saying that writing free verse was like playing tennis without a net, he favored a conversation tone.

The Road Not Taken

What are the main auditory elements in "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost? Is there rhyme, meter, alliteration, assonance, euphony, cacophony, repetition, and onomatopoeia?

Expert Answers

Unlock This Answer Now

Related Questions

What is the rhyme scheme of "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost?

What is the theme of "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost?

In his poem "The Road Not Taken," why did Robert Frost choose "The Road Not Taken" instead of "The Road Taken"?

Discuss the metaphors in "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost.

In Frost's "The Road not Taken," what are some poetic devices in each stanza?Emphasis on alliteration, assonance, consonance, or the scansion method.