Poem+Comparison

Poem Comparison--- “The Road Not Taken” and “Out of Habit”

The themes of these two poems share a connection. “the Road Not Taken” is about making choices in life, and that one simple choice will change your entire life. The women in “Out of Habit” has made a decision that will change both her husband and her life.  Divorce is becoming more and more common nowadays. A lot of young people think of love as a game. They rush to get married with someone who might not be the one they want to spend their entire life with. In order to “fit in” they make decisions that will affect them later on in life. The person in “The Road Not Taken” has chosen the road that has barely been walked on, therefore changing his/her future. In life, decisions are vital. What would have happened if the women did not divorce with her husband? The man would still be living happily with her and their children, but then it would be her turn to suffer. One wrong decision can lead to the pain of others, including yourself. This is an excellent example of a domino effect. The best way to prevent all the pieces to fall is to prevent the first piece to tip. If the very first decision was avoided, then you will not bring pain to anyone. If the man and the women never got married, they would have never divorced.  Although the themes of these two poems have a connection to each other, their structure and format is very different. “Out of Habit” has a solid plot and is told more like a story than a poem, while “The Road Not Taken” has a steady rhythm and a basic rhyme scheme. Poetic devices in “Out of Habit” were not very well highlighted. As it is written very much like a novel, the poetic devices were rather hidden. The lines “The Road Not Taken” were written elegantly like most poems, but despite that, other than rhythm and rhyme poetic devices were also quite well hidden, though not well as in “Out of Habit”. In “Out of Habit”, the writer used their environment to express the feelings of the pair. Straight away, the rain gives the poem a gloomy and sad atmosphere. As the poem progresses, the actions of the car has been used to represent the man’s emotions. The houses has also been used to express a meaning. For “The Road Not Taken”, the author has given the readers the thoughts of the person. It describes what he sees, and what he thinks. Also, it would seem that “The Road Not Taken” was about something that had already occurred, hence the author stating that his/her decision has made all the difference, while “Out of Habit” is about something that is occurring.  Both of these poems have a strong relation to humanity. They describe both the choices of humanity and the flaws of it.

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7. The Road Not Taken

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;

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,

And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I marked the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way I doubted if I should ever come back.

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.

9. Out of Habit They discuss things in the car driving nowhere up and down the streets so that if one of them screams or weeps the kids won’t be disturbed. The kids are at home watching a Disney flick in the family room.

She is not sure how much she will tell him whether to mention the other man or maybe just the job having to keep her away.

He sits too erect, arms stiff, hands tight. Tonight is different in a way he doesn’t know What has happened? What is going on? Everything he says begins with but. It’s raining. He can’t find the wiper switch..

She wishes she’d brought some cigarettes. Now that she has started she has to finish the job. Somewhere in this purse there are cigarettes. His rational spiel is almost over. She breathes deeply. mumbles that she doesn’t want to be married. She has no reasons. Just that. There is no traffic, no one on the sidewalks. She looks at house lights through wet glass. How many of them, she wonders, how many.

He pulls into a closed service station. Trying to expel the pain, coughing, crying, he doubles over, slams himself against the door,

She lights a cigarette and takes a slow drag. He looks like one of those black and white films, the old ones where nothing much happens.

He gets out, walks a while in the cool rain, over and over slamming wet fist into wet palm.

Her breath mists the windows. He gets in, turns on the defogger, the headlights, the wipers. Out of habit, the car returns them to the house.