Analysis and Comparison of the Poems “IF” by R.Kipling and “The Road Not Taken” by R.Frost

Автор - Болохонова Дарья Олеговна,

учащаяся 10 класса МКОУ СОШ № 1 г.Россоши,

научный руководитель – Медведева Екатерина Николаевна,

учитель иностранного языка

МКОУ СОШ № 1 г.Россоши

« Analysis and Comparison of the Poems “IF” by R.Kipling and “The Road Not Taken” by R.Frost».

Poetry might be defined as a language that says more and says it more intensely than ordinary language does. I am deeply interested in literary works and have already made the project «The role of the wildlife in the novel “White Fang” by J. London and some problems of its translation. So, I have decided to continue working on analysis of some pieces of poetry.

The topic of the project is connected with the names of two great writers Rudyard Kipling and Robert Frost. Reading their poetry, we have come across the idea that their two works «If» by Rudyard Kipling and «The Road Not Taken» by Robert Frost have a lot in common. The main theme of these precious works is choices made in life.

In this project we tried to compare and analyse the poems «If»  by Rudyard Kipling and «The Road Not Taken»  by Robert Frost. So, the aim of my research is to systematize the common features and differences of the poem’s. In order to reach this aim, I had to accomplish the following objectives: To analyse the theme of the poems by R.Kipling and R.Frost; To investigate the role of poetry in the contemporary world. Methods of the research work: systematization; analysis; comparison. Our hypothesis is “If “ by Rudyard Kipling and “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost have a lot in common.

They demonstrate in two different perspectives the struggles and the merits of making choices as well as other elements in life. Rudyard Kipling – an English writer, well known for his works such as The Jungle Book, and the iconic poem If, a novelist and a writer of short stories.

The poem If was published in 1910 in Kipling’s collection of short stories named‘Rewards and Fairies’.

In a BBC survey in 1995, it was voted the best poem of all.  

It is necessary to say about the Symbols of this poem. If" is a poem about how certain things must be done. Only if those things are done, will certain other things happen.

The word “IF” usually describes something that is not real, or is not real yet. This is the basic idea of Kipling's poem. The most widely used literary technique in this poem is anaphora, which is the repetition of the same word, or series of words. Notice all of those phrases: "If you can," "If you can," "If you can.".

In many ways, the poem is told us how to be a man and conquer the world: "Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, / and---which is more-you'll be a Man, my son!"

“The Road Not Taken,” by Robert Frost has long been a popular favorite. Frost composed this poem in four five-line stanzas with only two end rhymes in each stanza.

The flexible iambic meter has four strong beats to the line. Of the technical achievements in “The Road Not Taken,” one in particular shows Frost’s skill at enforcing meaning through form. .

The popularity of the poem is largely a result of the simplicity of its symbolism. The speaker must choose between two paths in a wood, and he sees that choice as a metaphor for choosing between different directions in life.

"The Road Not Taken" shows Frost's strong connection with nature and natural beauty. He takes time to explain that the forest is "yellow," meaning that it is Fall, and that the path "bends in the undergrowth," showing how the forest hides the future.

There are multiple poetic devices used in Robert Frost's poem are shown on the screen.: assonance, personification and a metaphor. ….Because it was grassy and wanted wear… In this line, the path wanted wear. A path cannot want. Only humans can want. This qualifies as personification.

So, our hypothesis is “If “ by Rudyard Kipling and “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost have a lot in common.

Firstly. each poem speaks about individuality. The subjects of both poems can be related to life and growing up. Secondly, the poems are about future choice of a person.

Another similarity between these poems is how they show elements of expectations, «If» is more about gender expectations while «The Road Not Taken» is about life’s expectations.

Structurally, these poems are similar too. Neither is written in free verse. Both are made up of four stanzas of the same number of lines (although "If" has 8 lines each and "Road" has only 5 lines).

However, there are some differences. In "If," Kipling uses a direct comparison between the person and other people, while Frost uses the metaphor of two paths in a wood.

In «The Road Not Taken» the central theme is choice, in «If» there are elements of it, but the main theme of If is the value of masculinity. Kipling's poem is more about being a leader, and Frost focuses more on personal satisfaction. Both poems serve as admonitions about life in general. Neither poem is particularly preachy, but the advisory effect of each is achieved through and other poetic tools.

Our hypothesis that If by Rudyard Kipling and The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost have a lot in common seems to be proven. We strongly believe that the writers demonstrate in two different perspectives the struggles and the merits of making choices as well as other elements in life. In conclusion, we want to say that this work was rather difficult, but very interesting.

This activity is quite new and has a very definite practical meaning : we have learned to work with dictionaries and different types of literature. If to talk about the ways of continuing this work, they are obvious: we want to continue working on analysis of some pieces of poetry.