Writing an Introduction Literary Analysis Essays

Robert Frost (1874–1963). 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; 5 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, 10 And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. 15 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. 20 So…this is really just talking about making a choice, right? Let’s pretend we’re going to write a literary analysis on this. Our focus: how and why Frost would create this metaphor?

Attention Grabber (Hook) Paul Arden once said, “If you always make the right decision, the safe decision, the one most people make, you will be the same as everyone else.” A recent Cornell study indicates that we make 200 decisions each day just about food, so imagine how many decisions we make each day outside of what we will eat. Life is complicated by the hundreds of decisions we make each day—both large and small.

Choose an attention grabber, then transition, or connect to the literature. If you asked a question, then answer it! Connect your hook to the piece of literature you are investigating. How does the literature reveal more about the hook you’ve used? Do NOT forget to introduce the author and title of the work that you are writing about!

Context/transition In Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken,” he helps the reader visualize a seemingly ordinary situation—coming upon “two roads [that] diverged in a yellow wood” (line 1)—and he describes the speaker as a man who eventually decides to take “the one less traveled by” (19). By using the natural elements of a fork in the road, Frost creates a metaphor that brings simplicity to a question many face in life: How am I going to live—by my own rules, or by the rules and opinions of others? When you add your own word into the quote, you need to place it in backets. From there on, just write the line number itself. Also, notice the period goes after parenthesis. The first time you refer to the line number in a poem, write “line.”

Thesis Statement The four most common errors made when fashioning thesis statements: 1. Do not make announcement. One of the sure signs of the struggling writer is the telltale “In this paper I am going to write about” or the even more deadly (and monotonous) “The purpose of this paper is…” Announcements are a sure way of insulting the intelligence of your readership. Don’t make announcements (“For the next 750 words I am going to…” which leads the reader to start counting your words rather than concentrating on what you are trying to communicate!) or tell the reader what you plan to write about – allow the writing to communicate the story! 2. Do not make the thesis too broad. This happens when the writer has failed to carefully think out or plan what the actual subject is going to be. Imagine a thesis statement that asserts “The Civil War was the turning point in American race relations.” Scholars, historians, and many others have written volumes on that subject! This is not the sort of thesis statement you would put forth for a research paper or essay topic due the following week. It is entirely too broad and general. 3. Do not make the thesis statement too narrow or specific. Again, this is a result of failing to fully think through what one is going to write about. It is very much like painting oneself into a corner, away from any exit, and being left with no way out. Imagine, for example, having to write a paper with the thesis being “This table is made out of wood.” While such a sentence might lend itself to a few sentences (at best), one certainly could not hope to go any further than that. By always incorporating those three (3) patterns of development into your thesis statement, the error of being too narrow or specific will be avoided; and finally, 4. Do not make your thesis statement too vague. This error usually results from fuzzy, unclear thinking. If the thesis is unclear to you, then it will be unclear and, even worse, confusing to your readers. “The California Condor is an interesting bird” does nothing for the reader. It invites confusion by raising too many questions. “Interesting” meaning what? To who? Why? Here, once again, the confusion can be avoided by incorporating those three (3) patterns of development into the thesis statement. retrieved from

Thesis Statement Robert Frost uses nature imagery to create a metaphorical comparison between nature and life in order to create a sense of simplicity to a complex decision. What is the author doing? –Creating a metaphorical comparison between nature and life How does the author do it? –Using nature imagery Why does the author do it? –In order to create a sense of simplicity to a complex decision. (AND, FOR GOOD MEASURE, LET’S ADD THIS AT THE END): With this straightforward association, Frost allows readers to understand the poem’s theme that making the right decision is worthwhile, if not simple.

Okay, so let’s look at the full picture. Paul Arden once said, “If you always make the right decision, the safe decision, the one most people make, you will be the same as everyone else.” This is exactly the situation that is painted in Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken.” In this poem, Frost helps the reader visualize a seemingly ordinary situation—coming upon “two roads [that] diverged in a yellow wood” (line 1)—and he describes the speaker as a man who eventually decides to take “the one less traveled by” (19). By using the natural elements of a fork in the road, Frost creates a metaphor that brings simplicity to a question many face in life: How am I going to live—by my own rules, or by the rules and opinions of others? Robert Frost answers this question by using nature imagery to create a metaphorical comparison between nature and life in order to create a sense of simplicity to a complex decision. With this straightforward association, Frost allows readers to understand the poem’s theme that making the right decision is worthwhile, if not simple. Adapted from an example retrieved from