The Pursuit of Happiness: Poetry
Brandon Lobisi Lobisi - 1
The Pursuit of Happiness: Poetry
In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote that every individual had a God-given right to pursue happiness. The next three poems all show that the persona has the right to pursue happiness. In “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost, the persona has two choices. One trail, in a yellow-wood, forked off into two trails never treaded on before. This poem is about making a choice and sticking to it. In “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar, he feels compassion with the caged bird. This poem is about the freedom to make choices, but not having the power to make them. Last, in “George Gray” by Edgar Lee Masters, the dead narrator ruminates objectively about his life. This poem is about a man who had ambitions and goals, but was too afraid to pursue any of them. “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost is about the author having the freedom to make choices. If you want to move in pursuit of a dream, you have to make choices to get there. The poem is in past tense and has a tone of nostalgia. The persona came across a fork in the trail he was on. He looked down one trail to see where it would lead, and with the other he did the same. He looked down both equally inviting trails to see what opportunities each one held. He decided to take the one that seemed to be less traveled on, “For I’m sorry I could not travel both.” When the persona makes his choice, he muses on the idea of going back and traveling the other. However, he realizes he cannot go back and has to keep going with the choice he has made. Every choice leads to another choice and another and so on. You can’t go back. You have to devote your whole-self into the decision you have made. If you are happy with yourself today, all of the choices you have made must have been the right ones. If you made a choice and stuck with it, “For that has made all the difference,” says the persona. However, some people do not have the power
The Pursuit of Happiness: Poetry
In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote that every individual had a God-given right to pursue happiness. The next three poems all show that the persona has the right to pursue happiness. In “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost, the persona has two choices. One trail, in a yellow-wood, forked off into two trails never treaded on before. This poem is about making a choice and sticking to it. In “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar, he feels compassion with the caged bird. This poem is about the freedom to make choices, but not having the power to make them. Last, in “George Gray” by Edgar Lee Masters, the dead narrator ruminates objectively about his life. This poem is about a man who had ambitions and goals, but was too afraid to pursue any of them. “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost is about the author having the freedom to make choices. If you want to move in pursuit of a dream, you have to make choices to get there. The poem is in past tense and has a tone of nostalgia. The persona came across a fork in the trail he was on. He looked down one trail to see where it would lead, and with the other he did the same. He looked down both equally inviting trails to see what opportunities each one held. He decided to take the one that seemed to be less traveled on, “For I’m sorry I could not travel both.” When the persona makes his choice, he muses on the idea of going back and traveling the other. However, he realizes he cannot go back and has to keep going with the choice he has made. Every choice leads to another choice and another and so on. You can’t go back. You have to devote your whole-self into the decision you have made. If you are happy with yourself today, all of the choices you have made must have been the right ones. If you made a choice and stuck with it, “For that has made all the difference,” says the persona. However, some people do not have the power