Module 1 Section 3

Imagism was a movement in the early 20th century that focused on communicating via precise images. The effects are with us today. Writers have learned that well-designed images communicate without the need for further explanation. Sometimes that communication is nothing more than a vague feeling, but that may be all the writer wants at that point.

For example, the poem, “The Road Not Taken,” by American poet Robert Frost describes a person walking through the woods. The poem can be interpreted on multiple levels: one, as a simple description of a traveler on a journey, and two, as a metaphor for the tough versus the easy choices one makes on the “journey” of life.

Frost uses imagery to describe what the traveler sees. In the excerpt from the poem below, words and phrases that show Frost’s use of imagery are outlined:

The Road Not Taken