How Authors Convey Their Identity: Shakespeare and Robert Frost

In today’s generation, many turn to writing to express their emotions. When writing, people can explain any experience they have gone or are going through. Author’s especially turn to writing, Shakespeare and Robert Frost both had children that died for example – but their similarities end there. Authors convey their identity in their writing because of personal connections included, word choice, and tone. To commence, authors convey their identity when writing by including personal connections and experiences.

In "The Seven Ages of Man" by William Shakespeare, line one of the poem states, "All the world's a stage." The author continues on by explaining each stage a man goes through in his life. Based on this, one can infer that the setting of this story takes place on a stage. Throughout his lifetime, Shakespeare had a background of enjoying theater and performing. This proves that Shakespeare most likely set the setting of the poem as a stage because he had experience with it and could make personal connections to it.

Robert Frost's poem states, "Two roads diverged in yellow wood." He then continues to elaborate on the two roads. Based on this information, the setting of this story takes place in a forest. Robert Frost was born in San Francisco and lived in New Hampshire and Vermont for most of his life. Up until Robert’s death he had lived on a farm property by the mountains in Ripton, Vermont. The farm was in an area surrounded by wilderness and nature. This goes to show why most of Robert's stories and poems have taken place in Vermont or in forest-like areas. He connected these settings to his life because he could relate to it, having lived there for years.

Throughout the first stages of "Seven Ages of Man," William Shakespeare tells readers about a man's early years to older years. Shakespeare has been through most of the stages he explained and most likely included some of his own personal experiences, such as lines where he states "unwillingly to school" or "made to mistress' eyebrow." Shakespeare describes these stages this way because he related to it or had witnessed it in some way. As one can see, personal connections are often included in writing to convey an author's identity. Additionally, the word choice an author includes in their writing can give them a sense of identity in their writing. According to "Seven Ages of Man," William Shakespeare states words such as "jealous," "quarrel," "whining," etc. These are just few of the many descriptive words Shakespeare has incorporated into his writing. Shakespeare's word choice allows readers to grasp a better understanding of the text and the identity Shakespeare is presenting for himself.

Robert Frost states, "And sorry I could not travel both" and "I took the one less traveled by...that has made all the difference." The word choice put into each sentence shows Robert’s thoughts throughout the text. Word choice used allows readers to observe his emotions and clasp a perception of his identity. "Seven Ages of Man" repeatedly uses figurative language, allowing readers to recognize Shakespeare and his writing. For example, line one of the poem states, “the world’s a stage.” This metaphor along with other smiles like, “sighing like furnace” or “bearded like the pard” all contribute to Shakespeare’s identity. Clearly, an author uses word choice in text to convey their identity.

Furthermore, authors frequently convey their identity in their writing through tone. In line sixteen of "The Road Not Taken," Robert Frost states, “I shall be telling this with a sigh.” This shows that the author regrets the path he chose. The two roads in the poem represent life choices people must make. Robert Frost uses this poem to share his experience and express the decision-making of life or paths others will be faced with. According to “Seven Ages of Man,” the last scene of all ends the “strange eventful history, second childishness and mere oblivion.” Based on this, one can see how Shakespeare’s tone allows readers to recognize his writing and mood. Throughout the poem, Shakespeare’s tone expressed his feelings and shows his identity.

In “The Road Not Taken,” Robert Frost states, “Two roads diverged in wood, and I- I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” In the poem, Robert elaborated on life choices and decisions that one may experience. Therefore, based on this, one can see how Robert’s tone seems to very reflective and he seems to be more of a realist. This tone reveals Robert’s identity and displays his attitude toward the life choice. It’s obvious that tone may drastically convey an author’s identity in a writing piece.

All in all, authors convey their identity in their writing through personal connections and word choice. An authors’ experiences often are included throughout their writing because they are able to relate to it somehow. Word choice used not only greatly affects the text itself but gives the author a sense of identity. Also, the tone an author uses helps covey an author’s identity through writing. Shakespeare and Frost –jalong with millions of other authors – each have identities that are perceived through various ways in the text.