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  • Essay / Comparison of “Not My Best Side” and “The Road Not Taken”

    Both poems have a very distinct style. Not My Best Side is a funny and witty poem exploring stereotypes, while Warning is still entertaining, but it explores society and its expectations. This is a poem focused on classic storybook characters, but instead of telling the story as usual, the poet gives the characters their own voice to see what they really feel – ​​something that has never been done before. However, if we look at The Road Not Taken, we see that it is a poem of regret, it is a reflection of the past, and we have the feeling that Robert Frost regrets a decision he did not make . On the better side, we see that it is divided into three separate stanzas, one for the dragon, the princess and the prince. The poet challenges the orthodox images of the characters in the legend of Saint George and the dragon and replaces them with another equally stereotypical set, but these new stereotypes have a modern twist. The typical image of a dragon is that of being intimidating, fearful, and generally evil. This is disputed by the poet who chooses to make the character of the dragon quite well pronounced, using words such as "ostentatiously". The new stereotype created by Fanthorpe is that of a talkative, critical and pompous actor rather than that of a vicious, evil monster. We can see this by the fact that he complains that the artist didn't get his "best side" for the painting, or "didn't give me a chance to pose properly" and finally " I was sorry for the bad publicity,” this shows that he knows he is well known and cares about what others may think of him. He is also highly judgmental of his partners (i.e. the princess and prince), calling them "conspicuously hairless"...... middle of paper..... . is beautiful and courageous. He is supposed to save the princess because she is his true love. However…. In this portrait of George, he is presented as a modern man, technologically minded, boastful and self-obsessed. This is shown to us in the first two lines of his stanza which say "I have degrees in dragon management and Virgin retrieval". This shows us the stereotypical attitude of a modern young man. He is very proud of the painting because it shows his "latest model" and high-tech equipment. He considers himself a hero, considers himself courageous and the savior of the damsel. His character creates not the voice of the hero of St. George, but an offensive, abrupt and rude voice. The three characters are the opposite of what one would expect from a fairy tale like that of the princess and the dragon, they are rather the typical stereotypes of a modern society..