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Comment 600 of 600, added on November 24th, 2009 at 8:18 PM.
The Road Not Taken
"The Road Not Taken" is one of the most commonly misinterpreted poems in
the English canon. It is decidedly NOT(!!) an invocation to nonconformism.
Frost is a subtle and often dark poet, and this poem is exemplary of his
style. Let me explain.
The poem is often thought to mean that it is better to take "the (road)
less traveled by," or the more difficult, or more unique path through life.
But is this what Frost truly says?
Examining the structure of the poem, we see that it is composed of four
stanzas. The first three describe how the speaker comes to a fork in the
road, and the fourth is his imagining how he will explain how he decided to
take the path he did.
Now the key to understanding this poem is to note that for the first three
stanzas, the roads are not any different! Read their descriptions. He looks
down one, but takes the other, and it is "just as fair." And while it seems
at first glance to have had less wear, "as for that, the passing there/ Had
worn them really about the same." The speaker continues to note their
sameness: "both that morning equally lay," he says. From these descriptions
we can gather that as far as the speaker can tell, neither path is
distinguishable from the other. Any interpretation that relies on the
existence some rougher road is disingenuous to the text.
So why, the poems begs us to ask, does the speaker say differently in the
last stanza? Why does he imagine he will say he took the road less
traveled by, when he has just told us that they look the same? The key -
the key to the whole poem - is the "sigh." The sigh gives away the poem's
true meaning: because we cannot live out each choice we make, and therefore
cannot truly compare one road to the other, the two might as well be equal
paths. Therefore our choosing one path over the other ultimately cannot be
rationally justified. And what is more, at some level we know this truth,
but are forced to lie to ourselves about it because it is too difficult to
believe.
The fork in the road is obviously a metaphor for diverging life paths. The
poem, therefore, describes how a person chooses one path in life over the
other. The first three stanzas let us know that the two paths are
physically the same. The speaker does not know which one will make for a
better life. Oh, he might be able to say that one has "perhaps the better
claim," but in truth this claim is no better than another. The only real
difference between them is that one is chosen and one is not.
The speaker, of course, is aware of the fact that his choice is essentially
a product of chance. Since he doesn't make the decision based on any
difference that he can see in the paths, what else could it be? And what a
depressing thought it is that the most we can say for our choice is that it
is "perhaps" better. Which is exactly why he sighs. If it was a poem about
how great a choice he made, he would be telling it with a yell. Which
brings us back to wondering why he changes his description of the roads,
why he says in the fourth stanza that he took "the one less traveled by."
The answer is that the speaker, like all people, cannot face the fact that
his choices may have no rational basis. So he lies to himself, as we lie to
ourselves. He tells himself what may be called a noble lie, to borrow a
term from philosophy. As he imagines himself telling the story in the
future, "Two roads diverged in a wood and I -"... I what? I chose one, and
I didn't have a good reason, I didn't know that it would truly be better
than the other, but that's the one that I chose, and I can't go back and
live the other, but I can't accept that that's the mechanism that's driving
my life so I... I... I lie. I say that "I took the one less traveled by,/
And that has made all the difference." Such great tension lies in his
sigh.
The poem is a disturbing statement about our inability to control our
lives. And it is a deep lament. That is why it is called "The Road Not
Taken," after all. If it were about a rebel choosing the less traveled
road, Frost would have titled it "The road less traveled by."
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Comment 599 of 600, added on November 19th, 2009 at 8:13 PM.
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Comment 598 of 600, added on November 19th, 2009 at 8:13 PM.
christmas gift
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christmas gitf from China
Comment 597 of 600, added on November 4th, 2009 at 9:44 AM.
This is my favorite poem by Robert Frost!
allie from United States
Comment 596 of 600, added on May 9th, 2009 at 3:02 PM.
I just had to find a poem and memorize it for my American Lit class and I
found that The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost was perfect. It gives a
positive, as well as powerful message to its readers. Robert Frost's poetry
is exceptional.
Jen H from United States
Comment 595 of 600, added on May 7th, 2009 at 1:46 AM.
The Road Not Taken has a very important message. Robert Frost knew what the
best achievments, and the satisfaction of success from a hard earned path.
Simply that the path not taken is a challenge, and will be more difficult
than the road that everyone else uses. But that road that is abandoned,
when the acomplishment of succeeding through the path, rewards are more
valuable. Robert Frost faced his problems head on, with full force. He
loved to be challenged, because when he succeeded, the goals were much more
rewarding in that feeling of success. This reminds me of Thoreau's personal
Responsibilty. If there is a challenge, then do what you beieve is necesary
to overcome the obstacles.
alex from United States
Comment 594 of 600, added on May 7th, 2009 at 12:37 AM.
Robert Frost’s the Road Not Taken reflects on his own life and how
sometimes taking the path less taken can be more rewarding. Frost uses an
intricate rhyme scheme of A B A A B along with a very refined choice of
detailed vocabulary which makes the kind of masterpiece he is known for.
The plot in this particular story can easily be related too his own life.
Instead of taking the most common road of attending college and starting as
a columnist or journalist for local magazines, Frost decided to go too
London and begin publishing immediately, a choice which he was unsure of
its effects. The decision just like in the poem turned out to be one that
yielded great success.
Alex Mercado
Comment 593 of 600, added on May 6th, 2009 at 11:02 PM.
On the first line of this poem Robert Frost uses color symbolism to depict
the yellow woods. In this poem he accentuates carpe diem, which means
seize the day. He uses the two different paths that he could take to allude
the decision of picking the path you want your life to follow; either
follow the norm or be persistent to strive for your own dreams where no one
has traveled before.
Tara Teran from United States
Comment 592 of 600, added on May 6th, 2009 at 10:26 PM.
Robert Frost has its own style of poetry, rather of having to rhyme in each
poems, he went for a diminutive rhyming. In his poem "The Road Not Taken"
he indicated that man usually chooses the most raddled decision by many and
usually misses out on an opportunity they had. Saying that, once in his
life he had come across between choosing the path picked by others or the
path of new experience.
Shiermaine Francisco from United States
Comment 591 of 600, added on May 6th, 2009 at 8:48 PM.
Like in many of his poems, Frost uses rhyme and a traditional style. In the
poem, ”The Road Not Taken” the speaker has to choose between two roads. He
decides to take the road less traveled. This poem depicts Frost’s life.
Just as everyone, Frost had to choose what path to take. He decided to go
to Dartmouth College and then become a poet. Carpe diem was the main theme
of this poem because we never know beforehand what is awaiting for us at
the end of the road we chose. This is why we have to seize the day.
/>
Alma Rivera
This poem has been commented on more than 10 times. Click below to see the other comments.
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"The Road Not Taken" is one of the most commonly misinterpreted poems in
the English canon. It is decidedly NOT(!!) an invocation to nonconformism.
Frost is a subtle and often dark poet, and this poem is exemplary of his
style. Let me explain.
The poem is often thought to mean that it is better to take "the (road)
less traveled by," or the more difficult, or more unique path through life.
But is this what Frost truly says?
Examining the structure of the poem, we see that it is composed of four
stanzas. The first three describe how the speaker comes to a fork in the
road, and the fourth is his imagining how he will explain how he decided to
take the path he did.
Now the key to understanding this poem is to note that for the first three
stanzas, the roads are not any different! Read their descriptions. He looks
down one, but takes the other, and it is "just as fair." And while it seems
at first glance to have had less wear, "as for that, the passing there/ Had
worn them really about the same." The speaker continues to note their
sameness: "both that morning equally lay," he says. From these descriptions
we can gather that as far as the speaker can tell, neither path is
distinguishable from the other. Any interpretation that relies on the
existence some rougher road is disingenuous to the text.
So why, the poems begs us to ask, does the speaker say differently in the
last stanza? Why does he imagine he will say he took the road less
traveled by, when he has just told us that they look the same? The key -
the key to the whole poem - is the "sigh." The sigh gives away the poem's
true meaning: because we cannot live out each choice we make, and therefore
cannot truly compare one road to the other, the two might as well be equal
paths. Therefore our choosing one path over the other ultimately cannot be
rationally justified. And what is more, at some level we know this truth,
but are forced to lie to ourselves about it because it is too difficult to
believe.
The fork in the road is obviously a metaphor for diverging life paths. The
poem, therefore, describes how a person chooses one path in life over the
other. The first three stanzas let us know that the two paths are
physically the same. The speaker does not know which one will make for a
better life. Oh, he might be able to say that one has "perhaps the better
claim," but in truth this claim is no better than another. The only real
difference between them is that one is chosen and one is not.
The speaker, of course, is aware of the fact that his choice is essentially
a product of chance. Since he doesn't make the decision based on any
difference that he can see in the paths, what else could it be? And what a
depressing thought it is that the most we can say for our choice is that it
is "perhaps" better. Which is exactly why he sighs. If it was a poem about
how great a choice he made, he would be telling it with a yell. Which
brings us back to wondering why he changes his description of the roads,
why he says in the fourth stanza that he took "the one less traveled by."
The answer is that the speaker, like all people, cannot face the fact that
his choices may have no rational basis. So he lies to himself, as we lie to
ourselves. He tells himself what may be called a noble lie, to borrow a
term from philosophy. As he imagines himself telling the story in the
future, "Two roads diverged in a wood and I -"... I what? I chose one, and
I didn't have a good reason, I didn't know that it would truly be better
than the other, but that's the one that I chose, and I can't go back and
live the other, but I can't accept that that's the mechanism that's driving
my life so I... I... I lie. I say that "I took the one less traveled by,/
And that has made all the difference." Such great tension lies in his
sigh.
The poem is a disturbing statement about our inability to control our
lives. And it is a deep lament. That is why it is called "The Road Not
Taken," after all. If it were about a rebel choosing the less traveled
road, Frost would have titled it "The road less traveled by."
For Chris Brown (not the bad pop singer) from United States