The Road Not Taken

Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Here is the poem 'The Road Not Taken' by Robert Frost. I am going to analyse this poem in this post. First, let me introduce the author Robert Frost to you.

Robert Frost

Robert Frost was an American poet famous for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. He even won 4 Pulitzer Prizes for poetry. He was born in San Francisco on 26 March, 1874. His father passed away when he was 11, and his mother followed 15 years later. Robert's parents were both teachers, and he was thus exposed to works by William Shakespeare, Robert Burns, and William Wordsworth. He attended both Dartmouth College and Harvard College, although he never attained a formal degree as he had to leave halfway to support his family. However, he did receive several honorary degrees from several well-known colleges, such as Harvard, Oxford, and Cambridge.

More about the poem

Robert Frost claimed that he wrote this poem about his friend Edward Thomas, with whom he had walked many times in the woods. When they were trekking half-way, they would come to a fork, and they would have to make a choice. Robert Frost himself claims that this poem is very tricky, and after analsying this poem, I agree with him.

Analysis of the poem

In the first stanza of this poem, the character in the poem describes his position, ie where he is, what he is doing. He also says that he is alone, and is solely responsible for his choices. He also tries to 'look(ed) down one as far as I (he) could', trying to 'predict' the outcome of his decision as much as he can.

In the second stanza, the character looks at the other choice, and tries to determine which choice would be better. However, he is full of doubt as he does this. This stanza descries the vacillation that plagues the decision making process. The character uses the phrase 'wanted wear', as a personification. He uses wanted wear' instead of 'lacked wear', as the grass wanted someone to walk on it, not just that the grass lacked wear. In the last line, he contradicts himself a little, saying that the two choices are 'about the same'.

In the third stanza, the character finally makes his choice. He also says that he will come back to take the other choice another day, yet he wonders if he will ever come back again. This describes that choices made are irreversible, and once he made the decision, there is no turning back. There is no way for him to come back and choose the other road.

The last stanza is perhaps the trickiest among the four. The character uses the word ''sigh'. However, there are two ways of interpreting this word in the poem. It can mean that the character regrets his decision, or that the sigh is nostalgic, and that the character feels that his decision is the right one. He also states that years later, he hopes that he can say that he took the right road. However, this is hard to say. He also uses the word ''difference'. Some people interpret this as a positive difference, and that Robert Frost is trying to say that difference is good. On the other hand, there is no evidence in the poem to state that the difference is positive. For all you know, the difference may be negative.

A wide-spread interpretation claims that the poet is promoting individualism and non-conformity. This was supposed to be most evident in the last stanza. However, a discerning reader will see it differently. The poem only says that choice is inevitable, but you will never know what your choice will mean until you have lived it.

My reflections

I had an earlier post on my choice of going home. Thanks to Mr. S for pointing me to this excellent poem. I am amazed at the similarities between the topics explored.

I feel that in life, we should not just follow what most people do; neither should we try to be different just for the sake of being different. Instead, we should first take into consideration people's views, but not let them overly influence our choice in a matter. This way, we can make a decision that suits our interests best. In order to make a sound and informed decision, we should learn as much as we can when we are young, so that we are capable of making important life decisions for ourselves in the future.

After all, no one but ourselves are responsible for our decisions. Some of the decisions will even change our lives. As the poet says, 'that has made all the difference.'

References:

1. http://quotations.about.com/cs/poemlyrics/a/Road_Not_Taken.htm
   
2. http://poetry.suite101.com/article.cfm/robert_frost_s_tricky_poem