Decisions in The Road Less Traveled
The word decision is defined by Webster's Dictionary as, "the act of deciding, or judgement." People have to make decisions in their lives all the time. One of the largest decisions is what to do after high school. This decision is certainly going to take you in one direction of another. And the places where your decisions would take you can differ greatly. Similarly, "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost uses symbolism to demonstrate that everyone is a traveler who chooses the road to follow on his or her journey in life. Each reader comes away with a slightly different meaning from the poem; their human condition will probably dictate the context in which they will interpret the poem. While the speaker chooses which path he ought to take in the woods in Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken," he also demonstrates that the decision, whether made whimsically or thought long and hard about, will change the speakers life in a way that can't be predicted.
The poem starts with "Two roads diverge 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..." The speaker is faced with a decision. He can go down the road on the right, or he can go down the road on the left. But he realizes that he can do only one. The poem is in the past tence, therefore, the reader knows that the narrator is reflecting on a past experience. What will the traveler miss out on? There could very well be a strong feeling of regret before the choice is even made. The road that is chosen leads to the unknown as does every major decision in life. No matter how hard or long the speaker ponders which road to take, he won't be able to predict the...
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... images to convey his theme. However, the poem seems to be deceivingly simple because in its simplicity, it opens the door for many different interpretations. Mostly though, "The Road Not Taken" can truly be interpreted as a clear representation of two fair choices. Although the two roads in the poem are diverging, they lead in different directions. At the beginning they probably appear to be similar, but miles away, they will grow farther and farther away from each other, similar to many choices we are faced with in life. It is impossible to fortell the consequences of most of the major decisions we make and it is often necessary to make these decisions based on little more than examining which choice "wanted wear." When we are older, we look back upon the choices we have made, and like the narrator, sigh, observing that they have made "all the difference."
Have you ever been faced with two important decisions? Life is full of options and when when you encounter two decisions you have to choose what path you are going to take. Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken,” represents two tough decisions and having to choose one and not the other. Robert Frost uses a few poetic devices, such as, metaphor, symbolism and vivid imagery to express and show the decisions we make in life. These poetic devices also help Robert Frost get his point across about the roads.
Another poem that the title contributes to the overall meaning of the story is “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost. The speaker is in the woods considering a fork in the road. Both ways look the same, but he chooses the one and thinks he is going to take the other one another day, which it is unlikely to happen. The title of this poem is a clear statement of its subject since it suggests the two roads and the decision that has to make in order to choose one of them. This is a comparison to decision making in life. People encounter different paths in life, but at the end we end up choosing one but still thinking of the road not taken. We usually ask ourselves what if I took the other road instead.
“And sorry I could not travel both” (2), the speaker is coming to a decision. In everyone’s life, they must make a decision to follow God or not to follow God. In this poem, the speaker has to make this choice. He tries to look down both roads as far as he can to see the choices that might result from taking either path. “Yet knowing how way leads on to way” (14), he knows that this decision is not temporary. He knows that once he chooses a path, he “doubted if I should ever come back” (15[VR1] ).
The Road Not Taken is a twenty-line poem written in iambic pentameter with the rhyme scheme ABAAB. This poem starts with the author walking through the woods. He comes to a fork in the path and is torn by which path to take...does he take the path that is traveled by everybody, or the one rarely traveled upon? He decides to take the road less traveled by. By taking this path he changes his life in some way unknown to the reader.
In his celebrated poem "The Road Not Taken," Robert Frost describes the decision one makes when reaching a fork in the road. Some interpret Frost as suggesting regret on the part of the traveler as to not choosing the path he forgoes, for in doing so he has lost something significant. Others believe he is grateful for the selection, as it has made him the man he is. The diverging roads are symbolic of the choices society is faced with every day of life. Choosing one course will lead the traveler in one direction, while the other will likely move away, toward a completely different journey. How does one know which is the right path; is there a right path? The answer lies within each individual upon reflection of personal choices during the course of life's unfolding, as well as the attitude in which one looks to the future.
The poem is set in the fall when the leaves are changing colors and beginning to cover the ground. The speaker of the poem is faced with an unfamiliar fork in the road and is forced to decide which direction he or she must go. As the speaker is deliberating, he is “sorry” he cannot just travel both and it appears to be because the speaker has a fear of picking the wrong one (Frost 2). Although he “looked down one as far as I could” there was no seeing the end (4). Just like in a life, it is possible to have an idea of what will happen and there is no telling which choices will turn out beneficial and which will not. The speaker knows that although the paths are similar the outcome of picking the wrong one could be life changing. Even though he is upset he must trust in himself to know which one would be best for him in the long run.
Nonetheless, there are numerous ways to interpret the concept of “The Road Not Taken”. First of all, it is liable to say that the narrator in the poem was essentially Frost. This can be concluded since the narrator decided to take the path “less traveled by” and for the use of various
This poem by Robert Frost was first read to me in the last year of my high school experience. Back then, not only did I have absolutely no interest in any literary work, but moreover, had no intension to lye there and analyze a poem into its symbolic definitions. Only now have I been taught the proper way to read a literary work as a formalistic critic might read. With this new approach to literature I can understand the underlying meaning to Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken". In addition to merely grasping the author's intension, I was able to justly incur that this poem, without directly mentioning anything about life's decisions, is in its entirety about just that.
Above all, 'The Road Not Taken'; can truly be interpreted through much symbolism as a clear-sighted representation of two fair choices. The two roads in the poem, although, 'diverging,'; lead in different directions. At the beginning they appear to be somewhat similar, but is apparent that miles away they will grow farther and farther away from each other. Similar to many choices faced in life. It is impossible to foresee the consequences of most major decisions we make and it is often necessary to make these decisions based on a little more than examining which choice 'wanted wear.'; In
Decisions separate one’s life from another. Robert Frost proves this to be true in his poem “The Road Not Taken.” The metaphorical twist Frost uses in his words and sentence structure emphasizes the importance of different decisions and how those choices will impact the rest of one’s life.
Frost gives just enough details in his writing to provide the viewers with a clear picture but allows them the freedom to create their own interpretations. One of the main things that make this poem attractive is the dilemma of picking a path. People immediately relate to that dilemma because most people face it numerous times throughout their lives. The Paths in the woods and forks in roads are metaphors for the many problems and decisions that fill one’s life. This poem says that we are free to choose, but we do not really know what we are choosing between. It does not say to take the path less traveled by nor take the path that is more traveled. The speaker knows that he will either second guess the decision somewhere down the line or wonder what was down the other path. In reality there is no right path, only the chosen path and the other path.
The overarching theme throughout the entire poem is that of choices. The concept of “two roads diverged,” or a split in the road, is a metaphor representing a choice which the narrator must make. Being “sorry [he] could not travel both… [being] one traveler” illustrates that, although he wishes he could see the results of both choices, as seen in saying he “looked as far as [he] could to where it bent,” he is but one pers...
Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” both portray weighing of choices in life. The former is about youth and experiencing life and the latter is about old age, or more probably, an old spirit wearied by life. In both poems the speaker is in a critical situation where he has to choose between two paths in life. In “The Road Not taken” the speaker chooses the unconventional approach to the decision making process, thus showing his uniqueness and challenging mentality while in “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” the speaker seeks a life without any pain and struggle but at the end, he has to comply with social obligation, which reflects his responsibility towards the society.
In his poem "The Road Not Taken" Frost's theme is about how the choices one makes affect life. When we come to a fork in the road, a decision needs to be made. Both paths are different and choosing the right one – if there is a right one – will depend on where we have been. Each choice that we make plays out differently in our lives. We can look back and wonder what would have happened if we choose differently. But that is outweighed in what we would have missed. Each choice affects who we are, where we are going, and moreover our lives.
The main theme of the poem that Frost attempts to convey is how important the decisions that one makes can be, and how they affect one’s future. In lines 2-3, he expresses the emotions of doubt and confusion by saying, “And sorry I could not travel/ And be one traveler, long I stood”, which explains how the speaker contemplated their decision of which road to take. In the closing, line 20 of the poem further reestablishes the theme when it states, “that has made all the difference”, meaning that making the decision of which road to take for themselves is the important key for a successful future. Frost helps to express this theme by using symbolism to portray a road as one’s journey of life. Using symbolism, Frost suggests that the speaker of this poem is taking the harder of the two roads presented before them, because the road the speaker chooses, “leaves no step had trodden black” (12...