“The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost is a poem about choices. At the core, the poem is about different choices changing one’s life. A closer look, however, the reader begins to see the metaphors and question the deeper meaning of Frost’s work (Kirszner & Mandell, 2012). The traveler has to make a choice of which path to choose. After he chooses, he is not changed by his experience. The traveler tells the reader he arbitrarily chooses the less worn path and he will one day tell his story. This is much like a young adult coming to age. This is a defining moment of independence and freedom of choice. “The Rad Not Taken” has been called an anthem to individuality and not conforming to society’s standards. A closer look shows this is not true.
The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost has a literal meaning from the speaker, or traveler, of the road he did not take, but the deeper meaning certainly shows how decisions alter your life. Notably, sorrow and regret is the tone of this poem, demonstrated in the very first stanza: 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; (1-5) The poem takes place in autumn, when a traveler, who is narrating the poem, walks upon two paths in the yellow wood. The speaker says he is “sorry I could not travel both”, meaning that he feels sorrowful about not being able to take both roads.
In "The Road Not Taken," by Robert Frost, many questions arose about the meaning of the poem. One common interpretation of the poem about assertion of individualism, where the speaker is taking the road not traveled so that he can assert his individualism, is a nice interpretation. However, I believe that the speaker is really having a hard time making up his mind, and the poem is a conversation with himself trying to rationalize his decision. It seems as if both ways might lead to great occurrences, but only one way is the right way. There are four points in the poem that stick out where the speaker is either vague and unclear or contradictory in evaluating his choices. The first is in the first stanza where it says "And sorry I could not travel both"(2). The second point is contradictory and between lines seven through ten particularly, where the speaker is musing over which path to take. Another particularly interesting point is in line thirteen where it says, "Oh, I kept the first for another day!" And the final point to look at is in line sixteen where Frost writes the vague word "sigh," with no further explanation as to its connotation.
“The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost shows the reader how the choices they make will be hard decisions and will follow them. The setting of this poem takes place in the woods, in the fall. The woods will typically be a quiet and serene place making the setting an ideal place for decision making. The setting also helps to show the symbolism that Frost shows by describing the two paths. Frost uses pathos when appealing to the reader’s feelings because any reader has had to make a decision in their life. Creating this symbol helps to relate to the reader. The Imagery that is created helps to make the reader feel as if they are standing in the snowy woods, looking down two paths, and trying to make the decision of which one to take. Frost used
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.
Most people believe that "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost was written to inspire people to be different, and to not follow the majority. However, the poem was actually written to gently tease one of Frost's good friends, and fellow poet, Edward Thomas. Frost and Thomas would take walks in the woods together, and Thomas would take Frost down one path and later regret not choosing a different path. This would lead one to believe that Frost is actually ridiculing the action of regretting decisions. Considering this pert nit background information, the poem's meaning can be quite contrary to popular belief. It guides the reader from the idea that Frost wants you to differentiate yourself, to a concept of perseverance and self confidence. Upon further analysis of the poem, more irony is unveiled in both the title and the poem itself
Life is not always about the road taken, but sometimes the road not taken. The tone of sadness and regret in Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken”, creates an emotional roller coaster that everyone has been on and can relate to. The poem depicts a man forced to make one of the biggest decisions of his life through the use of allegory and ironic tone.
Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” provide us contrasting and sometimes similar glimpses of life. “The Road Not Taken” is about taking control and living life. “Stopping by Woods on Snowy Evening” entails the desire for rest, perhaps due to the speaker’s feelings of weariness from facing life’s struggles. The poet also explains the tough choices people stand before when traveling the road of life. Sometimes people regret the possibilities of the road not chosen, sometimes people feel proud about the road they have chosen.
In analyzing the poem 'The Road Not Taken'; by Robert Frost, it represents 'the classic choice of a moment and a lifetime.';(pg 129) He relies much on the reflections of nature to convey his theme. However, this poem seems to be in essence very simple but
...ng this tale “with a sigh”(16) of regret, he confirms that he chose the harder road, or the road “less traveled by”(19), and “that has made all the difference”(20). Ultimately, once one’s path, or decision, has been made, not only will there be no turning back, but that decision will change one’s life permanently.
In Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”, Frost shows the everyday human struggle to make a choice that could change the course of one’s life. In his poem, a person has the choice to take one road or the other. One road is worn out from many people taking it, and the other is barely touched, for fewer have taken that road. Throughout the poem, the speaker learns that just because so many other people have done one thing, or walked one way, does not mean everyone has to. Sometimes you just have to go your own way.
In the poem “The Road Not Taken”, author Robert Frost uses the simple image of a road to represent a person’s journey through life. A well-established poet, Frost does a proficient job of transforming a seemingly common road to one of great importance, which along the way helps one identify who they really are. This poem is one of self-discovery. Frost incorporates strong elements of poetry such as theme, symbolism, rhyme scheme, diction, imagery, and tone to help create one of his most well known pieces about the human experience.
Throughout life, we are forced to make decisions that can and will greatly impact our life and change it significantly. Robert Frost’s poem, The Road Not Taken is about how one choice can make a world of difference. The speaker of this poem knows that there is a very important decision to be made and knows that there is no possible way for him to know if his decision will benefit him or not until the future. Frost uses symbols such as the roads and nature to show the reader how in life we must all make decisions that are tough but need to be made.
The poem titled “The Road Not Taken” is written by Robert Frost and is primarily about the decisions you make in life. Although the poet is writing about himself, considering a fork in the road, the theme of the poem is that you will always have tough choices in life but you can only do one at a time. In the poem, Robert Frost said that he doubts he will ever take that other road, and just like in real life when you make a decision you can’t always go back and change it. And you just live on wondering what that other road could have brought. The poem is implicitly expressing the poets regret and curiosity through the use of metaphor and imagery. What Robert Frost is trying to argue is that it is difficult for a person to be completely satisfied with the choices they make in life.
Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” show the readers similar struggles of life. “The Road Not Taken” is about taking control of one’s life and living it aside from how others live theirs. While “Stopping by Woods on Snowy Evening” shows the desire for rest. Sometimes people regret the possibilities of the road not chosen, sometimes people feel proud about the road that they
...ng the road he eventually chose made him the person he is. In being forced to choose and face the consequences, he was afraid to make a wrong decision. He is better off for having even made any decision at all instead of standing there, procrastinating. Although one person cannot take all the roads in life, trying to choose everything will leave that person just as empty as choosing the wrong path.