Symbolism In The Road Not Taken

Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” expresses the decisions one must make in life. In this case he isn’t very straightforward, yet he conveys the message to the reader quite clearly. Throughout this controversial verse he gets us to think about the vast importance of decision making, with the use of some literary devices.

Using symbolism he compares the roads to the choices. The road is not just a road it’s the symbol for the many decisions one must make in their life. “Two roads diverged in yellow wood/ And sorry I could not travel both” The traveler reaches a fork in the road in “yellow wood” suggesting it’s autumn, and he wishes he could travel both routes. He declines that ambition, and the road he selects is “the less traveled”. This automatically makes you assume he is likely someone little prone to follow the crowd. “Though as for that the passing there/ Had worn them really about the same.” He however contradicts himself clarifying that perhaps what he said about the road being less traveled may just be an illusion.

Frost uses personification to explain the choice made by the traveler. An example here is “Because it was grassy and wanted wear”, Frost is saying the road wants to be walked on, which it cannot ‘want’. This tells us it’s the one that was better kept, since it was the one less traveled. People choose the path that “should be taken” since it’s the one some have already used. “And having perhaps the better claim” Here the traveler seems unsure of the choice he is making, he thinks “perhaps” after looking down as far as he could of the first road the second one is better. This helps the reader see how this compares to real life problems; when you have to make choices in life you would want to select the bes...

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...eling “the one less traveled by” “has made all the difference”, however I strongly perceive the traveler, if not regrets his choice, at least grieves the possibility of having walked the other road, and that makes him feel hollow.

Robert Frost’s controversial poem “The Road Not Taken” leaves us with a lot to think about, and in a state of mixed feelings. But what he has made undisputable is that in life there will be many crossroads and the choice to “take the road less traveled by” isn’t always the easiest one, and maybe it isn’t the best one either, but the most important thing is that you always, always do what you think is best and persevere through it, because after all, the choices made by others won’t matter. What counts is the decision you made and that at the end of the road when you think back you don’t regret it or wish you would’ve done it differently.