The Road Not Taken – Robert Frost

 

“Wanderer, your footsteps are the road, and nothing more; wanderer, there is no road, the road is made by walking. By walking one makes the road, and upon glancing behind one sees the path that never will be trod again. Wanderer, there is no road– Only wakes upon the sea.”
– Antonio Machado

 

This week I will be reviewing one of the most notable poems of Robert Frost. I am sure nearly all of you have heard of it; however, it is usually just the last three lines that are presented, which often gives a misguided representation of the poem.

 

The Road Not Taken

 

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.

– Robert Frost

 

 

The first thing I notice about this poem is the rhyme scheme. Given by ABAAB it serves to place added emphasis on the second and last lines of each stanza; this stress arises simply because we notice uncommon occurrences and become inured to what is regularly presented. It is a subtle difference, but even if you do not pick up on it consciously the effect remains the same.

In this poem, there lies a seemingly universal inclination. Nearly every person finds it easy to empathize with the narrator because nearly every person has encountered a similar scenario. The narrator reaches a fork in the woods and must choose which road to take; the narrator is not simply speaking of physical paths, but life choices. The narrator was faced with a difficult choice to make in his life, and ultimately had to decide on only one of those roads. By taking the “road less traveled by” Frost is choosing to create his own way in the world instead of follow the path created by others; most people would consider this to be courageous and would be keen to praise Frost for such a decision. However, we will see later how this is not necessarily the case.

There are two different times in this poem: Frost when forced to make his choice, and Frost reflecting on his decision. To avoid confusion, I will refer to the former as time X and the latter as time Y. Frost’s description of each road conveys his understanding of each path at time X. In the first stanza Frost expresses his desire to travel both roads because he is “sorry I could not travel both”, yet declares that as “one traveler” he must pick his path. Carefully perusing his descriptions we find that taking the road “less traveled by” is simply an excuse. Frost claims that he chose the road “less traveled by”. However, he finds both roads equally fair and admits that they have really been worn about the same. Subsequently we see that the next morning the roads “equally lay”.

Starting from the middle line in the third stanza Frost begins to express his remorse in his choice. Still in time X, he communicates his desire to travel the first road at a later time. Yet he knows that “way leads on to way” and that by becoming engrossed with his first path he will be unable to experience the other path. In the last stanza Frost’s regret reverberates through his mind. He tells us this “with a sigh”, not with pride or confidence. This poem is rather depressing; Frost is telling us that he made the wrong choice, that selecting the less popular path has “made all the difference”. This difference is not necessarily good. Need more proof? Look at the title of the poem: The Road Not Taken. This poem is about the narrator making a difficult life choice, and lingering on a future that could have been instead of embellishing the reality of his choice.

What can we take from this? Choices matter. We will likely be faced with pretty significant life choices; yet a choice has to be made. We must decide. We cannot sit at the fork in the road and dwell later on what we never tried. At the same time, we must reflect on our choices and keep in mind the circumstance of each situation. Your choices will make a difference. Make that difference worth it.

4 thoughts on “The Road Not Taken – Robert Frost

  1. One of the reasons I love this poem so much is for that universal feeling you mentioned. We’ve all been at a point where we need to make such important decisions and Frost’s notion that reflection on our decisions is just as important as making them is especially refreshing. We tend to forget about how our decisions impact us sometimes.

  2. I love this poem. I have always used it as inspiration to strive for something that may not be easy but will be well worth it. Even in the few months we’ve been here, I’ve come to appreciate choice even more, not always in the most positive manner, though. Making choice that can define your entire life when you’re only 18 years old is so intimidating, but I think it’s also important to realize that it is often not the be-all, end-all of your career or life or what ever. Thanks for your insightful analysis of this poem.

  3. Dan,

    The awesome thing about good poetry is that it can be read in many different ways. As you said, often the common interpretation deals with the actual choice of the path rather than the outcome. I think it is up to the reader to determine which to focus on, but personally I would focus on both. There are two main stresses of this poem: that he was faced with a choice and made a decision, and that said decision did not turn out for the best. I would look at this poem and say “I am inspired to create for my own, but must recognize that creating for my own will not always be the best path for me”.

  4. For how many years that I have sputtered off this poem, I have always taken it as a reminder to choose. I have never reflected on the outcome of the path taken by Frost as so much as the fact that he chose and kept with that path. It is interesting to look further into the poem to see that it really is about the road NOT taken. I would never have thought of that. Like you said, it is a dismal poem when fully interpreted. As such, do you think it is better to leave it more at a surface value, being a driver to chose a path, or as a deeper interpretation, being that the choice he chose was a regrettable one?

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