The Road Not Taken By Robert Frost

There are many different ways to interpret a poem. While completing an analysis of Robert Frost's poem “The Road Not Taken” there were some key factors to be considered that provide a better insight of how the poem was developed and what was the hidden meaning behind the words. The key factors found in the analysis are symbolism, indistinctness, and irony. There are many different ways to express symbolism, and many ways to interpret it. The most significant use of symbolism was in the very first line of the poem, which describes a fork in the road in where the author must choose which path to take.

The speaker decides on a path. In lines 16-20, Frost writes “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. As I mentioned earlier, the speaker sighs in line 16, wishing he could have taken both roads. He opted to choose the grassy road that wanted wear (line 9). The speaker reflects back on this decision, noting that his choice has made all the difference in his life. To me, this last line reflects contentment and gratification in his earlier life choice.

Robert Frosts “The Road Not Taken” is more symbolic of a choice one must make in their life in attempt to foresee the outcome before reaching the end, than it is about choosing the right path in the woods.

The analysis of “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost has been up for debate since the poem release in 1916. It is known to be one of the most frequently misinterpreted poems of all time, and even Robert Frost himself has said the poem is “tricky” to comprehend (The). When analyzing this poem many readers tend to focus only on the last lines of the poem and get caught in a trap of selective-interpretation. Quite a few people after reading Robert Frost’s poem firmly conclude that this poem is about non-conformity and individualism, however, that is not the case. Robert Frost’s poem is meant to be analyzed line by line for a complete interpretation. Readers can conclude that the poem represents making choices in life, but that is not the

Frost entrances the reader’s mind with the bountiful amount of imagery within the poem. “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,” the comforting and well-known nature that Frost describes contradicts against the terrifying reality of the unknown through decision making. Frost goes on to explain how he, as many others do, try to visualize what his life would be like if he were to go down one of the roads he chose, “Long I stood and looked down one as far as I could” worrying about how decisions will affect every independent life can be a hassle and trying to understand and fully

He predicts that he will always remember this moment of choice and will be telling it "with a sigh" (16) when he is old. His choice will have made "all the difference" (20) and affected his whole journey. Frost creates a tone of inevitability that no matter what the choice, there will always be regret.

Diverging being the key word in this line because it suggests that the traveler must make a choice. Line two the speaker expresses his grief of not being

To start with, Frost displays the main idea of decision making by the words he uses throughout the poem. As much as people do not want to make choices, it is going to happen; life is full of them. Indeed, the first line hints that a choice is going to have to be made. “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood” (1). Therefore, people have to decide whether to go left or right, this way or that way. For some people making a decision is the hardest thing to do. Sometimes the choices presented in front of people could work either way. In the poem, Frost makes both roads seem equally desirable that the reader has no idea as to what path the traveler will choose. “Had worn them really about the same,” (10). With the choices being similar it makes deciding that much harder. Then there are some who, no matter what choice they make are never satisfied. Also, people often doubt their own abilities to make decisions and go into the “what if” mindset. With this in the

Frost writes the experience of someone who has a decision to make between two paths. In lines 9 and 10 it states how both paths travelers equally used. This comes to make me think how the decision that the narrator is making is a big life decision since there is really no helpful influence to draw him closer towards one of the paths. In lines 1-4, Frost

In the poem, Frost indicates that he made the wrong decisions and took the wrong path’s by sarcastically using “making all the differences”.

Frost’s tone in the poem is both contemplative and indecisive; however, there is a change towards the end. Throughout the poem, the reader learn that there are two paths to take, but the traveler, who we suppose is Robert Frost, is unclear of which one to go through. “Then took the other, as just as fair, and having perhaps the better claim” in these two verses the reader can clearly see that this is a choice in which he is putting a lot of thought into. With his contemplative tone, the reader learn that this is often a life decision, and not only a choice between two ways. Approaching the end of the poem, there is a radical change of the indecisive tone to a tone of regret.

In the first line of the poem Frost already begins to lay out his setting for the reader saying, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood”(1). This allows the reader to visually see what the narrator sees, which makes the poem much more powerful and realistic. Also Frost had to use imagery to put reader in the narrator’s shoes, so it’s as if the reader also has to make the decision on which road is the best to take. Even though the roads are not any different from each other, the details the narrator gives makes even the reader for a moment believe that one is better than the other. This manipulation that Frost creates using imagery makes the reader experience first hand the theme that he made which is to make the best of your situation. Frost was able to put the reader in the same situation and cause them to even weigh their options for a

/ I doubted if I should ever come back. ”(lines 13-15), goes to show how one decision can change everything and that once you make it, you can almost never turn back. It explains how the speaker wants to be able to take both roads, but realizes that he probably will not be able to take the second one. Through the use of metaphors, the poem gets the reader thinking about how the choices that they make will affect them either negatively or positively. Moreover, Frost uses imagery to portray meaning in the poem by emphasizing the importance of the decision.

Frost's key theme is human decision making. In his experience, most people choose the easiest choice they can. The easy road he speaks of is, "grassy and wanted wear" (8). While, the harder, more difficult road is the opposite in appearance, many people do not choose this road. People make decisions their whole lives, and depending on which choice is chosen can not only reflect on themselves but also on other people. What he is implying is that the more difficult road will not be

The most popular metaphorical analysis is that the poem focuses on death and seasonal changes. Although, there is controversy in whether or not the speaker is dying or merely dreaming. This is due to the fact that “the two are merged completely in the essence of the oncoming winter, and Frost refuses to tell the reader what actually happens” (Vincent, “Robert Frost: Poems “After Apple-Picking”). Nevertheless, what the speaker has actually accomplished