The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost Essay

Just as Conrad conveys the creation of one’s own path subconsciously in Marlow, the poem “Road not taken” by Robert Frost explores this idea, represented my literal paths and an alternate, unspoken third path. The metaphor of the physical journey shows the moral growth in the protagonist. The poem is written in first person, giving it a very personal and reflective tone, expressing a pivotal moment in the persona’s life. The use of andante, the flowing rhythm establishes a conversational tone. The rhyme scheme is simple and effective throughout the poem, however, it changes in the final stanza. By implementing a new scheme here, the final thought of reflection is emphasized. The "less traveled" road is symbolic of the gamble of choosing a more individual path in life, the protagonist’s own road. This can be compared to the quote by Antonio Machado, “Travelers, there is no path, paths are made by walking.” This quote exemplifies the fact that walking the path is more important than

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

In the Robert Frost poem ‘’The Road Not Taken’’ there is a pervasive and in many ways intrinsic sense of journey throughout. In such, the poem explores an aspect associated with human decision, or indecision, relative to the oxymoron, that choices with the least the difference should bear the most indifference, but realistically, carry the most difficulty. This is conveyed through the use of several pivotal techniques. Where the first such instance is the use of an extended metaphor, where the poem as a whole becomes a literary embodiment of something more, the journey of life. The second technique used is the writing style of first person. Where in using this, the reader can depict a clear train of thought from the walker and understand

Frost presents the traveler's choice of paths as a metaphor for the difficult decisions a person must make in life. The divergent paths are the choices to be made at various points along the way. Regardless of how he tries, the traveler cannot see beyond where the path is "bent in the undergrowth" (5). Likewise, nobody can predict what effect one choice will have on his life. The traveler sees the two paths as very similar or "just as fair" (6). As much as the traveler would like to return to the diverging roads, he realizes that he will not get another chance to travel the other path. With maturity comes a resignation that a choice has affected a person's life and there is no going back. He also tries to make the best of his decision by saying that it has "made all the difference." (20).

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.

?The Road Not Taken? (1916) tells of someone faced with two of life?s decisions however only one can be chosen. Whichever road is taken will be final and will determine the direction that their life takes. Frost drives this poem by a calm and collective narrative, spoken by the traveler of the diverged roads. Who is speaking with himself trying to convince himself of which road is the better choice. Frost wrote this poem using standard, modern language.

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

In his own words, “I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” (IV, 4-5) Just as in Frost’s poem, many people who take the path less traveled end up happier with their lives because they have chosen what they want. Like Frost, my grandfather had the choice to run his father’s business in a small town in India, or move to the nearby city to go to college and make a better life for himself. He chose the latter and ended up being the first of his sibling to raise a family in America. While Frost is only making one decision, he understands that as it will lead to many more, he will never be able to change his mind later. As he explains, “Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.” (III, 4-5) When people make a decision, they often do not consider how the choice they make today will affect them tomorrow. For example, if we have the choice between getting married and finishing college, and we choose to get married, we may think that we will be able to return to school later, but sometimes this is not the case. Our lives take us on so many twists and turns and it becomes very difficult to change our decisions.

"The Road Not Taken" is one of the number of Frost's poems that has endures through the years. Frost is well known for his reflective and philosophical nature within his poems. "The Road Not Taken" is both about actual roads as well as paths in life. The first person narrator of the poem describes his decision-making process as he takes a walk or hike in the outdoors. The narrator literally comes to a point in his journey where the road he walks splits; his most important choice for his current journey, as well as the entire journey that is his life comes to a crucial juncture. The poem and the author intend for the reader to engage with the experience of making choices in life. Readers may consider that the everyday choices made in life have literal, direct, and immediate results, yet each of the small choices additionally

“I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference (Frost, 19-20).” Many individuals take these infamous last two lines from Robert Frost’s classic poem “The Road Not Taken,” and completely disregard the rest of the literary piece. Much of society thinks that it’s the road they take that makes them different and stand apart from everybody else. They believe that their uniqueness relies on this ultimate decision of which road they go down. Frost, however, thinks the exact opposite of this. Frost believes that each person’s path is unique because everyone makes their own string of decisions to get to a certain point.

The speaker in Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” is a conflicted person, and to me is a man of mystery. However, as the reader of this poem we are drawn in by the undergoing a life-changing decision. He is contemplating the direction in which he will lead his life and is using that of a fork in the road to base his future on. The speaker is impulsive and adventurous, the reason that he has chosen the less traveled path.

“One of Robert Frost’s most popular poems, “The Road Not Taken,” is a deep allegory for the struggle of choice in everyday life. According to Johnson, the poem portrays a choice to be made between roads by a person out walking in the woods. The person would like to travel both paths, so he tells himself he will discover one and then come back and explore the other one another day. Frost, states that the choices about ones future are challenging to make, and predictions toward an outcome are often mysterious. He introduces two roads diverging in the woods, alluding to the point in life when a choice of many must be made.

In addition, “The Road Not Taken” also shows us how journeys allow for our reflection on many things. In the poem the traveller experiences an obstacle or fork in the road. This allows the traveller to take in his surroundings whether that be the path ahead or the people around him. This is shown when he states ‘two roads diverged in a yellow wood’. The traveller has two options and to make a decision he has to really explore both of them. Robert Frost uses this poem to express his belief in not always following the crowd and being an individual. Robert Frost uses conversational language to create a sense of communication between the traveller and the reader and to enlighten the reflection that the traveller has made. After comparing both paths and seeing every option his reflection about his journey changes. The traveller decides to go with the path less travelled. He decides to be different.

In the third stanza, the man decides on a path to take with the thought that he’ll go back and walk down the other road at a later date. However, when Mr. Frost writes, “I doubted if I should ever come back”, somewhere in the man’s mind he knows that the likelihood of him actually getting the chance to walk the un-chosen road is not going