The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost Essays

Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken”, can be easily misunderstood, and perhaps for decades it was. Scholar Frank Lentricchia believed that in this poem, the message is that people don’t get a choice in life to pick one path rather than the other, because their lives are already mapped out for us. However, Mark Richardson had a different idea. He thought that it’s not that we don’t get a choice in life, it is that we don’t realize how the choice affects us until later in life. Although these two ideas sound reasonable, what Robert Frost really meant in this piece of writing was not that people choose between two paths, but instead they must forge their own.

The overall tone of Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken,” is foreseen as regretful yet satisfied through his word choice. For example, in the poem, Frost wrote of two paths where he could travel; however, both far and both equal. The word choice alludes to two paths in life, maybe a job in New York being a writer or a fellowship with many opportunities for more out of his line of work. He wrote in his poem, “I shall be telling this with a sigh, Somewhere ages and ages hence…” (Frost, 1916, p.1) The word choice shows how he often thought about his choice and thought of how things could be different with regret. Additionally, Frost wrote, “Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.” This also showed how he

In the poem, The Road Not Taken, written in 1916, the mood feels anticipatory and conflicted because it is written regarding someone who has walked upon two paths in the woods and has to make a choice on which road to take. Frost expresses the idea that once a decision is made, there is no turning back for a second chance. His purpose was to possibly teach a life lesson to the audience or maybe even teach his own self based on the fact that the road the narrator is yet to take represents events going on in his life possible consisting of a mid-life crisis, career, or marriage. The poem reflects how in life, some people may lose their way just as Frost did when he was battling his own self. Frost states, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both” which emphasizes the idea that having a sense of decisiveness is a significant value to have in life, something in which Frost lacks.

In reading Frost’s poem in its entirety, I have concluded that “The Road Not Taken” is a symbolic representation of the choices we make in life. This particular narration symbolically led the speaker down a fulfilling road; however, getting to that conclusion is not so simple of a process. The uncertainty of how the outcome of one decision over the other will unfold brings the speaker through a contemplating process of eradication.

Robert Frost major theme incorporated in his work making life choices. For example, Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" the persona walking along and coming to a point where he must decide on which two paths to take: "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood/ And sorry I could not travel both/ And be one traveler, long I stood" (Frost 1-3). This evidence proves the persona is not sure which path to take, but he knows he will soon have to make a decision. Also, which path he take may determine ways that will change his life forever: "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--/ I took the one less travelled by,/ And that has made all the difference. (Frost 18-20). The persona has chosen the one path to travel, he knows years from now his one

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.

In “The Road Not Taken,” Robert Frost leaves a major theme of making choices. The poem is about a man traveling and he comes across a fork-in-the-road. He must make a decision on which way he will keep traveling. One way seems familiar to him. It is by far the safer and easier route to go down. But that does come with a price. The road has been used a lot and may be more difficult to travel down even though it seems easier. He ends up choosing the road less traveled. It did not seem as convenient at the time but he states that it helped him in the long run. Not only does “The Road Not Taken,” have a theme about choices, but it also holds a theme about choosing the road less taken. Taking chances and choosing the road less traveled can have many benefits in the long run.

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

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood and sorry I could not travel both." (Frost 1) - in life, there are many "paths" or choices; ways one can go in life. He explains that many people go one way, perhaps because others went that same way. "Then took the other, as just as fair, and having perhaps the better claim Because it was grassy and wanted wear" (Frost 1) In this, Frost is explaining that many people went one way while he wanted to travel the less worn one, because it might hold beautiful views – good experiences that no one else had gotten the chance to learn from. Life, he explains through this metaphor of travel, is full of choices. And going down one path may change ones life. "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood and I- I took the one less traveled by; and it has made all the difference." (Frost 1) Robert Frost continues to teach an important life lesson to readers around the world through this extended metaphor

?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.

In the final stanza, lines 16-20 the tone of the poem changes completely. This is the only stanza that begins with a new sentence, indicating that it is a stronger break from the previous ideas. The speaker puts himself in a future situation discussing his life. What he states here seems to contradict what he has said earlier. From his future prospective he says that the paths where different and that he did not choose the one most traveled by. Perhaps he will in the future actually believe this and he only wishes that he could choose in the present "the one less traveled by."(20)

One of Robert Frost’s most well know works: “The Road Not Taken”, is arguably one of the most controversial and misunderstood poems. By just reading the title, it seems fairly simple to assume that the poem is about making choices. When the speaker is presented the two roads he must make a choice as to which path he will take for he: “Could not travel both” (Line 2). As the speaker looks down both paths as far as he can, he deciphers back and forth from believing that the paths are equal to one path is better over the other. The speaker eventually decides which path to take and he states that his choice: “Has made all the difference” (Line 20). The title and plot lead people to believe that the central theme is about choices and the importance

Throughout the poem, Frost’s use of tone holds a large impact on the meaning of the poem. If the tone of the poem is misinterpreted, the entire mood of the poem is altered. The tone is recognized before the poem even begins: through the title “The Road Not Taken,” Frost imposes the idea that the speaker makes a decision and second guesses himself or herself. In addition to the title, the speaker says in the first

The poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost starts out with the speaker facing a dilemma. He must make a decision about which path to take. Frost utilizes metaphor and tone to develop his theme about having to make decisions in life, whether they be something as major as choosing a career to pursue or something as simple as choosing what movie to see or what to have for dinner. The speaker states, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

Robert Frost’s famous poem “The Road Not Taken” centers on the concept of choice. Through the use of the central symbol, the poem expresses both the uncertainty of making a choice and the expectations of the choice made between seemingly equal options. The tone of the poem shifts throughout to show the decision-making process and the regret of choosing wrongly. While the poem gently ironizes the human response to decision making, it is also filled with the anticipation of remorse.