I. Introduction“The Road Not Taken” is one of the most popular, albeit not necessarily the best, works of poet Robert Lee Frost. Many readers have heralded it as a true call for individualism, in choosing what one’s heart desires, whether it is met with applause or criticism. However, though the poem and its title indeed suggest such an idea, there is another angle of interpretation to be discovered, one that has more to do with Frost, his life, and experience.Robert Frost was born in 1874 to academicians in San Francisco, California, which gave him early background on literary classics.
He loved the outdoors and the countryside—a penchant for nature that would later find its way into Frost’s poetry. But more significantly, it was the tragedies Frost went through—the deaths of his son, mother, daughters, sister, and wife Elinor—that figured prominently in his most celebrated poems, infused with his vivid images of nature. Robert Frost himself passed in 1963, in Boston (The Literature Network 2008).II. The Poem: Meaning and ImageryRobert Frost often referred to “The Road Not Taken” in a cryptic manner, saying that it is “very tricky” (Grimes 2008).
yet never divulged any of his reasons for saying so. This, perhaps, alluded to the more personal meaning of the poem, rather than its more popular yet literal counterpart. The use of such words as “less traveled by” evokes commitment to truth and self; other interpretations, though, could refer to the image as one full of emotion, particularly of the regret one feels in life and the choices made, equating to lost opportunities.Frost employed the simplicity of words such as “undergrowth”, “leaves”, “grassy”, and “yellow wood” to convey a sense of melancholy amid adventure, specially the choices a life traveler must make that could define the rest of his existence. Choosing the wrong road may result in regret and sorrow. The poem’s speaker, beset with two options, chooses a road in the end after much introspection and internal debate.
At this point, the speaker already is mindful of the repercussions brought upon by his choice, and doubts the chances it could bring him. In the end, the line “Had worn them really about the same” solves any misinterpretations gleaned from the poem’s reading; here, Frost states that the two roads in question had the same degree of beauty, as well as wear and tear, which ultimately validates the assumption that the speaker was merely contemplating on what he would lose should he take the other road.III. The Poem and ImpressionSome of the more memorable words and passages in the poem are the references to nature such as “yellow wood” and “undergrowth”, as well as the first line that speaks of two roads diverging. Combine these with the image created by “one traveler, long I stood”, and the lonely and sad life of a loner may be assumed.
For this is, in fact, an accurate depiction of life—in the face of important decisions, one indeed is alone, and must stand behind the choices he or she has made. It also signifies the uncertainty of the end of the road, or the future, which is enough reason for one to experience fear, doubt, and insecurity. Frost’s line “I took the road less traveled by/and that has made all the difference” at once gives the image and concept of strength, determination, and self-discovery; but if the poet’s meaning should be deciphered, it would show that neither positive or negative effects are indicated in the line. For the speaker, taking the road less traveled may have erased the doubts he had, and resulted in a life that he probably would never have experienced had he taken the more-traveled road, or path.
