Road Not Taken

Explication of The Road Not Taken

In life, choices are unavoidable. One can put off decisions, and ignore urgent deadlines, but even the act of putting off a choice is, in itself, a choice. "The Road Not Taken" is a wonderful example of a poem that all audiences can relate to. The over-looming mindset that it is the choice that makes the difference is clear and well developed throughout the poem. Robert Frost uses his gift of imagery and poetic eloquence in his poem, "The Road Not Taken", to depict the universal fork in the road that many decisions turn into.

Robert Frost, at his poetic core, is a poet who can present picturesque and comprehensible thoughts while utilizing unique and well-developed plots. Even the title of his poem, "The Road Not Taken", sparks a reader's interest into his poem. One can almost picture an overgrown woodland path that hasn't been traversed in some time. Upon reading this poem, one can begin to picture the speaker as a young man who is describing his choice to take the less traveled path to a person who may one day encounter the same predicament. Reading even the first few lines will keep one interested in how Frost will illustrate the dilemma everyone must tackle.

"The Road Not Taken" has an interesting and relatable storyline. The speaker is at a split in his path. He must choose to either take the path that is easily trodden, or take the path that is less traveled. He is unable to see where each path leads, which puts a further strain on his decision. Due to the ambivalent feelings that he is having towards each path, he takes the one less traveled. He makes a concrete statement near the end of the poem by saying, "I took the one less traveled by, / And that has made all the difference." (lines 19-20) This leaves the reader with a sense of closure, knowing that the speaker feels no regret in taking the road less traveled. One must see that this is, in every way, a poem that everyone can connect with and enjoy.

The imagery used throughout "The Road Not Taken" brings an all-encompassing view into the reader's mind. One can see tall aged autumn trees and stiff, cold earth when reading, "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood." (line 1) The phrase, "grassy and wanted wear" in line 8 illustrates an old path that almost calls out to be walked due to lack of use. Lines 11 and 12 makes it clear that each path has yet to be walked that day by saying, "And both that morning equally lay / In leaves no step had trodden black." Line 14 parallels life's movement with the description of the paths by saying, "way leads on to way." This creates an empirical pace and distance to the paths. Also, in comparing his decision of the paths with life, Lines 18 and 19 give the reader a sense of pondering and pausing with the repetition of "I". Imagery is one of Frost's strongest poetic tools.

Looking at the poem as a whole, one can see that the poem is a complete metaphor is itself. The roads represent different paths in life. Both are worn about the same. How then can the one less traveled be, in the physical sense, traveled the same? One idea is that Frost is saying something like this: "When I am old, like all old men, I shall make a myth of my life. I shall pretend,