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Why is the poem called "The Road Not Taken" and what does it mean?
Quick answer:
The title of "The Road Not Taken" refers to times when we look back at important choices and wonder what would have happened if we had decided differently. The road stands for the narrator's life's journey, the two diverging paths indicate the two options he must choose between, and the woods and undergrowth are the complications and difficulties in life that make it hard to choose. The narrator emphasizes that once we make these important decisions they are usually irrevocable.
The previous posts helped to illuminate much of the complexity of this poem. The title of the poem brings to light the powerful and problematic condition of choice that human beings endure in the process of self definition. The idea of a literal fork in the road, where two equally desirable, but ultimately incompatible courses of action pit an individual in the unenviable predicament of having to choose reveals much about the essence of individual identity. This is a critical element in Frost's work. In examining the choice made by the speaker, the choice "that has made all the difference," one begins to fully graps the thematic implications of making choices and agonizing decisions. While we might be plagued with wondering what might have been, the speaker suggests that we, as individuals, must make some level of peace with the choices we make for their are ours, and in being...
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our own, must represent the type of decisions "that make all the difference." The title being the sum total of what was not undertaken reveals and underscores the importance of being content with the decisions we make.
“The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost is one of the best known poems in American literature. This poem can be viewed literally and figuratively. Before interpreting the poem, it is important to recognize the title. This is not about the road that the poet took, but rather about the road that the speaker hoped that he would be able to travel on a later date.
The poem is written in four quatrains with five lines each. The rhyme scheme follows a definite pattern: ABAAB. The narration is first person point of view with an unknown narrator.
The tone of the poem involves a quandary. The speaker is unsure of what to do despite making a quick decision about which path to follow. Even at the end of the poem, there is no assurance that the right choice was made.
1st stanza,
Literal
The narrator is out in the woods in fall. He comes to a fork in the road. Wishing that he could go down both roads, he stands and looks down one of the paths as far as he can see. There is wooded undergrowth which deters him from seeing any farther.
Figurative
The narrator is facing a decision in his life. He has two choices. The problem could involve a marriage, a divorce, a career, the military, or an education. He has looked at all of the possibilities, but somethings cannot be foreseen.
2nd stanza
Literal
The speaker chooses the other road because he feels that it is just as good, possibly better than the other path. This path had not been traveled as much, having more grass and less wear. Actually, there was little difference between the two paths.
Then took the other as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear…
Figurative
The speaker makes a choice. His decision seems to be more selective. Fewer people may have made this decision. When he thinks about it, his choices seemed similar.
3rd stanza
Literal
On this morning, both of the roads seemed to have little travel on them. He decided that he would take one path: however, he hopes to come back at a different time to try the other road. Yet, time and money and life will probably prevent him from actually returning to the spot again.
Figurative
When the speaker makes the decision, he realizes that the choices were similar. He hopes that he will be able to try to the other choice at some time in the future. In actuality, it is doubtful that life will allow him to return and try the other choice.
4th stanza
Literal
Sometime in the future, the speaker will tell the story of the roads. He will do it with a little regret. He will tell the story of the two roads in the woods, and he took the one that appeared to be the least traveled. Because of this choice, his life had been completely altered.
Figurative
A long time in the future, the speaker will look back at the time when made the life altering decision. He will tell the story with a sigh or a little remorse. He faced a decision in his life. He chose a path and followed it. This choice made a huge difference in his life.
Remember the title: It is the road that he did not take that bothers the narrator. Although never stated, there is some negativity when he looks back at the choice he made. The poet subtly lets the reader know that more than once the narrator has reflected back on his judgment. This is a poem about “if.” What if---the speaker has never been sure that he made the right selection.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
The two roads symbolize, obviously, the choices that the speaker faces in life. He cannot take both, as much as he would like to, so he spends time in comtemplation and observation. He cannot see far, not far enough to make a confident decision as to the better nature of one over the other. The fact that it is a "yellow wood" perhaps indicates that, as fall is often a symbol of the waning years of one's life, the speaker is past his youth, when he can make a choice with the confidence that it is correctible at a later time. The choice he makes will be permanent, highly impacting the rest of his fast-disappearing days. As one approaches middle age, he comes to grip with the fact that his time for hopes and dreams is past; he must come to grips with the reality created by the choices he has made.
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
Here the speaker seems to be contradictory. He has made a choice, but is still unsure about it. It is "just as fair" yet it has "the better claim." Then again, there is no appreciable difference as the "passing there / Had worn them really about the same." He is still trying to convince himself that either choice would have been acceptable (just in case this path proves ill-advised). He cannot quite make up his mind about the wisdom of his decision.
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
The speaker is still in the process of convincing himself, even to the point of self-delusion. He tries to tell himself that, should this road proves not the right one, he will have the chance to go back to take the other road. Yet, in a road of complete honesty, he knows that life will probably not allow him the choice to return, even if he should wish to. He has transitioned to the point where he realizes that his youth is past and he must take up the responsility and reality of adulthood.
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.
He has come to the decision that, for good or ill, the choice he has made will be permanent and highly effecting of his life. He looks ahead to to time when he can look back and tell that the choice he made, whether wisely or unwisely, was the point at which his life's path was set.