Choices made in “The Road Not Taken”
Everyone is a traveler, choosing the roads to follow on the map of their continuous life. A straight path never leaves speaker with one sole direction on which to travel. Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” is about how the choices affect speaker’s life. Frost illustrates speaker to make a difficult decision about choosing one of two equally promising roads to travel on. When speaker comes to a fork road, a decision needs to be made. Both paths are different and choosing the right one will depend on his past experience. It is this way that he chooses to decide where he is going to travel. Throughout this poem, it is obvious that decisions are not easy to make, and each decision will lead him down a different road to travel. In any case however, this poem clearly demonstrates Frost’s belief that it is the road that speaker chooses that makes him who he is.
Speaker had two roads to choose from and wonders what would have happened if he had taken the other road. The poem begins with simple sentence, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,”(1) as the speaker sees two roads before him and obviously he cannot travel on both at the same time. He tries to consider the consequences as he “looked down one as far as I could.”(4) However, each road “bent in the undergrowth”(5) as where each road obviously different. It is unclear to him what the consequences would be if he chooses either road. Frost states “And sorry I could not travel both,”(2) that shows the point in which speaker will choose only one path in which to travel on. It is always difficult to make a decision, because it is impossible not to wonder what will be missed out. There is a strong sense of wonder before the choice is made because he knows that in one lifetime he cannot travel down on every road. In an attempt to make a decision, the speaker “looked down one as far as I could”(4). The road he chooses leads to the unknown choice in life. In the first stanza, the emphasis is on the road that was not traveled, but he cannot “and be one traveler”(3) on both paths. The speaker has a difficult choice to make and is carefully considering his options, but he must choose one of the roads to travel.
The second stanza shows the difficulty of making choices. The speaker tries to differentiate one road from another as he describes one road as “having perhaps the better claim”(7). Here he tries to make an excuse for choosing this road over the other “because it was grassy and wanted wear.”(8) However, in line 10 he confesses that both roads are, in fact, not different at all “as for that passing there had worn them really about the same.” He takes the other road that is “grassy and wanted wear;”(8) indeed, the road he chooses has a “better claim” because it is the road that is less traveled on. By taking this road, a clue to Frost’s personality is exposed. He is the type of person that wants to try something new and different. He makes the choice based on who he is and what choices he has made in the past. This choice might again change his life and bring him new experiences.
In the third stanza the speaker realizes he has to make a decision soon, because he just cannot stand there forever. However, he still cannot decide which one of the roads to travel on. The leaves that cover the ground have not been stepped on and “no step had trodden black,”(12) indicates that no one has traveled down the road since the leaves haven fallen. “Oh, I kept the first for another day!”(13) The speaker anticipates he has more time to decide. His reason for this indecision is that “knowing how way lead on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.”(14) He knows that once he makes a decision there’s no turning back. This is where the reader makes his choice. Here, he knows he is bound by that choice. He wants to hold on to the other possibility, but knows this cannot be possible. His choice becomes the road taken; therefore, the choice he did not make becomes “The Road Not Taken.”
It appears that the last stanza is written long after he makes his decision. He looks back and regrets his decision, “I shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence.”(16) He again makes an excuse why he chose this particular road as he “took the one less traveled by” even though; in line he admits that both roads are really the same. The speaker seems to be content with his choice, yet he tells it with a sigh. He is resolving himself to the fact that even when “ages and ages” pass, he will still wonder what if he had taken the other road. He will regret being unable to go back and travel down the road he did not take. It was the path that he chose “that has made all the difference” that makes him who he become and to live his life the way he lives; however, with only one regret that he could not travel both paths in his life.
The title of this poem “The Road Not Taken” refers to the choice speaker did not make. All people make mistakes, but we must move on and learn from them so we will not make the same mistakes again. This poem is about choices because of our inability to travel on both paths at once in one lifetime. The speaker made his difficult decision to travel on this road and change his life. Each choice that we make plays out differently in our lives. We can look back and wonder what would have happened if we choose differently. Each choice affects who we are, and one choice in life can change everything.
Другие работы по теме:
Robert Frost The Road Not Taken Essay
, Research Paper Lisa Asadoorian 11-24-98 Intro To Lit. Roads of Life The Road Not Taken is perhaps one of Robert Frost’s most famous poems. This poem deals with the choices you have to make in life. Whether it’s what to wear in the morning or what to do with your life, everyone makes choices. When you look at this poem carefully, you realize Robert Frost is choosing much more than what road to walk down.
The Road Not Taken Essay Research Paper 2
?The Road Not Taken? Essay, Research Paper Rejoice or Regret? Robert Frost, a poet from the early Twentieth Century, is well known not only for his style, but also for his use of symbolism throughout his works. In ?The Road Not Taken?, he depicted his theme and meaning through a four stanza poem which consisted of a set rhyme scheme (A, B, A, A, B).
Robert Frost
’s “The Road Not Taken” Essay, Research Paper ?Robert Frost was one of the United States’ best-loved poets. Frost was greatly influenced by his move from San Francisco to New England at
Chrysanthemums Essay Research Paper ChrysanthemumsWhen Elisa sees
?Chrysanthemums? Essay, Research Paper ?Chrysanthemums? When Elisa sees the chrysanthemum sprouts on the road, she feels betrayed, a victim of her own romantic reverie. She has invited a stranger into her world and has seen into his world what she imagines as a brighter, freer existence than her own.
Gloss
: “The Road Not Taken” Essay, Research Paper Brought to a standstill at the presence of a crossroad, the speaker of Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” is left to contemplate which path to travel. After careful inspection of both routes, the speaker comes to the conclusion that neither path presents a more appealing endeavor ahead.
Catch22 And My Antonia
… Character Comparison Essay, Research Paper Perhaps the most directly conflicting characters in Catch-22 and in My Antonia are Colonel Cathcart and Antonia. Both of these characters are ambitious and each sees a road that runs ahead toward something called success or wealth , but the roads that they see are constructed differently.
Certainty Essay Research Paper The mind which
Certainty Essay, Research Paper The mind, which has grasped a right theory of knowledge, and has experienced it, that mind is on the road to certainty–the only kind of certainty that is open to the consciousness soul because it has begun to cross the threshold between the objective and sujbective worlds.
Analysis Of Frost
’s “A Road Not Taken” Essay, Research Paper Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken” is, at first look, Frost’s wistful memory of coming to two roads while walking in the woods and having to choose one of
Getting In Essay Research Paper The most
Getting In Essay, Research Paper The most significant experience of my life is yet to come. The most meaningful experience of my life must be the transaction from high school to college. My high school years
Lakh Essay Research Paper We have all
Lakh Essay, Research Paper We have all been down a very long road. There have been so many twists and turns along the way, but finally we have found our precious “E” again. It won’t be an easy road, it never is, but we will make it. Love heals all wounds, even ones that rip people to shreds, or so we hope. Ann Elizabeth let us into her heart for the very first time, and that took the greatest amount of courage of all.
Richard Corey Essay Research Paper Money can
Richard Corey Essay, Research Paper Money can t buy happiness and “You can’t judge a book by its cover” are two old adages that echo through time; however, they seem to echo so softly that they are quite often disregarded. For men, in their search for contentment and fulfillment, only see money as the main vehicle.
The Silk Road Essay Research Paper The
The Silk Road Essay, Research Paper The Silk Road is the most well-known trading route of ancient Chinese civilization. Trade in silk grew under the Han Dynasty in the first and second centuries. Originally, the Chinese trade silk internally, within the empire. Caravans from the empire’s interior would carry silk to the western edges of the region.
Lea Valley 2
Lea Valley – Where Is The Area Under Study Essay, Research Paper The Lea Valley Regional Park is in Picketts Lock, it is along the A1055. In this area there is recreational land use (golf course
The Road Essay Research Paper Oh how
The Road Essay, Research Paper Oh how many times i have driven this road with butterflies in my stomach, a gleam in my eye. Just knowing i was going to see you.
The Age For A Driver
’s License Essay, Research Paper Raising the minimum age for a driving license: Necessary or useless? The question about raising the minimum age for a driving license has been
Poem Flowers Essay Research Paper Lynn had
Poem: Flowers Essay, Research Paper Lynn had never been serene like a glowing bright sky. Always to occupied, like a busy fly. Lynn met a powerful woman, who had some advice,
Explication The Road Not Taken Essay Research
Paper Explication: The Road Not Taken “The Road Not Taken” is a poem written by Robert Frost. In his poem Frost describes a traveler’s choice between two roads and how this choice effects his life later.
Influential Essay Essay Research Paper A lot
Influential Essay Essay, Research Paper A lot of people take their driver’s license for granted, and believe me I use to take it for granted too. But ever since I lost my license, I will never take it for granted again.
The Easy Road To The Final Four
Essay, Research Paper The Easy Road To the Final Four… So, you’re from Indianapolis but all the tickets to the Final Four games are sold out. You still want in. You go to the game looking for scalpers but they charge over $200 a ticket. You pay him. FOOL!!!! Don’t pay him! Here’s what ya do,
Jack Kerouac Essay Research Paper The novel
Jack Kerouac Essay, Research Paper The novel On The Road written by Jack Kerouac is a book that can be read as a quest taken by Sal Paradise who sets out to test the American Dream by trying to pin down its promise of unlimited freedom by following the example of Dean Morairty. In the book ? the road? becomes a symbol of freedom or escape for Sal and his friends.
Assuming No Pollution Explain Why A Road
Is Only An Example Of Market Failure When It Is Congested. Essay, Research Paper Assuming no pollution, explain why a road is only an example of market failure when it is congested.
Crying Again Essay Research Paper The Sky
Crying Again Essay, Research Paper The Sky is crying again And i am crying again. When did it start? When will it end? How’d i wind up with out a friend? Tears from my heart cling to my soul.
Mxpx
–Andrea Essay, Research Paper Andrea Meeting you was just so unexpected I guess I was scared of being rejected Since you were so nice I wouldn’t think twice
The Other Road Essay Research Paper The
The Other Road Essay, Research Paper The Other Road Rachel Carson- Silent Spring Perhaps if we as a whole, the human race, had taken the road less traveled by, our environment would not be in the trouble it is in today. Our only way to ensure survival of species is to take the other road, to try to reverse the damage we have already done.
Example Paper Essay Research Paper Have you
Example Paper Essay, Research Paper Have you ever been driving and see the person in front of you is all over the road? No they?re not drunk, it?s probably some one trying to juggle a cell phone, a coffee, and put on make-up. That is my mom. She could care less for the cars behind her or the people around her, she just won?t do those things at home.
Robert Frost Essay Research Paper In Robert
Robert Frost Essay, Research Paper In Robert Frosts’ poem “The Road Not Taken,” Frost talks of choosing between two roads to travel. Frost has come to a split in the road and has to choose which road to pick. In Randy Travis’ song “I Told You So,” a man learns that his girlfriend is choosing between himself and another man.
Robert Frost Poem Choices Are Taken
Essay, Research Paper Choices made in “The Road Not Taken” In ‘The Road Not Taken’ by Robert Frost, the speaker has to make a difficult decision about choosing one of two equally promising roads to travel on. This poem is easy for people to identify with because people all have to make difficult decisions in their lives.
The Road Not Taken 2
The Road Not Taken Essay, Research Paper The Road Not Taken 1998 “The Road Not Taken” Rather Than “The Road Taken?” A Title, A Choice The title of a poem often reflects the author’s theme. In his poem “The Road Not Taken” Frost’s theme is about choices. He had two roads to chose from and wonders what would have happened had he taken the other road.
The Road Not Taken
– R. Frost Essay, Research Paper Who Needs Directions? In his poem “The Road Not Taken” Frost’s theme is about how the choices one makes affect life. When we come to a fork in the road, a decision needs to be made. Both paths are different and choosing the right one if there is a right one will depend on where we have been.
On The Road Essay Research Paper On
On The Road Essay, Research Paper On The Road The novel On The Road is based on one mans true stories about his craziest adventures through the United States and Mexico. This is one of the greatest novels of all time and nothing I have read so far seems so realistic. Jack Kerovac, who is the author of the book, places himself as the narrator.
Road Not Taken Essay Research Paper Robert
Road Not Taken Essay, Research Paper Robert Frost The Road Not Taken The poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost is about the choices that one makes in life. It tells about a man who comes to a fork in the road he traveling upon, he feel
Robert Frost Critique Essay Research Paper Choices
Robert Frost Critique Essay, Research Paper Choices are never easy- men face multitudes of them in their lifetime. Some decisions to these choices are clear while others are sometimes more difficult to effectuate. The poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost is a first person narrative tale of a monumental moment in the speaker s life- Frost can be considered the speaker.
Making Decisons In The Road Not Taken
Essay, Research Paper Making Decisions in The Road Not Taken In The Road Not Taken Frost emphasizes that every person is a traveler choosing the roads to follow on the map of their continuous journey-life. There is never a straight path that leads a person one sole direction in which to head. Regardless of the original message that Robert Frost had intended to convey, The Road Not Taken has left me with many different interpretations.