The Road Not Taken BY ROBERT FROST

History :

Frost spent the years 1912 to 1915 in England, where among his acquaintances was the writer Edward Thomas. Thomas and Frost became close friends and took many walks together. After Frost returned to New Hampshire in 1915, he sent Thomas an advance copy of "The Road Not Taken."[1] Frost later expressed annoyance that most audiences took the poem more seriously than he had intended; in particular, Thomas took it seriously and personally, and it may have been the last straw in Thomas' decision to enlist in World War I.[1] Thomas was killed two years later in the Battle of Arras.


Poetry :  Listen audio 

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;

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,

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.

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.

Theme :

The major theme in Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken," is about making choices. The speaker in the poem in traveling and comes upon a cross roads or a fork-in-the-road. Here he or she much decide which way to continue traveling



Summery :



The narrator comes upon a fork in the road while walking through a yellow wood. After choosing one of the roads, the narrator tells himself that he will come back to this fork one day in order to try the other road. However, he realizes that it is unlikely that he will ever have the opportunity to come back to this specific point in time because his choice of path will simply lead to other forks in the road (and other decisions). The narrator ends on a nostalgic note, wondering how different things would have been had he chosen the other path.

Analysis

The best loved of the American poets; Robert Frost was born in USA. He is considered “The Voice of America”. His poems begin in delight and in wisdom.

"The Road Not Taken " is made up of four stanzas of five lines, each with a rhyme scheme of ABAAB.

Robert Frost finds himself at a point where the road splits into two. He must make a decision. He chooses the grassy and less traveled path. The other road is more conventional, risk free and well-traveled. The poet realizes that he can’t travel on both roads, so he keeps it for another day. He says that perhaps he may use the more conventional path some time in future, but it is not possible to start the journey afresh. It seems to be a characteristic of Robert Frost to express doubt while making revolutionary decisions.


The striking feature of Frosts’ poems is the presentation of conflicts. Here conflict is between the right choice and wrong choice. We should always have the courage to choose the right way even if it is rough and thorny. The poem makes us think about choice we must make in life. All of us reach a crucial point in life when we must make a right choice. That choice determines our destiny. The poem inspires us to face the challenging realities in life. The chief theme of his poetry is an ambiguous relationship with nature. He is interested in the paradox of life. 

 However, Frost is very optimistic. He looks into distant future. A small courageous step makes a big difference. It can lead to a great discovery, success, prosperity, or happiness. However, the line “… And that has made all the difference” is not clear. The poet beautifully leaves this to the imagination of the readers; Ambiguity is one of the striking features of Frost in poetry.





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The major theme in Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken," is about making choices. The speaker in the poem in traveling and comes upon a cross roads or a fork-in-the-road. Here he or she much decide which way to continue traveling. ... You could also interpret that as a theme.Mar 15, 2010