Discussion of “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to hear a poem before reading it? In his poem “Introduction to Poetry”, Billy Collins suggests the reader presses an “ear against its hive” regarding poetry. This is so true in the poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost. Besides the beautiful, simplistic imagery conveyed in the poem, Robert Frost urges the reader, to consider a risk versus reward approach to life, where the greater rewards come from the greater risks.
Frost sets a scene for the reader, a fairly common experience, walking a path through an autumnal wood. “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood”, (1) says he, coming upon two different paths. He doesn’t clearly state if it’s a fork in the path, if one branches off from another, or how the path differs from the one he had been upon. He leaves this image to the readers to imagine, in their minds’ eyes. However, it is clear he is at a juncture where a choice must be made. Frost furthers the imagery of fall in line 12, when he writes, “In leaves no step has trodden black”. It is clear for the reader of the poem to picture the paths, imagine the crunch of the leaves underfoot and smell the sweet decay of a forest in early autumn.
He describes the paths as he stands poised to make a decision about which direction to take, as being equally “fair” (6), and having a desire to “travel both” (2) roads, but the impossibility of doing so as he is but “one traveler”(3). The one path is clear to see for some length of space until it is “bent in the undergrowth” (5). The other path was “grassy and wanted wear”, and clearly had been less walked upon than the first path described. If the reader allows themselves to switch places with Frost, we can see the exact spot he has described and permit ourselves full sensory recall of such a place- a forest, with sun dappled paths, smelling of earth and dying leaves, with a choice of two appealing routes in front of us.
This is part of the allure of Frost’s poem. His imagery takes the reader to a place and time and allows for a full sensory recall if the reader is willing to immerse themselves in the provided imagery. At its most basic, “The Road Not Taken” is the story of a hiker in a lovely forest making a choice about two different paths. Although Frost uses easily comprehensible language, he embeds in the poem a message to be felt by the reader regarding the choices one makes in life.
Frost uses the two roads symbolically to demonstrate there is no reward in life without risk. In the first road or choice, it is a choice that has been made many times by other people and is likely a fairly safe choice as Frost can see the result of that choice until there is a change in circumstances. “And looked down as far as I could, To where it bent in the undergrowth;” (4,5) is the first path or possible choice presented. Frost chooses not to take this safer, more sure path.
Instead, Frost picks the second path or choice, not chosen by many people. He writes, “And having perhaps the better claim” (7), indicating the fact that this choice is less secure or knowable, makes it more appealing. He indicates he would like to know what would have happened had he taken the first path or made the easy choice, but will never have that knowledge because “way leads on to way” (14) or the idea that life goes on and he will never again be presented with the same exact circumstances to know what would have happened had he chosen the first path.
In the end, he says he will be “telling this with a sigh, Somewhere ages and ages hence” (16,17), presumably as an old man looking back at his life. Frost writes:
“I took the one less travelled by,” (19)
“And that has made all the difference.” (20)
The sigh, the reader can presume, is one of contentment, for a life well lived. He is clearly at peace with having made less common or more difficult choices and he has reaped the rewards of that risk taking. Frost demonstrates it is clearly a personal choice, having used the repetitive “I-I” in lines 18 and 19 of the poem, and that there is no shame in choosing less risk (“the other, as just as fair” (6) ), but the reward may not be as gratifying or make “all the difference”(20).
Aside from the profound message and the easily relatable imagery, “The Road Not Taken” is very memorable due to its structure. There are four stanzas, with only 5 lines in each, making it easy to memorize and recite. The stanzas follow the pattern ABAAB, CDCCD, EFEEF and GHGGH in rhyme scheme, making it a very lyrical poem as well. He uses alliteration in lines 8 with the phrase “wanted wear”, in lines 11 and 12 with “lay in leaves” and finally, in lines 16 and 17 when he writes “sigh Somewhere” .
In fact, throughout the poem the soft hiss of “sssss” can be found in his choice of words, such as this, sigh, somewhere, hence, less, grassy, passing, same and difference. Closely related are the words containing the “zzz” sound in the words ages (repeated), roads, as, because and has. Both sounds are soothing, lingering sounds that stay on the palate and whisper away softly. This sets a distinct tone to the poem. It is not jarring or dramatic and often neither are choices with which we are presented; however the effects are lasting- as is the poem, “The Road Not Taken”.
Work Cited
Frost, Robert. “The Road Not Taken”. Robert Frost. Middlesex: Penguin Books,
1955. P.78. Print.
