The Road Not Taken, By Robert Frost

The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost is a short poem about a character who encounters with two roads that diverged in a yellow wood, and he has to choose which road to go. For the narrator it is impossible to see what lies ahead, he examines booth roads accurately and thinks that one road is less worn by passers that another. However, he realizes that both roads are likely equally traveled and complains that he will probably never return to take the other path. Moreover, the narrator thinks of how he will tell this story in the future with a sigh. Consequently, he chooses the road that he perceived to be less traveled and says “and that made all the difference.” Robert Frost uses irony, symbolism, and metaphor in “The Road …show more content…
In the Frost poem the symbolism is portrayed throughout the poem. One example of symbolism is Frost describing a road in the yellow woods to represent the choices in the life. The narrator comes to a fork in the road that “diverged in a yellow wood” (Frost, line 1), and thinks which road t take. This image symbolizes the the choices in life that people face, and how they make those choices. In Modern American Poetry, Robert Faggen stays in his article that, “As evolved creatures, we should be able to make choices, but the poem suggests that our choices are irrational and aesthetic” (Faggen). Another example in the poem of symbolism is found in how the narrator decides which road to take. His decision is based on the wear and tear of the road, and this illustrates how sometimes people hurried and not deliberately making important decisions in their life. Author Faggen said, “the basis of selection is individuation, variation, and “Difference” taking the one “less traveled by” (Faggen, part 2). He argues, that experience changes the traveler, and he would never be the same by the time he came back. Life is all full of choices and there are so many choices that people must take and once made. When the choice is made there is no road back, and it is not possible to alert past experiences except in memories, whether they are full of joy or regret, …show more content…
For example, author recognized the difficulty of making decisions in life. He describes how “two roads diverged in a yellow wood” (Frost, line 1). The two roads that diverged is a tough decision in life that needs to be done. The narrator acknowledges that the decision will have a significance for his future. in addition, Frost also speaks about the strategy that people use to identify options. The narrator said, “and looked down one s far as I could, to where t bent n the undergrowth;” (Frost, line 4-5). Often people have tried to predict the results of two or more choices in their life. However, no one really can predict the future so in the end this strategy is not always productive. Furthermore, once decision is made one need to accept the way without looking back. The author Richardson in his article also states, “But it is only by setting out, by working our way well into the wood, that we begin to understand the meaning of the choices we make and the character of the self that is making them; in fact, only then can we properly understand our actions as choices” (Richardson, par. 2). The narrator in the poem, points out how choosing the road less traveled made the difference and has impacted his life. Whether or not this difference is negative or positive, the decision has been made. The metaphor of the road shows the reader how