Robert Frost is one of the most notable American poets of all time. His style of writing borders both 19th Century Romantics and Moderns, using rhyme and common language throughout most of his works. Within these seemingly simple writings, however, Frost creates meaning beyond surface level comprehension. One such writing is “The Road Not Taken”, a short poem that if guided by supposition, tells of a man presented with a choice of two different roads to travel, and when he decided on a road to take, it changed his life. After critical analyzation, experts now interpret the poem in such a way that completely combats this initial understanding. They have provided evidence within the poem to back their argument, proving that Frost purposefully
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“The Road Not Taken”, written in 1914, is one of the most universally known poems. However, this does not mean that the poem is universally understood and interpreted. In fact, most readers, if not reading critically, miss the deeper meaning of “The Road Not Taken.” Fagan says, “In the end, the difference appears to have nothing to do with which road is chosen, as each would have had an impact on the traveller’s life.” A surface level reader of this poem interprets that a single decision can potentially have a tremendous affect on the life of the decision maker. When understood and studied on a deeper level, a person realizes the way in which Frost brilliantly uses vocabulary, punctuation, and description to further his point: decisions make your life; they do not destroy it. Lines 13-15 are a perfect description of this. The narrator portrays the understanding that one decision leads to another, so he doubted his return to that specific place to be in a position to make that same decision differently. Robert Frost has crafted a piece that involves sarcasm, deliberate vocabulary, contradiction, and punctuation to further his claim that, regardless of a decision one makes, the outcome is indistinguishable. In conclusion, “The road is valuable because the traveler took it; it has no value in and of itself” (Fagan). Decisions are important in life, and Robert Frost acknowledges this in a way that makes him one of the greatest poets of all
“The Road Not Taken”, written in 1914, is one of the most universally known poems. However, this does not mean that the poem is universally understood and interpreted. In fact, most readers, if not reading critically, miss the deeper meaning of “The Road Not Taken.” Fagan says, “In the end, the difference appears to have nothing to do with which road is chosen, as each would have had an impact on the traveller’s life.” A surface level reader of this poem interprets that a single decision can potentially have a tremendous affect on the life of the decision maker. When understood and studied on a deeper level, a person realizes the way in which Frost brilliantly uses vocabulary, punctuation, and description to further his point: decisions make your life; they do not destroy it. Lines 13-15 are a perfect description of this. The narrator portrays the understanding that one decision leads to another, so he doubted his return to that specific place to be in a position to make that same decision differently. Robert Frost has crafted a piece that involves sarcasm, deliberate vocabulary, contradiction, and punctuation to further his claim that, regardless of a decision one makes, the outcome is indistinguishable. In conclusion, “The road is valuable because the traveler took it; it has no value in and of itself” (Fagan). Decisions are important in life, and Robert Frost acknowledges this in a way that makes him one of the greatest poets of all