The Road Not Taken and the Road Less Traveled
Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken,” written in 1916 and published in Mountain Interval in 1920, quickly became a popular part of the American literary tradition. Superficially, it appears to be a celebration of the creation of an individual destiny, without following the example of those who have come before. However, there is more to the poem than this simple interpretation. Examined more closely, it is obvious that the narrator feels much more ambivalence about his choice than is initially apparent. It thus becomes important to closely consider this ambivalence; where does it come from, and what repercussions does it have for the meaning of the poem? Instead of a self-congratulatory work about the bravery and heroism of forging one’s own path it may appear to be, the poem is almost a parody of these values, a comment on self-justification, and an examination of the way this particular choice was made. Aside from misinterpretation, which is …show more content…
The traveler lives in a culture, presumably American, which glorifies those who have the courage to resist taking a road that is common in search of a more original life. Individuality is celebrated, and the traveler knows this. It is the perfect justification to give for a choice that is most likely neutral, a choice that he is having doubts about. He needs to believe that his decision to take that road did “make a difference,” because he needs to feel that people’s choices do affect their destinies. Perhaps Frost is criticizing, and pointing out holes in the theory that there is such a thing as absolute free will; the need to reject the idea of a fixed fate is strong. “The Road Not Taken” represents an unknown that the traveler fears. The traveler fears that the road he took was not the right one, but mostly he fears that his choice did not matter at all
Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken,” written in 1916 and published in Mountain Interval in 1920, quickly became a popular part of the American literary tradition. Superficially, it appears to be a celebration of the creation of an individual destiny, without following the example of those who have come before. However, there is more to the poem than this simple interpretation. Examined more closely, it is obvious that the narrator feels much more ambivalence about his choice than is initially apparent. It thus becomes important to closely consider this ambivalence; where does it come from, and what repercussions does it have for the meaning of the poem? Instead of a self-congratulatory work about the bravery and heroism of forging one’s own path it may appear to be, the poem is almost a parody of these values, a comment on self-justification, and an examination of the way this particular choice was made. Aside from misinterpretation, which is …show more content…
The traveler lives in a culture, presumably American, which glorifies those who have the courage to resist taking a road that is common in search of a more original life. Individuality is celebrated, and the traveler knows this. It is the perfect justification to give for a choice that is most likely neutral, a choice that he is having doubts about. He needs to believe that his decision to take that road did “make a difference,” because he needs to feel that people’s choices do affect their destinies. Perhaps Frost is criticizing, and pointing out holes in the theory that there is such a thing as absolute free will; the need to reject the idea of a fixed fate is strong. “The Road Not Taken” represents an unknown that the traveler fears. The traveler fears that the road he took was not the right one, but mostly he fears that his choice did not matter at all