The Road Not Taken

On a cursory reading of Robert Frost’s 1915 poem, “The Road Not Taken,” Frost appears to be thinking that about the life choices pending a decision regarding which road to talk. Though this poem is known to be written by Frost in one of his vacant moods, the frame of mind of Frost is difficult to measure. Frost was right in analyzing his inner world when he wrote, “I’m never more serious than when joking” (Robinson, 2016). As such, literary critic and scholar David Orr (2016) is right when he articulates that readers could be oversimplifying this poem and that this poem is actually much deeper and much graver. Orr further argues that the “The Road Not Taken” is “a literary oddity and a philosophical puzzle, but not more than anything else, …show more content…
He introduces a mysterious element about the road by stating, “To where it bent in the undergrowth” (Frost, 1915, line 5). With this statement, the traveler becomes inquisitive as to the possible destination of the road as its physical identity has gone ‘undergrowth’ now and the traveler turns inquisitive about its possible reach. The final choice made by the poet owns the intonation of a spiritual aspirant, who makes hard decisions to transcend the secular front to reach the final destination of …show more content…
This phrase has the significant meaning in that the less traveled road implies that it is a tough road, and therefore, not the choice of many. Nevertheless, this is a road, not a path. In accepting that, a road is manmade. Therefore, the road can represent spirituality or discovery and the descriptive leaves further represent new growth after the replacement of older leaves. Indeed, the pending decision should represent a tough choice for an inquisitive, because this choice will supplant another. However, the person has no other option, as the lesser-known roads will not appeal to his inner