Analysis of The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost

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Thesis Robert Frosts “The Road Not Taken” is more symbolic of a choice one must make in their life in attempt to foresee the outcome before reaching the end, than it is about choosing the right path in the woods. Describe the literal scene and situation. The literal scene of Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken, is described as a “yellowed wood” (Arp & Johnson, 2009). Use of this description could be that fall is upon the wood or the trees perhaps once white have yellowed with age. Before the traveler is a road split into two different directions, he has no idea where each road leads. In trying to imagine, where each one might lead he tries to “look down each path” (Arp & Johnson, 2009), but to no avail as he can only see as far as the point where the “undergrowth” (Arp & Johnson, 2009) disguises the rest. The situation he faces is this which direction should he take? The one road appeared undesirable a route. The other road was one in which many people had been down. He still did not know the outcome of either route but his decision was to go down the road that was unknown or unproven. What mood is the speaker in at the end of the poem? The traveler’s mood is wistful, he knows that he will be “telling and retelling the story” (Arp & Johnson, 2009) of this part of his life. I think that the “sigh” (Arp & Johnson, 2009) could be representative of many things satisfaction in that as he reached the end of the unknown or untraveled road and the outcome “made a difference” (Arp & Johnson, 2009) in his life. It could also be that he wonders how his life would be had he gone down the more proven path. What are the metaphorical (or symbolic) implications in the poem? We assume that in Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”, that the road tha... ... middle of paper ... ...s in our lives, we must make these types of choices do we continue with our safe, reliable ways or do we step into the unknown and as the man at the end of the poem discover it will have “made all the difference” (Arp & Johnson, 2009). The choices we make in our lives ultimately decide our future we must realize however no matter what the choice is we cannot go back relive our past and experience other outcomes. Frost conveys this theme with symbolism. The symbolism is not the physical paths the man must choose to take but the metaphorical one he needs to choose which way he wants his life to go down the same safe path he has been on the majority of his life or the unknown one in which he may experience great things or torment. This reminds me of Proverbs 14:12 (The Message) There is a way of life that looks harmless enough; look again - it leads straight to hell.

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