The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" tells of someone faced with one of life's major decisions whereas only one direction can be chosen. Whichever road is taken will be final and will determine the direction that their life takes.

Frost writes this poem with a calm and collective narration, spoken by the traveler, who is talking with himself trying to decide which road is the better choice. In line one Frost introduces the diverging roads, which are his main metaphors. Diverging being the key word in this line because it suggests that the traveler must make a choice. Line two the traveler expresses his grief of not being able to travel both. Yet, the choice is not easy, since "long I stood" (3) before coming to a decision. The next two lines, the traveler examines the path as best as he can, but his vision is limited because the path bends and is covered over. This indicates that the traveler would like to know more about this road but is prevented by the immediate environment.

Lines six through eight seem to be suggesting that the second path mentioned is a more attractive choice because it appears to have not been traveled recently. However, he seems to contradict himself since he also describes the path as being "just as fair" as the first rather than better.

Although the poet breaks after line ten, the main idea continues into the third stanza, creating a link between these parts of the poem. Here the speaker states that the paths are "really about the same."(10). Neither path has recently been traveled, although he is searching for a clear, logical reason to decide one path over the other, however, he cannot find a suitable reason. Lines 13 -- 15 the traveler makes his decision...

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... Frost to convey the poems message.

"The Road Not Taken", follows an a,b,a,a,b rhyme patter which is consistent through out the poem. In line 22 repetition is used which stresses the word ages. This is to suggest that the journey down the chosen road will be long. This poem was extremely effective in that its message and meaning were clear.

"The Road Not Taken" was far from complex and its metaphor was blatant. The poem was psychological because it dealt with thoughts. Throughout the poem, the speaker held an internal conversation. His choices where entirely thought through by himself.

This poem in its condensed state, contains a dilemma of everyday life choices. Bringing forth the sometimes-harsh reality that, whichever decision is made ultimately makes all the difference. "The Road Not Taken" is about Frost expressing his wisdom about making life choices.