An Analysis of The Road Not Taken
Written: Sep 23 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: just read it again and again
Cons: none
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| chinafrog's Full Review: Road Not Taken Books |
Often, I find a poem a particularly striking this delightful Robert Frost poem is one of them. Instead of writing a straight out analysis on the entire poem, I have chosen to address different aspects of this poem to collect my thoughts and gain a better understanding of it, as well. As a result, my analysis will be broken into different categories and each will methodically describe a part of this great American treasure.
Speaker- A man is speaking to anyone who will listen. .
Time- Unknown
Place- A fork between two roads. The traveler is wondering whether his choice is the right one but he knows that his decision will be permanent.
Tone- The tone is mild, he is neither angry nor happy, however, he may feel a little sadness and regret.
Diction-The first line immediately provides a mental image of a course which is split into two parts. The poem’s title and the first line provide an immediate association with a choice, a decision, and an aftermath. It is interesting to note that the title is “The Road
Not Taken”, as opposed to “The Road Taken”. This also focuses the reader’s attention towards the choice not made. Moreover, it creates a question in the reader’s mind as to what road is not taken and why. Anyway, the next line poses regret followed by indecision. The traveler cannot make a decision as to which path to take. He tries to solve
it by looking down each one. However, he finds out that by looking at them one cannot really decide which route is better.
Continuing on, there is a bit of ambiguity in the last three lines of the 2nd stanza. First, the traveler decides to take the road which is “grassy and wanted wear”. This means that the path he had taken is not frequently traveled. However, in the last line he notes that the “passing there had worn them really about the same”. This contrasts with the previous
remark of the road “wanting wear”.
The next stage again shows a road which people rarely travel. By the end of this stanza, he has gained some knowledge: he would probably not return from where he was going. While this sense of permanence and fear remains, the traveler continues by saying that he will be “telling the truth with a sigh”. This shows that he made a decision long ago and
now has come to terms with his decision. However, since this remark is made in the future tense, he will accept his decision not at this time but at a later point in life. Finally, the traveler will be at peace with his decision.
Syntax- The first image is a divergence of the two roads. Taken symbolically, it is used metaphorically as a difficult decision which has to be made. The meaning of line 3 is a bit strange. However, it literally says that the traveller waits before he makes his decision. He
then tries to look down each road to see if each road’s appearance might influence his decision. This goes against the proverb “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. But, since the traveler doesn’t know what to do he will revert to such methods. He takes the less traveled road because it is less traveled. This immediately suggests that the path he has
taken is one which a majority of people do not take. Furthermore, an issue of nonconformity is brought up. The fact that his decision is permanent adds to this conflict. Therefore, the traveller has to decide whether he has made the right choice. In the last stanza, the images of the diverged roads is returned. Similar to a cycle, the traveler thinks
about what he will feel about his decision later in his life.
Recommended:
Yes
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