Robert Frosts The Road Not Taken :: essays research papers

Every bingle is a traveler, carefully choosing which roads to follow on the map of life. There is never a straight path that leaves one with precisely a single direction in which to head. Robert Frost&8217s &8220The Road Not Taken can be interpreted in many antithetic ways. The shade of light in which the reader sees the poem depends upon her past, present, and the attitude with which she looks toward her future. In any case however, this poem clearly demonstrates Frost&8217s ruling that it is the road that one chooses that puddles him the man he is.The central image that Frost presents, which is the path, provides a clear picture that the reader can focus on in order to reveal something about the poem. The &8220two roads diverged in a yellow wood vividly portray the fact that it is always difficult to make a decision because it is impossible not to wonder about the opportunity that forget be missed out on. There is a strong guts of regret before the choice is even made and it lies in the knowledge that in one lifetime, it is impossible to travel down every path that one encounters. In an attempt to make a decision, the traveler "looks down one as far as I could." The road that will be chosen leads to the unknown, as does any choice in life. As much as he may strain his eyes to see how far the road stretches, lastly it surpasses his vision and he can never see where it is going to lead. It is the path that he chooses that sets him off on his journey and determines where he is going and what he will encounter.In the second stanza, Frost lets the reader know that the traveler has chosen to take the path less traveled by "Then took the other, just as fair, and having perhaps the better claim." The path that the speaker chose to travel down was obviously not for everyone, hence &8220the road less traveled by." The fact that the traveler took this path over the more popular, secure one indicates the type of personality he h as. He does not feel the need to follow the crowd but rather to do more of what has never been done before.The desire to travel down both paths is expressed and is not unusual. The speaker of this poem realizes that the decision is not just a temporary one and he "doubted if I should ever come back.