The Road Not Taken
Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken" is about a traveler faced with a choice. Although the choice appears to be about which road to take, the meaning is much deeper. Frost distinguishes between fate's control over one's life and the lack of influence one truly has on his own decisions. The traveler wants to make a choice but the road is ultimately chosen for him. Through the traveler, his actions, his thoughts, and diction, Frost delineates the difference between fate and free will. The narrator begins the poem by describing his surroundings, "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood," (Line 1). This line is a metaphor in which the woods represent life. This image helps the reader to have a better understanding of the complexity of the problem the speaker is facing. When standing at the edge of woods, one cannot clearly see what is ahead, due to the trees other undergrowth blocking the view. Life is like those woods because no one can clearly see or predict what will happen in the future, only hope to choose a path that will lead to good fortune and happiness. Frost returns to this metaphor at the end of the first stanza. Frost's use of word choice to prove his point is evident in this first line. The wood is descr
" This shows the difference in the choices facing the narrator. He realizes that he is only one traveler and cannot "have his cake and eat it, too. At this point in the poem, the narrator seems a bit indecisive about which path to choose. This narrator enjoys the challenge of the path and its uncertainties. The narrator would like to take credit for the path he has chosen and fails to realize the immense role fate played in his life. The leaves on the ground in the morning illustrate the newness of the path to the narrator. The narrator is not necessarily scared but apprehensive about the decision with which he is faced. "And sorry I could not travel both" (Line 2). However, in his recounting of his tale, he "shall be telling this with a sigh" (Line 16). This "way" manipulates his life, through distraction and interruption. Others had come this way before and both paths have been chosen. To travel means "to go on or as if on a trip or tour: journey. However, Merriam-Webster also defines diverge as "to become or be different in character or form. He is more than a bystander or a passenger; he is a coherent participant in his own journey.
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