The Road Not Taken Appreciation
Robert Frost is one of the finest of rural New England’s 20th century pastoral poets.His
poems are great combination of wisdom, harmony and serenity.They are simple at first sight, but
demand readers for deep reading to grasp further meaning beyond surface.In this poem, the
speaker, a traveler in the wood faced with the choice of two roads.The roads bear two
connotations: the material roads and the roads of life.Now, let me give some specific analysis.In part one, the speaker faced with two roads in the autumnal wood and feel puzzled over
which one to choose.―Two roads diverged in a yellow wood‖, He stood there for a long time
and mused on one of them, which was taken by many people.Unfortunately, he was unable to find
out which place the road would take him to, for it is far beyond his ability to know where the road
would lead.However, he must choose to take.
In part two, he stepped on the other road, ―Then took the other, as just as fair‖, It was
gray and not taken.His choice would affect every other subsequent choice, and there was no
turning back.From his choice for the le trodden road, it could be concluded that he did not like
to follow the steps of other people, he wanted his own life choired by himself.
In part three, he decided to choose the le traveled one, but he was aware that he could never
have a chance to return to the first road.―I doubted if I should never come back‖ showed he is
helple.
In part four, ―I shall be telling this with a sign‖, he articulated why he chose the le
traveled road, for he expected his life to be unusual and different.But there was no way to foretell
the consequences of his choice.
All in all, for the speaker, the road of life was accident and mystical, and his very choice was
crucial in determining the consequences of his life.The ordinary people follow other’s choice,
while the exceptional ones choose their unique roads of life.
Everyone is a traveler, choosing the roads to follow on the map of their continuous journey.There
is never a straight path but a sole direction in which to head.It is one\'s past, present and the
attitude with which he looks upon his future that determines the shade of the light.
In any case however, this poem clearly explained Frost\'s belief that it is the road that one chooses
that makes him the man who he is.It is always difficult to make a decision because it is
impoible not to wonder about the opportunity cost, what will be mied out on.It is impoible
to travel down every path.The road that will be chosen leads to the unknown, as does any choice
in life.As much he may strain his eyes to see as far the road stretches, eventually it surpaes his
vision and he can never see where it is going to lead.
It is the way that he chooses here that sets him off on his journey and decides where he is
going.It was something that was obviously not for everyone because it seemed that the majority
of people took the other path.There is simply a narrator who makes a decision in his life that had
changed the direction of his life from what it may have otherwise been.It allows all readers from
all different experiences to relate to the poem.
In a word, the poem The Road Not Taken is a very beautiful and excellent poem.It is set in
a rural natural environment where always inspire the speaker to think of life.It is based on a
metaphor in which the journey through life is compared to a journey on a road.And the speaker of
the poem has to choose one path instead of another.Even though the two paths look equally
attractive, the speaker knows that his choice at this moment may have a significant influence on
his future.He does make a decision, hoping that he may be able to visit this place again, yet realizing that such an opportunity is impoible.He imagines himself in the future telling the story of his life, and claiming that his decision to take the road le traveled by, the road few other people have taken, has made all the difference.
This thesis intends to explore Frost’s own view of life.He told us that human beings are so weak when compared with nature and the destiny.Though human beings have made great progre in the past several centuries, there will forever exist something that is far beyond their control.For human, it is unable to do anything useful when he is in conflict with the impersonal force.And it’s also unable to control his own destiny; on the contrary, his fate and destiny are in the charge of something mysterious beyond him.In this sense, life is a tragedy to human.So it could be said that Frost conveyed his sense of tragedy common to human through this simple but beautiful poem.It is simple in form but profound in meaning.
