FREE ESSAY ON CRITIQUE OF THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

CRITIQUE OF THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

The speaker in Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" gives the reader insight into human
nature with each line of poetry. While, Frost had not originally intended for this to be
an inspirational poem, line by line, the speaker is encouraging each reader to seek out
his or her own personal path in the journey of life. Romanticizing the rural woods of New
England creates the perfect setting for the theme of self-discovery laid out and
described by the speaker.
Robert Frost's original intent in writing the poem was not to convey the inspiration that
it has for almost a hundred years. He had written the poem to poke fun at his friend,
Edward Thomas, with whom he had taken many walks. Thomas was hesitant and always
wondering what would happen if he had chosen a different path
(http://www.yoga.com/raw/readings/frost_road.html). In fact, Frost sent the poem to his
friend, then in France, and got the response, "What are you trying to do with me?"
(http://www.libarts.sfasu.edu/Frost/PopPoems.html). However, Frost did see the impact the
poem was having and stated, "Do not follow where the path may lead…Go instead where
there is no path and leave a trail."
The speaker communicates many things in the first stanza of the poem. The first line,
"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood," uses imagery with the color yellow, the color of
gold, to show that the speaker sees an opportunity ahead of him. The two roads symbolizes
the choices and consequences he must choose. The next line, "And sorry I could not travel
both," illustrates how difficult it is to make a choice. It is impossible not to wonder
what could happen by choosing the other road and what he could be missing out on. "And
being one traveler long I stood," shows how the speaker would like to be in two places at
once. Unable to accomplish this, he takes a long time to decide on what he should do.
Finally, the speaker describes studying the first option, looking as far into the future
as he possibly could with the lines, "And looked down one as far as I could to where it
bent in the undergrowth."
The speaker continues to convey his message in the second stanza of "The Road Not Taken."
In the opening line of this part of the poem, the speaker says, "Then took the other, as
just as fair." Here, he is turning his attention to the second road, his other
opportunity, only to find it equally welcoming. However, in the next lines, the speaker
sees the difference in the two that will eventually help him make his decision. "And
having perhaps the better claim, because it was grassy and wanted wear," shows that the
speaker recognizes that this second path is not for everyone, nor is it popular. It will
take him somewhere new and different. Also, the fact that this second road appears
different is more cause for wondering what will become of him if he takes a chance on
choosing this one. The final part of this second stanza, "Though as for that the passing
there had worn them really about the same," tells the reader that many people had stood
in that very place, with the very same choice to make. The reader is allowed to feel a
kinship with the speaker, knowing that at some point, we all find ourselves wavering
between two choices and wondering if we should follow the majority or if the others had
known something special when they chose to be different.
The speaker in the poem continues to wrestle with his decision in the third stanza. Even
though many people had faced the same decision, the speaker is forced to make the
decision for himself. The line "And both that morning equally lay in leaves no step had
trodden back," illustrates that both roads had not been traveled on for a while since the
leaves had covered the ground since they had fallen. The speaker cannot simply choose to
follow the person who had gone before him because the choice will primarily affect him.
Also, the line connects with the reader since, although other people may have had to make
the same decision, sometimes people feel isolated when faced with a tough choice. The
next line in the stanza, "Oh, I kept the first for another day!" expresses the speaker's
desire to go down both paths. At this point, he is leaning towards jumping on the
bandwagon and following everybody else. However, the turning point in his internal
struggle comes with, "Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever
come back." He is realizing that no choice is temporary, that he must face the
consequences of his decision and not go back in time and do things differently if he is
unhappy with what path he has chosen for himself. Also, he surely realizes that one path
will lead to many others, that this first choice will affect every choice thereafter.
There is pressure to choose wisely, a pressure every person feels at one time or
another.
The speaker decides his fate in the final stanza. Although he realizes that he is taking
a chance in this being a wrong decision and that he may regret it later, he accepts this
fate: "I shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence." It is
important to come to terms with the possibility, even the certainty of eventually
regretting a decision and missing out on the other road and other opportunities.
Nonetheless, the speaker is proud of his decision not follow the crowd. He recognizes
that choosing the path he did, the road less traveled, helped him to become the person he
is at the point of the writing. He chose to be his own man and not follow the crowd in
the lines, "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by,
and that has made all the difference."
Regardless of the original intent of the message, the speaker conveys the more
inspirational message that taking the road he eventually chose made him the person he is.
In being forced to choose and face the consequences, he was afraid to make a wrong
decision. He is better off for having even made any decision at all instead of standing
there, procrastinating. Although one person cannot take all the roads in life, trying to
choose everything will leave that person just as empty as choosing the wrong path.
In finally choosing, he changes the direction of his life and encourages the reader to
explore new territory or create something new. Above all, one has to be true to himself
and follow his heart. 
The speaker, throughout Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken," is a way of identifying with
the reader through basic human feelings and struggles. Everyone faces hard decisions and
feels the struggle within to choose the right path on which to base his or her life. It
is how we choose and how we deal with what is down the road that makes us who we are.
Bibliography
Works Cited
Baym, Nina, et. al. The Norton Anthology of American Liturature. 5th edition. Vol.II. New
York: Norton, 1998.
http://www.yoga.com/raw/readings/frost_road.html)
http://www.libarts.sfasu.edu/Frost/PopPoems.html