The Road Is Not Taken

5 Pages 1170 Words

Everyone is a traveler, choosing the roads to follow on the map of their continuous journey, life. There is never a straight path that leaves one with but a sole direction in which to head. In most poetry different people can choose certain characteristics that tend to appear in each piece of the Robert Frost’s work that they can relate to. In spite of the original message that Robert Frost had intended to convey in his poem, “The Road Not taken” has left its various readers with many different interpretations. The speaker is introduced as being faced with the decision of which path he will choose to travel. He has to choose only one path, therefore leaving one road that he will not get to experience. Furthermore, this poem clearly express’ Frost’s belief that it is the road that one chooses that makes him the man who he is; it is one’s past, present and the attitude with which he looks upon his future that determines the shadow of the light that he will see the poem in.
It is always difficult to make a decision because it is impossible not to wonder about the opportunity cost, what will be missed out on. “And sorry I could not travel both...”(line2). There seems to be a strong sense of regret, disappointment and hesitancy before the choice is even made, it is impossible to travel down every path. 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 unknown, as does any choice in life. As much he may strain his eyes to see as far the road stretches, eventually it goes beyond his vision and he can never see where it is going to lead him and the choice he made. It is the way that he chooses here that sets him off on his journey and decides where he is going.
In our journey, we the travelers want to separate from others by choosing a path that has never been taken. Robert Frost emphasizes this idea by setting the two roads apart from one ano...