FREE ESSAY ON THE ROAD NOT TAKEN IN THE CHOICES OF LIFE

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN IN THE CHOICES OF LIFE

The Road Not Taken in the Choices of Life
I shall be telling this with a sign
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
Took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. (Frost 751)
The narrator of this last stanza of The Road Not Taken is Edward Thomas, eluding that the
choice he has just made may be the wrong, or the right; but only time will tell. On the
surface, Robert Frost's poem is a story about a walk on a wooded road, but it had deeper
meaning to him and how he feels about the road. Also, the poem has a universal meaning
about life and the choices it presents to you. Further, the poem is magnificently written
in the typical rhyming Frost style. Lastly, a sigh might just be a sigh to you, but in
this piece it means much more to Frost. Frost's 1916 poem The Road Not Taken is an
example of how Frost writes poetry enthralling the reader with a grand opening and an
unexpected ending that must be thoroughly analyzed. 
Frost wrote The Road Not Taken while living in Gloucestershire, England in 1914 though he
was an American citizen. His friend Edward Thomas and he would often go on walks so
Thomas could show him special plants or sights. When Thomas would choose a path, it was
certain that every time he would regret the choice he had made sighing that they should
have taken a 'better' direction (Robert Frost's Lesser Known Poems). When Frost wrote
this he supposedly pretended to carry himself as Thomas just long enough to write the
poem. Furthermore, Frost first wrote the poem as almost a joke for Thomas. But, it later
held more value for him, as an example of life choices. 
The Road Not Taken is literally story about a walk on a road one fall morning. In the
opening line it tells of how the road broke into a 'y.' This simple 'y' in the road
eludes also to Frost's first line of the poem and his choice of yellow ('y') to describe
the fall trees. Frost talks about the two roads and how they are the same, comparing
them. No one else is on the road with the narrator. He is alone, contemplating the
decision by himself. There is a decision that is going to be made by the narrator as to
which road equally worn to take with no help from anyone. He knows that the road he takes
will lead him forever, foreshadowing that the choice he does makes could be a regret or
satisfaction. Frost then said in the present tense last stanza that the narrator's choice
was the road less traveled.
The road in the poem is not just a road; it is a symbol of choices in our lives that we
must make. Frost implies that the narrator is sorry that he could not take both roads,
see two different outcomes before the decision is made. The outcomes can not be seen
though, looking as far as he could the road would bend and disappear into the
undergrowth. He says to himself three times in the poem that both roads are equal, but in
the final outcome he chooses the one less traveled, wanting wear (Frost 750). Only one
road may be taken, one decision made, and one final destiny for a lifetime. The narrator
could live to regret that he did or did not take another path. Also, his decision may be
satisfying to him, not looking back at what may have been but instead of what is here,
what he is living for right now.
The Road Not Taken is masterfully written not just with forceful opening words and an
ironic final stanza but also with rhyme scheme. Frost wrote it in abaab meaning that the
last word in the first, third, and fourth lines rhyme. Also, the last word of the second
and fifth lines of the poem rhyme. The rhyme scheme is rhymed tetrameter, meaning that
there are four beats in a line (Robert Frost's Lesser Known Poems). Frost always used
some rhyme scheme in his poems often joking that writing free verse is like playing
tennis with the net down (O'Donnell). Using rhymes almost give the poem a sing song
effect that makes it flow together easier, coming together as a whole.
In the last stanza Frost says, I shall be telling this with a sigh, implying that Thomas
chose the path, hoping that the decision was the correct one. Knowing that Thomas and
Frost were friends though, this was originally to Frost a jest, since Thomas would
inevitably sigh and wish they took another route. However, the sigh can also be taken in
another light. The sigh could be just on the surface, for those who just 'looked' at the
poem. Looking at it from that perspective the sigh could just be of the narrator giving
up, choosing the road in need of wear. Also the sigh, to more in-depth readers, could be
TOWARDS the reader implying just as those who might think the narrator would live to be
sorry for the choice he had taken on the road, in life. He will not regret the choice he
has made though, because he knows that he will never again come across the break in the
road. In choosing this road, he has sealed his fate for ages and ages in the future as he
reminisces upon this decision.
In conclusion, The Road Not Taken is just another example of Robert Frost's amazing
ability as a writer to captivate his audience from the very beginning to the very end of
his poems. Frost starts with a simple 'y' in the road accented with the yellow woods
surrounding it and the narrator. Later, we find out that Frost actually wrote this 'as
Edward Thomas' as a jest for he would often sigh saying he wished that he chose a
different route when they went on walks together. This is not just an ordinary sigh to
Frost though; there is more underneath of it, much more meaning than just a breath. Also,
he concludes with a masterful ending about the choice that the narrator has decided upon.
The poem is a stellar example of how life choices are made alone with only nature by your
side as help. Furthermore Frost ties the whole masterpiece together with tetrameter rhyme
and an abaab pattern in each stanza. As William G. O'Donnell said of Robert Frost though,
Although one person's interpretation may be superior to another's, sooner or later you
have no choice but to venture out on your own and decide what, if anything, a particular
poem is all about. So please, go and read The Road Not Taken and discovery the meaning of
the poem for yourself, as or risk not discovering it at all.
Bibliography
O'Donnell, William G. Talking About Poems With Robert Frost. Massachusetts Review. Summer
98, 39:2. Ebscohost. Bucks County Community College, Newtown, PA. 2 Nov. 2000 .