The Road Not Taken ...

[awfulthings9]

Another poster asked about my signature, which comments on "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost. Rather than divert the thread where that question arose, I started this thread to discuss the poem. I personally feel that most people read it wrong. Of course, poetry can be misinterpreted, and I might be the one misinterpreting it, but I thought I'd begin by posting the text of the poem and asking anyone who cares to comment on what he thinks the message of the poem is. I put line numbers next to the text so specific verses could be referenced. Just a note that I hope the discussion can be a friendly one - I'm excited about discussing poetry with someone. My wife ignores me when I try.

The Road Not Taken

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth; 5

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same, 10

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back. 15

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. 20

[Maritsa]

This is one of my favorite poems. I've had it memorized for decades.

I don't think it is depressing, per se. He doesn't say that he made the wrong choice. He says he had a decision, he went the less traveled way, and he'll look back on the time he made that decision and sigh.

Don't most of us do this with our lives? In our youth we set out to be pioneers, revolutionaries, trail blazers, and then we look back and see how much easier we could have arrived at the same location by sticking with the tried and true? That realization isn't depressing as the experiences and hardships the less traveled way provided help to shape us into who we become. Some people become isolated, bitter, and weary while others become experienced and wizened. Frost doesn't say which he'll become, only that he knows he will look back on that day with wisdom, hindsight, and maturity and sigh.

I like his commitment to the path he has chosen. He realizes and accepts that he won't ever take the other path and that it will change the course of his life forever, yet he continues along without fear or regret. It is a message many in our society need to hear. Far from disappointing, I think the poem expresses contentment.

[awfulthings9]

Originally Posted by Maritsa

This is one of my favorite poems. I've had it memorized for decades.

Me too.

I don't think it is depressing, per se. He doesn't say that he made the wrong choice. He says he had a decision,

He doesn't admit he made the wrong choice.

But deep down he thinks he might have.

He went the less traveled way,

He says he took the way less traveled, but look closely. Remember, with such a short poem and such a brilliant poet, Frost wouldn't have put in any line that didn't contribute to the whole. Aren't there some lines that sort of contradict that? As if the same speaker realizes that he, himself, isn't being quite truthful?

and he'll look back on the time he made that decision and sigh.

He will, but while that's important, it isn't the part of the poem that I think people overlook.

Frost doesn't say which he'll become, only that he knows he will look back on that day with wisdom, hindsight, and maturity and sigh.

I don't say this to be cute, but this insight isn't specifically written in the poem, but something you are assuming (and we should also remember that Frost isn't necessarily writing about himself, but probably a fictional first-person narrator). I'm interested in what the poem actually says. For right now, let's just look at the nuances of what Frost chose to include.

I like his commitment to the path he has chosen.

Commitment? Or resignation?

He realizes and accepts that he won't ever take the other path and that it will change the course of his life forever, yet he continues along without fear or regret.

More on this in a second.

It is a message many in our society need to hear. Far from disappointing, I think the poem expresses contentment.

Lots of things I want to point out, but let's start out with the question in my next post ...

ps. Thank you for contributing. Please don't read my comments as antagonism (I'm a pretty nice person), just trying some Socratic questioning to see if anyone else picks up on what I did (or can tell me it is all hogwash).

[awfulthings9]

Suppose a man wrote a poem for his wife, in which he writes about how, once upon a time, he had to make a choice between two women, her and this other girl. He makes some strong statements about why his wife was the right choice (though he seems to contradict himself).

There's more I could write about this poem, but the interesting (and somewhat concerning) thing to his wife when she reads the poem ... is the title.

She thinks to herself:

Shouldn't have have titled it, "The Girl I Married"

And not ... "The Girl I Didn't Marry"

After all, a title is a pretty significant thing. It sets the tone for the whole poem.

And Frost would have known that.

Thoughts?

[awfulthings9]

He says he took the way less traveled, but look closely. Remember, with such a short poem and such a brilliant poet, Frost wouldn't have put in any line that didn't contribute to the whole. Aren't there some lines that sort of contradict that? As if the same speaker realizes that he, himself, isn't being quite truthful?

Let me rephrase that ...

What would a "road less traveled" physically look like?

How did one path look different from another to the speaker to tell him that it was less traveled by?

[Maritsa]

That the road less traveled was really worn about the same supports my position about the youthful joy of being a revolutionary or trailblazer, when in reality it is the same thing most others have tried to do, too.

[awfulthings9]

Originally Posted by Maritsa

That the road less traveled was really worn about the same supports my position about the youthful joy of being a revolutionary or trailblazer, when in reality it is the same thing most others have tried to do, too.

But not only are they worn about the same, but "both that morning equally lay".

So, when he calls one the "road less traveled", what physical evidence is he going by?

No, I don't disagree with your assessment that he sees himself as a trailblazer ... what I'm getting at is whether or not he is happy with the destination of the trail he blazed.

Anyway, what about that title? How does that fit in?

There's more, but let's take it a bit at a time.

[the phoenix]

Here is a link to my photo of "The Road Less Traveled." (My name on Flickr is "CountryDreaming," you will note.) The road, even though it looks like a nature trail, is called "Lively Road" and really exists in Hocking County, Ohio ... although the last time I visited, there's a sign warning that this road is no longer maintained. Nonetheless, people live in neighborhoods on the other side of the forest which Lively Road passes through, so people do in fact still use this road.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9599408...7594146865176/

Personally, I no longer travel on Lively Road since I've had my curiosity satisfied, because if my car were ever to break down while I were back in the woods, it would be unpleasant, not to mention unsafe.

That said, I'm reminded of a conversation I had with the Bed and Breakfast owners of Painted Valley Farm, whose farmhouse is just about a half mile from where this picture was taken.

We were discussing the lack of fine dining in Hocking County. (Well, apart from their homecooked country breakfasts, which are truly excellent and served with love by candlelight!) They were starting to look a little glum about disappointing me with the primitive development of their area when it comes to restaurants, but I reassured them with my own philosophical outlook on "the road not taken."

My words: "Well, if I'd really wanted the best restaurants, I could have taken my vacation in Chicago or some other big city, but I didn't. I chose instead to come here, and that's for a reason." Chicago then, was my road not taken.

And I smiled, satisfied with my choice. Because my reason, since I'm a landscape and nature photographer, was to take pictures of less traveled roads, of which Lively Road is just one.

Plus, the innkeepers and I have become nearly as close as family. Going there feels like going home ... or on a retreat much like Rivendell or The House of Tom Bombadil in Lord of the Rings.

A picture of the innkeepers is shown below:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9599408...7594146865176/

When it comes to the big city, for me, that is the road not taken when I go on vacation, and I am so grateful for the once-in-a-lifetime adventures and experiences of beauty that I discover along the road less traveled.

~~ the phoenix

... also known as CountryDreaming

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

[awfulthings9]

So, when he calls one the "road less traveled", what physical evidence is he going by?

Or is he just lying to himself?

Or us?

And why?

[awfulthings9]

Originally Posted by the phoenix

Here is a link to my photo of "The Road Less Traveled." (My name on Flickr is "CountryDreaming," you will note.) The road, even though it looks like a nature trail, is called "Lively Road" and really exists in Hocking County, Ohio ... although the last time I visited, there's a sign warning that this road is no longer maintained. Nonetheless, people live in neighborhoods on the other side of the forest which Lively Road passes through, so people do in fact still use this road.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9599408...7594146865176/

Personally, I no longer travel on Lively Road since I've had my curiosity satisfied, because if my car were ever to break down while I were back in the woods, it would be unpleasant, not to mention unsafe.

That said, I'm reminded of a conversation I had with the Bed and Breakfast owners of Painted Valley Farm, whose farmhouse is just about a half mile from where this picture was taken.

We were discussing the lack of fine dining in Hocking County. (Well, apart from their homecooked country breakfasts, which are truly excellent and served with love by candlelight!) They were starting to look a little glum about disappointing me with the primitive development of their area when it comes to restaurants, but I reassured them with my own philosophical outlook on "the road not taken."

My words: "Well, if I'd really wanted the best restaurants, I could have taken my vacation in Chicago or some other big city, but I didn't. I chose instead to come here, and that's for a reason." Chicago then, was my road not taken.

And I smiled, satisfied with my choice. Because my reason, since I'm a landscape and nature photographer, was to take pictures of less traveled roads, of which Lively Road is just one.

Plus, the innkeepers and I have become nearly as close as family. Going there feels like going home ... or on a retreat much like Rivendell or The House of Tom Bombadil in Lord of the Rings.

A picture of the innkeepers is shown below:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9599408...7594146865176/

When it comes to the big city, for me, that is the road not taken when I go on vacation, and I am so grateful for the once-in-a-lifetime adventures and experiences of beauty that I discover along the road less traveled.

~~ the phoenix

... also known as CountryDreaming

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

Very nice.

[the phoenix]

Originally Posted by awfulthings9

Very nice.

Hail and Well Met.

[Mighty Q]

I always thought that it was depressing as well.

[awfulthings9]

And what about line 18:

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. 20

What was he going to say before he caught himself (notice the dash) and added the chipper ending (I've read enough of Frost to believe he was just reaching for a rhyme, here).

What was the ending he would have been telling "with a sigh"?

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I should have taken the other one."

Or maybe:

"Two roads diverged in the wood, and I really goofed up."

[Maritsa]

I got curious and started looking things up today. I've read about half this page. I'll try to finish it today. What do you think?

[awfulthings9]

Originally Posted by Maritsa

I got curious and started looking things up today. I've read about half this page. I'll try to finish it today. What do you think?

Wow, this was really insightful. I always wondered if Frost's thoughts on the poem (as well as others) were recorded somewhere, as we can often find with poets. Honestly, if the poem were simply a straight-forward poem of enthusiasm, it would cease to be one of my favorites.

Not that I have anything against enthusiasm, but rather because I have something against shallowness in verse.

What I like about Frost (and what I have always liked in my 11 years as an English teacher) is that everyone always thinks he is this simple man writing about quaint woodland scenes, but he always throws in a few little twists and clues that point to something much deeper (and less comfortable) than anyone would expect.

We should do "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowing Evening Next". I once read a crazy interpretation that it was about Santa. I always thought it was a man contemplating either suicide or giving into death, thought I could be wrong. Perhaps you (who have proved to be a better internet sleuth than I) can hunt down his thoughts on the matter.