The Other Road in Robert Frosts The Road Not Taken Essay -- Road Not

The Other Road in Robert Frosts The Road Not Taken In his illustrious poem The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost describes the decision one makes when reaching a fork in the road. Some interpret Frost as suggesting regret on the part of the traveler as to not choosing the line he forgoes, for in doing so he has lost something significant. Others believe he is grateful for the selection, as it has made him the man he is. The diverging roads are symbolic of the choices society is faced with every day of life. Choosing one course will result the traveler in one direction, while the other will likely move away, toward a completely different journey. How does one know which is the right path is there a right path? The answer lies within each individual upon reflection of personal choices during the course of lifes unfolding, as well as the military capability in which one looks to the future. David Wyatt writes, Nowhere in Frost is the tension between surprise and anticipation, wayward experience and the form into which it is cast or forecast, more chills and fever than in The Road Not Taken (129). As the poem is read, one cannot help but be pulled into the questions of which road will be chosen, how they differ, and what will become of the traveler. perhaps some hope to find guidance for their own journeys by seeking answers in Frosts work. According to Michael Meyer, The speakers reflections about his choice are as central to an sense of the poem as the choice itself. (97) Frost himself admits, its a tricky poem, very tricky. (Pack 10) In the opening stanza, Frost describes coming to a point during a strait along a rural road that diverges into two separate, yet similar paths. The narrator finds that he ... .... Online. World Wide Web. 20 Jul. 2000. . Frost, Robert. The Road Not Taken. The rhyme of Robert Frost. Ed. Edward Connery, Lathem. New York Hot, Rinehart and Winston, 1969. 105. Mertins, Louis. Robert Frost Life and Talks - Walking. Norman Univers ity of Oklahoma Press, 1965. 135. Meyer, Michael, ed. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. 5th ed. Boston Bedford-St. Martins, 1999. 97. Pack, Robert. Frosts Enigmatical Reserve The Poet as Teacher and Preacher. Modern hypercritical Views Robert Frost. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. 10. Thompson, Lawrance. Robert Frost The Years of Triumph. Notes. Online. World Wide Web. 21 Jul 2000. . Wyatt, David M. Choosing in Frost. Frost Centennial Essays II. Ed. Jac Tharpe. Jackson University Press of Mississippi, 1976. 129-35.