Upon reading and re-reading Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken,” a particular light within the lines caught my eye as it never had before. Frost is a striking poet because his writing is enjoyable with or without deep contemplation. The rhyme schemes are simple but pleasing, and the diction fits perfectly in every line. As most Americans, I have heard this poem many times, and each time stopped to remark on the eloquence displayed therein; but also very quickly picked up and carried on with my life forgetting my thoughts and the significance. Perhaps one has to be particularly connected through a similar situation in order to fully appreciate the meaning behind a poet’s writing. In my own life I find this to be true, for two roads diverged at a silver academy and I chose one—the less-likely one.
Major decisions are tests in a human life, at times appearing like chaos and disorder, yet the very forces that also rush and guide one to the road that was meant to be. They require a lot of understanding, contemplation, and counsel in areas where there is little understanding to be had. Frost depicts this idea in the first stanza of his poem: “And sorry I could not travel both / and be one traveler, long I stood / and looked down one as far as I could” (2-4). Also in the second stanza he compares the two roads, saying “Though as for that the passing there / had worn them really about the same” (9-10). Here he represents the contemplation of where the roads will lead and how the differences will affect life as it is in the present. It is a futuristic thought—and an unrealistic thought at that—to try to determine the outcomes of the splitting roads. Yet, as Frost so beautifully expresses, it is the necessary nature of making irrevocable decisions.
By the end of the poem, Frost reveals that decisions are not only irrevocable, but also that their effects are perpetual. “Yet knowing how way leads on to way / I doubted if I should ever come back” (14-15). In my own experience, I will add that some effects are also unexpected. From the fork in the road, it is impossible to tell all that will be affected by the choice. It is not until one’s sole has pressed firmly on the dirt of one’s chosen path that the results begin to show their faces.
In reading this poem, I was, for the first time, able to appreciate it like I haven’t before; but only to a certain extent. The difference between Frost’s decision and mine—although both involved sacrifice, uncertainty, and disappointment as well—is that I will not be telling my story with a sigh. My current state in life has changed dramatically since I took that irrevocable step. I have disappointed many people, and caused many others to question. There were many effects that I did not anticipate, and many emotions that followed me through. However, while the result of Frost’s decision lies in his conscience to regret, mine lies in greater hands. Sovereignty and trust is a beautiful combination of words when dealing with the unknown; and for me, that has made all the difference.
August 22, 2017
Works Cited:
Frost, Robert. “The Road Not Taken.” 1916.