Skip to main content

What is a short summary of "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost?

In this poem the speaker (let's assume he's a man), is out for a morning walk during the autumn. He comes to a place where the road he is following splits into two paths, and he has to decide which way to go. Both ways look equally appealing to him, and he wishes he could "travel both and be one traveler." One of the ways is "grassy and wanted wear," so it is the one...

In this poem the speaker (let's assume he's a man), is out for a morning walk during the autumn. He comes to a place where the road he is following splits into two paths, and he has to decide which way to go. Both ways look equally appealing to him, and he wishes he could "travel both and be one traveler." One of the ways is "grassy and wanted wear," so it is the one fewer people have used, although not to a huge extent because he also says that "as for that the passing there had worn them really about the same." No one has traveled on either road on this particular morning. The speaker makes his decision to take the second road, the one that "was grassy and wanted wear." He thinks at first he will go down the other road some other time, but then he realizes that, since one road leads to another and another, he will probably never come back to take the first road in the future. The speaker then fast-forwards in his imagination to some day in the distant future when he will remember and talk about the decision he has just made. He thinks he will tell the tale "with a sigh" and that he will realize that taking "the road less traveled by" is what will have "made all the difference."


The last stanza shows that the poem is about more than taking a walk in the woods. The poet obviously means the poem to be taken metaphorically. The walk represents one's life journey, and the forked path represents a critical decision point. Many people interpret the poem to mean that the speaker believes his choice was the right one and that his sigh is one of contentment; in this interpretation the speaker believes going down a path of nonconformity results in greater gains in the end. The poem is ambiguous, however, and allows the opposite interpretation. The speaker's sigh could be one of regret, and choosing to buck the crowd or ignore tradition could end up having undesirable consequences. Another interpretation is that the poem satirizes people who agonize about every little decision in life, which gives the poem a lighter feel.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is the meaning of "juggling fiends" in Macbeth?

Macbeth is beginning to realize that the three witches have been deceiving him since he first encountered them. Like jugglers, they have kept changing their forecasts in order create confusion. This is particularly apparent when the Second Apparition they raise in Act IV,   Scene 1 tells him that no man of woman born can overcome him in hand-to-hand battle--and then Macbeth finds himself confronted by the one man he has been avoiding out of a... Macbeth is beginning to realize that the three witches have been deceiving him since he first encountered them. Like jugglers, they have kept changing their forecasts in order create confusion. This is particularly apparent when the Second Apparition they raise in Act IV,   Scene 1 tells him that no man of woman born can overcome him in hand-to-hand battle--and then Macbeth finds himself confronted by the one man he has been avoiding out of a sense of guilt, and that man tells him: Despair thy charm. And let the angel whom thou still hast serve...
Post a Comment
Read more

What are some external and internal conflicts that Montag has in Fahrenheit 451?

 Montag, the protagonist of Fahrenheit 451, faces both external and internal conflicts throughout the novel. Some examples of these conflicts are: External Conflicts: Conflict with the society: Montag lives in a society that prohibits books and critical thinking. He faces opposition from the government and the people who enforce this law. Montag struggles to come to terms with the fact that his society is based on censorship and control. Conflict with his wife: Montag's wife, Mildred, is completely absorbed in the shallow and meaningless entertainment provided by the government. Montag's growing dissatisfaction with his marriage adds to his external conflict. Conflict with the fire captain: Montag's superior, Captain Beatty, is the personification of the oppressive regime that Montag is fighting against. Montag's struggle against Beatty represents his external conflict with the government. Internal Conflicts: Conflict with his own beliefs: Montag, at the beginning of th...
Post a Comment
Read more

In A People's History of the United States, why does Howard Zinn feel that Wilson made a flimsy argument for entering World War I?

"War is the health of the state," the radical writer Randolph Bourne said, in the midst of the First World War. Indeed, as the nations of Europe went to war in 1914, the governments flourished, patriotism bloomed, class struggle was stilled, and young men died in frightful numbers on the battlefields-often for a hundred yards of land, a line of trenches. -- Chapter 14, Page 350, A People's History of the United States Howard Zinn outlines his arguments for why World War I was fought in the opening paragraph of Chapter 14 (referenced above). The nationalism that was created by the Great War benefited the elite political and financial leadership of the various countries involved. Socialism, which was gaining momentum in Europe, as was class struggle, took a backseat to mobilizing for war. Zinn believes that World War I was fought for the gain of the industrial capitalists of Europe in a competition for capital and resources. He states that humanity itself was punished by t...
Post a Comment
Read more