COMPARISON OF POEMS

Comparison of Poems

Comparison of Poems

Poem “Symbolism of the Journey, The Road Not Taken (Frost)”

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”These are the famous last lines from Robert Frost's much debated and discussed poem “The Road Not Taken.” One of his most well known poems, it strikes a chord with any who read it. The theme and symbolism featured within has been the subject of a wide variety of interpretations, however, most insist that this poem symbolizes the incessant curiosity that resides within human nature. Whichever choice is taken in life, one will always wonder what possibilities the other choice may have held. Many interpretations have been made of this poem, but Frost himself claimed the inspiration came from his dear friend Edward Thomas, a welsh poet whom he had met in England. It was said that Thomas was never content with the choices he made, and whenever walking with Frost in England, would always regret path they had chosen. Frost had even said to Thomas, “No matter which road you take, you will always sigh, and wish you'd taken another”. The poem is a gentle teasing of not only his friend's constant regret and curiosity, but also that of human behavior. The subtle humor found at the end of Frost's poem gently pokes fun of humanity's unsatisfied and curious nature on one level, but also sheds light upon the finalities of choice, and the lost opportunities that go with them (Frost, 2011, 1096).

Within the four stanzas of “The Road Not Taken” the speaker narrates coming across two roads while walking through the woods one autumn morning. The symbolic value of the forking roads is fairly easy to grasp, representing the choices that one comes across throughout the journey of life. Regretful that he can choose only one, the speaker is careful in his choice of road, “long I stood and looked down one as far as I could/ to where it bent in the undergrowth”. This is where much of the debate on theme and symbolism begins. For instance, an article written by William Pritchard, claims that the speaker's choice between the roads was a matter of impulse, and not one of careful decision, because of the emphasis he put on the similarities between the roads. Three times within the first three stanzas, the speaker mentions how the roads are virtually the same. First by describing the roads “as just as fair”, then with “Though as for that the passing there/ had worn them really about the same” and finishing with lines eleven and twelve, saying “both that morning equally lay/ in leaves no step had trodden black.” Many claim that he contradicts himself here, and attempts to deceive himself as well as his audience by claiming the path he took was “grassy and wanted wear”. That instead, there was no road less traveled by, and in saying so the speaker ...