As a young person often, the mind is filled with possibilities of all that might be. Between 12 and 18 years old one's mind often races with visions of being a doctor, a scientist, an engineer, an astronaut a movie star or whatever; the sky is the limit. We feel as if we have unlimited time to sample the potentials and make a final choice. Robert Frost was 42 when he published The Road Not Taken. From his vantage point in middle adulthood he was coming to the realization that the springtime of youth and the summer of early adulthood in his life had passed. As the autumn years set in his potentialities has dwindled down to two. Unfortunately, some choices have a way of cementing a person's identity. For example, the choice to be an honest person or a cheater, a person can't have it both ways. Here Frost stood under the yellow leaves in his autumn years there was one choice that called for a violation of his values and what he was about. The other was a betrayal of the good man he had endeavored to be. He selected the high road the one with the better claim on virtue, the path of justice. From where Frost stood he saw that most did not chose the path of virtue. How could he tell? The path of virtue and justice that he traveled showed little sign of use. The grass was over overgrown, and the least foot trail was visible. The other path traveled by those who have sold out to corruption, dishonesty and immorality; that path was trodden down to the black dirt. Evidently, Frost believed that his path of virtue would one day be rewarded in the afterlife where "ages and ages hence" he'll be able to look back and know that he made the right choice. If the recent events in Frost's life where relevant to this poem then there are some things worth taking note of. Five years prior to the publishing of this poem, as Frost was entering these years he sold the family farm and moved his wife and 3 adolescent children to England. He looked down the road of that life in England for as far as he could, which was about 3 years until he moved back to America's New England. Did an opportunity for wealth and success present itself in England that came at a price that might have sacrificed Frost's values, his conscience or integrity? Might that explain the decision to abruptly move back to America after only a few short years? Did he look back upon that decision with some regret and some longing for what might have been? With his only comfort being that faithfulness to his ideals would one day pay off in the hereafter? It wasn't until his mid 70's that recognition began to register for his contributions as a writer and a poet. In 1950 the Senate presented him with a tribute for his literary work, a decade had passed since his wife had died of a heart attack, his son committed suicide and his two daughters suffered mental break downs. I'm sure by that point if felt like ages and ages had passed hence. At that point did his decision make a difference for the better? Only Robert Frost know.
In “The Road Not Taken,” the speaker stands at a junction of two paths, and he must choose to follow only one of them. From the “yellow wood” in the first stanza and the fallen leaves covering both paths in the third, we can tell this poem is set in autumn in a colorful, northern-forested landscape. From where he stands, the speaker scrutinizes both routes but cannot see far along either one of them. He claims more people have traveled along the first one, although both routes appear to be worn about the same amount. In the end, the speaker decides to take the second path, “the one less traveled by.” We can debate whether he is comfortable with this decision later in life, as he recalls and retells this story. We can also debate whether the path he chose is the same one he refers to in the title; depending upon your interpretation, it could apply to either one.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44272/the-road-not-taken
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