The poem the road not taken full#

The language is simple and accessible, though the ideas are more complex than they seem. The voice is that of the poet or narrator, using the first person ‘I’. The rhythm is varied there is no clear metrical pattern, but strong use of enjambment creates a ‘conversational’ flow that is intimate and seems informal, as if the poet is ‘talking’ to the reader. The poem comprises four stanzas of five lines each, known as quintains. Yet it became popular … taken to be an inspiring poem, which sounds noble and is really mischievous ( Frost: A Literary Life Reconsidered, 1984) Some people would say that there is no single meaning or interpretation of a poem and its significance lie in the mind of the. It is one of the most famous poems that captured the fascination of so many people and often misunderstood or misinterpreted. The persona, who is believed to be Frost himself, chooses to take the road less traveled by. The poem is about the speaker arriving at a fork in the road, where both paths are carpeted with leaves. Frost did on occasion warn his … audiences that it was a tricky poem. (1874-1963) The Road Not Taken is a narrative poem published in 1916. The poem The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost addresses the idea of decision-making and choosing what direction life will take you. characterized himself in that poem particularly as ‘fooling my way along.’ He also said that it was really about his friend (English poet) Edward Thomas, who when they walked together always castigated himself for not having taken another path than the one they took. The last line of the poem is, of course, ambiguous. There is no right answer and we will always wonder subsequently if there was a better route. The poet stood there for a long time and looked at the path very carefully.

The poem the road not taken full#

Taught in high school classrooms across the English-speaking world, it’s become popular as a depiction of rugged individuality, of “straying from the beaten path.”īut is it that simple? Careful reading will show Frost’s intention to convey that whatever path, whatever decision in life, is taken by the listener or reader, it will leave them wondering if the alternative would have been better. It represents a world which is full of older people.

One of the most widely quoted poems ever written, “The Road Not Taken” was completed in 1915 and first published in Frost’s volume Mountain Interval (1916).