PC on "The Road Not Taken"

Prac Crit on "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost
Contributed by Augustin Chiam, 6.7

This poem can be taken on a metaphorical or literal level. It is very typically a Frost poem as it explores the human psychology in making decisions and the emotions involved in the decision-making process. The major theme in this poem is the choices one has to make in one's life, using nature as a backdrop to put his message across. Many critics say that the context of this poem should be the many walks in the forest that Robert Frost took with his friend, Thomas Edwards. In these walks, his friend would always have to choose one path over the other and would often sigh at the end and wondering whether the other path not taken could have been better. Many, therefore, believed that
The title itself is very significant because it could mean different things depending on the interpretation. “The Road Not Taken” could refer to the choice that society didn't normally take and the one that was different from social norms, the road which the persona took, or it could also mean the road that the persona didn't take, hence the road not taken. Objectively speaking, this poem is about both roads, the choice to choose one of them and the process of choosing.
Frost starts the poem by telling us that there are “two roads”. This is significant because it tells us that Frost feels that there are only two distinctive choice in life, black or white and no shades of gray. This adds an element of determinism into the poem and shows that in the first place, the choices that are presented before us are limited, a theme that is repeated throughout the poem. Yellow is a color that represents autumn, a transition period between summer and winter, and in this case represents a cross roads and transition period in life. Wood represents life and is a symbol of the complexities and “denseness” of life. The repetition of “And” at the beginning of line two to four in the first stanza is used to emphasize the often long and tedious process of decision-making. “I could not travel both and be one traveler,” means that the choice that one makes will alter one's life irreversibly and that once decided, the persona cannot retrace his steps and still be the same person to choose all over again. This again adds an element of determinism and Frost reminds us that each decision we make is important and final, it changes us as a person forever and it is therefore of utmost important to consider our decisions thoroughly. To look down one path as far as possible and still be blocked by “undergrowth”, tells us that circumstances often block us from seeing the long-term consequences of our decision to take certain paths. This inability to see the full impact of our decisions even though they affect us irreversibly is lamentable but still we have to make the decision. In the first stanza, Frost emphasizes the very limited choices and situation that we are placed in and the many boundaries that we have to work with when making a decision, making the decision-making process long and painful and leaving the decision-maker helpless. The idea that even though we are supposed to be autonomous and sentient creatures yet the choices we make are still subject to externalities and the forces of nature, forces us to think twice about whether we really have a choice and how significant the human factor is when it comes to making decisions in life.
Frost uses the second stanza to enforce the idea that both paths are really the same after all and explores the reasons behind taking one over the “other”. The “other” path is described as “just as fair” which tells us that both paths are similar in nature. Frost goes on, however, to suggest that the “other” path was taken because it has “perhaps the better claim”. “Perhaps” indicates to us that there is uncertainty and it implies that we can never be fully certain about the decisions we make, an idea that is repeated throughout the poem. The word “grassy” in line eight refers to the saying “the grass is always greener on the other side”. It shows us how shallow our decision-making is and that most decisions are made based merely on perception, by what we perceive using our senses especially our sense of sight. Still, Frost reminds us that beyond that, the paths are “really about the same” as time passes.
The third stanza is like a culmination of the ideas in the first and second stanza, the deterministic nature of making decisions and the reasons behind our choices. The first two lines of the third stanza reinforces and reiterates the fact that both paths are almost the same and that they “equally lay”. Frost tells us that each path has no merits and advantages that places it above and makes it more favorable than the “other”. “Black” is significant as the other color other than “yellow” mentioned in the poem. “Black” represents the demerits and evils, any kind of disadvantage or attribute that will put us off or make us choose another path. The fact that the paths had not been “trodden black” tells us that this is not the case, there are no demerits that warrants that another path be given preference over the other. “Oh, I kept the first for another day!” seems naive and impulsive. As if one can have one's cake and eat it, that one can have the best of both world. Frost, however, immediate dispels that notion by again adding in the deterministic element into the poem again. He tells us that “way leads to way” which means that each decision is like a chain reaction that will lead to many other decisions. We are forever altered by our choices because “way leads to way”, there is no returning back as clearly stated by the persona's doubt over whether he “should ever come back”.The fact is clear that there is indeed no such choice anymore, there is no going back the way we came from after we make the decision. There is a definite choice to make when we come to a crossroads and each choice will affect our future decisions and is irreversible. Again this begets the question whether we actually have free will to make our decisions if the decision we make now will affect the choices we have and the decisions we will make in the future. Frost clearly presents to us the puzzling question of whether we truly have the autonomy and the free will that makes us superior to animals.
The last stanza is by far the most controversial stanza of the entire poem. There are many different interpretations of this stanza as it is the conclusion of the whole matter and is a final piece to the subtly complex poem. It determines the whole theme and direction that the poem takes. Many critics disagree what the actual connotation of the word “sigh” is. It could be a “sigh of relief”, a “sigh of disappointment” or even a “sigh of resignation” and each of these meanings presents a different perspective to the entire poem. Some believe that the last stanza is one of relief where Frost expresses relief after finally making a decision , whether right or wrong, after the long drawn-out and tedious process of decision making and considering that there was not much choice anyway because of the circumstances that restrict us. That we even decide on one particular path or stick to one decision is what “made all the difference”. Others believe that he was disappointed with the decision that he made, yet he cannot do anything about it because of the running theme of determinism in the entire poem that tells us that externalities prevent us from exercising our free will. The only thing that we should do is to tell others about our experience, in this case, “telling this with a sigh” is what “made all the difference”. Still others believe that he was resigned to his fate but was still glad that he chose a path that was not conforming to the society's norms and that has “made all the difference”. This view tells us that one should not merely conform to society's view and make your own decision, so far as to even go against what society expects and find your own unique individuality.
So whether be it the message that one should be a conformist and follow social norm, the message that we do not have choices in life even though there may seem to be or even that we often make decisions that are very superficial and based on perceptions, Frost lets the reader decide. Many of Frost poems have so many meanings and interpretation and that is characteristic of Robert Frost's poems as he believed that subtlety is very important in poetry and that a meaningful poem should have many meanings. “The Road Not Taken” is a classic example of Robert Frost's idea of a meaningful poem.