Robert Frost: life, work, and literary significance

Robert Frost is one of the most celebrated poets in American history, and ranks as one of the most prolific composers of American literature. The subjects that he explores in his poems usually involve elements of nature and are immensely relatable to people from virtually all different aspects of life. His work has been characterized as "an examination of the ordinary" (Siobhan 598). In this respect, his poem entitled "The Road Not Taken" is no different. As is the case with most of Frost's poems, this poem functions on two levels -- the literal and the figurative. Literally, the poem is about a traveler who is walking in the woods. Figuratively, however, it is about something else altogether. A careful analysis of the different elements in this poem, the author's use of metaphor, diction, and imagery, indicates that this poem is actually about irrevocable regrets in one's life.

An evaluation of Frost's usage of metaphor within this work alludes to the fact that the different pathways encountered by the traveler in this poem represent the various roads that life can take. Such a metaphor makes a significant amount of sense, as even in colloquial expression people commonly refer to the various paths that they have gone down in their lives and which exist within life altogether. The poet represents this figurative interpretation of life by literally examining the pathways that a traveler encounters while walking one day. The subsequent quotation demonstrates this fact. "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,/…Yet knowing how way leads on to way, / I doubted if I should ever come back" (Frost). The first sentence in this quotation indicates that the traveler is literally examining a pair of roads that he can take during his journey. The second two sentences, however, allude to both the literal and the figurative meaning of these roads. On the one hand, the author is reflecting that were he to take each path, it is unlikely that he would be able to again take the one that he has not chosen. This idea certainly applies to life more so than to paths in a wood -- which the author could always retake by simply going on the same walk he is on during this poem. However, there are certain choices that one makes in life that are more or less irrevocable, which the author refers to by stating that one "way leads on" to another. For instance, if one chooses to marry one's college girlfriend instead of one's childhood sweetheart, it is unlikely that one will be able to marry one's initial sweetheart. Thus, there is the potential for regret in life, which Frost refers to with a metaphor in which he regrets taking a literal path in the woods.

A careful examination of the diction utilized within this poem indicates that it is actually about the regrets that one encounters in life. Having established the fact that the paths the narrator sees in this poem actually represent the figurative paths of life, the prudent reader can see how certain choices of words emphasize the fact that figuratively, the poem is about regrets. The following quotation provides a good example of the author's use of diction to reinforce this particular interpretation. "I shall be telling this with a sigh / Somewhere ages and ages hence" (Frost). What is noteworthy about the author's choice of words in this passage is the fact that he will relive the moment he had to choose between paths by "retelling" it. Thus, the reader can infer that the decision the author made was a notable one -- such as a life altering decision. Additionally, the narrator presages that he will relieve this moment "with a sigh." The term sigh certainly has negative connotations. People tend to sigh when they regret things, and can no longer take something or get something back. It is not uncommon for people to sigh when thinking about things they wished they had done differently. Lastly, it is notable that the decision made by the narrator (which literally pertains to a path he chooses to walk and figuratively refers to some life-changing decision) is one he will consider for "ages." The degree of importance ascribed to such a decision transcends a mere walk in the woods, and refers to a decision that changes one's life and which one desires to have reconsidered.

Readers can also infer that this work is literally about life's regrets due to the amount of importance which Frost attributes to the decision that the traveler makes. Literally, of course, the traveler is considering which road to take. Figuratively, however, this decision represents an important life altering choice. As such, it is not a decision that the traveler rushes into precipitously, which the following quotation, in which he analyzes the pair of paths, proves. "…long I stood / And looked down one as far as I could / To where it bent in the undergrowth; / Then took the other…" (Frost.) This passage indicates that author utilizes a copious amount of time in forming this decision. He describes the time it takes him to decide which path to embark upon as "long." Moreover, it is important to realize that while he is considering which path to take, he is actually visually scanning them as he "looked down one." Literally, such time spent looking at a path involves scanning a road; figuratively, this part of the poem translates into the traveler considering various points of a certain course of action about which he or she is attempting to decide. Were this poem merely about someone deciding which path to take, such a person would not have to spend so much time considering which way to take. Also, such a decision would not lead to the degree of sadness, sighs, and consideration of this decision for a long time. It is quite clear that the poem figuratively represents someone choosing between a life altering decision and eventually regretting that choice.