Road Not Taken by Robert

Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

Natural Realism in the Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

As an important cultural artifact of human society, literature -- particularly poetry -- serves both a functional and aesthetic purpose: it demonstrates a mastery of language and self-expression, while at the same time providing a message and/or insight about human life from the point-of-view of the poet. Oftentimes, the insight or message is 'symbolically' expressed; other times, the poet shares his/her insight with the honesty of his/her words, unveiled by symbols and directly expressed as the poet feels it. However, it is a challenge if a poet achieves to utilize both symbolism and direct expression of his/her thoughts and feelings in one poem. While the poem remains literary and poetic, it is realistically expressed in that there is no 'air of pretentiousness' in the usage of words and sentences.

This balance between symbolism and realistic, humble expression of one's thoughts and feelings is emulated in the poem The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. Frost, an American poet who gained popularity and literary influence because of his poems in the early to middle 20th century, developed this delicate balance and succeeded in demonstrating the theme of natural realism in this particular poem. This paper discusses how Frost's work reflected natural realism, which is described to be the "denial of the necessity for and the explanatory value of positing 'internal representations' in thought and perception" (Macarthur, 2004:170). The discussion that follows provides in detail evidence of natural realism in the poem The Road Not Taken, positing that the poem is a symbolic depiction of one's reflection about his life choices, while at the same time, the poem also assumes a realistic, unassuming and down-to-earth view of life and the decisions that people make in their lives.

To further understand this representation of natural realism in The Road Not Taken, it is necessary to develop an understanding of natural realism itself as a philosophical approach. Natural realism, as defined earlier, is the "denial of the need to explain or create "internal representations" of thought and perception." Further, this philosophical approach considers that a reality exists outside of an individual's thoughts and perceptions, a reality that is dependent on things -- living and non-living -- and have relationships among each other. Indeed, natural realism is the belief that life is based on experiences that can be proven and not simply based on one's thoughts or perceptions without any basis or evidence.

This is the context in which Frost positions himself as a poet. In an interview by Poirier of The Paris Review in 1960, the poet claimed that he "haven't led a literary life" and never internalized his role as a poet. He agreed that as a poet and literary figure, he is not "difficult," and his poetry is something that he simply creates but "don't work at it" unlike other literary fellows who dedicate or define themselves based on their creative works. From this interview alone, one would understand Frost's motives in developing creative/literary works: he writes poetry for poetry's sake, but interestingly enough, Frost is also a contradiction on this aspect. He writes poetry for poetry's sake, but when he wants to communicate a salient message about an issue or topic that left a lasting impression on him, he would do so. But again, his poetry are created without the deliberate care that other "literary fellows" would have done. His unassuming attitude about his poetry is reflected in The Road Not Taken, wherein he depicted life decisions with a pragmatic perspective.

The first two stanzas of the poem is a manifestation of Frost's natural realistic viewpoint, as the voice of his poem determined which road to take. From the second stanza, the voice made his decision based on what he observed of the two roads: one road was described to be "worn," while the other road had "leaves no step had trodden black." It was then that the voice decided to take the 'road not taken': no explanation was offered for this decision; simply that, the person wanted to pass through the road where no one had tried before.

From the onset, natural realism has taken its hold in the poem. Not offering any explanation for the voice's decision to take the 'road not taken,' natural realism is manifested in Frost's decision to not offer any explanation, nor provide additional detail as to why the voice decided to take the 'unused' road. Further, the decision is practical and bordering on adventurous: one can only surmise that the voice decided to take the unused road because he wanted to discover what lay ahead. Among the people who took the usual road, the voice would take the other one for the sake of knowing what lay ahead, no other reason than that.

Another alternative or complementary explanation to the voice's decision to take the unused, other road is that Frost has always subsisted to the theme of the 'lone individual,' glorifying the individual and oftentimes, criticizing the collective (Sheehy, 2001:20). Thus, deciding to use the road not taken is a reflection of Frost's predisposition to depict the lone individual as a consistent theme in his poetry. However, in keeping with his earlier claim about his non-deliberateness when it comes to poetry, the lone individual theme is a recurring theme in Frost's poetry, albeit this is not a literary technique or position, but rather, an expression of his thoughts and feelings about the individual versus (or vis-a-vis) the society or collective.

The last stanza echoes a predominantly realist view of life, as the voice reflects on his decision to take the road not taken: "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- / I took the one less traveled by, / And that has made all the difference." The voice was not sentimental about his decision; however, the line, "I shall be telling this with a sigh" is indicative of his regret. However, consistent with the natural realist viewpoint, it could be that this "sigh" is simply an expression of how an individual like him had to make a decision at the time, and this process alone -- deciding by himself which road to take -- was challenging enough that recalling and reflecting on it, he could express relief that he had made a choice.