Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken": Choice vs. Self-Reliance

Introduction

Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken" has often been interpreted as an affirmation of individual self-reliance, yet a closer examination of its content reveals it is more accurately a statement about choice. Frost said the poem is about his friend Edward Thomas, with whom he would walk through the woods near London. During these walks they would come to different paths, and after choosing one, Thomas would inevitably wonder what had been missed by not taking the other (Grimes, 2006).

The poem is structured as a series of four five-line stanzas, each developing a single idea. The first stanza introduces the metaphor of a road — representing life — that diverges, representing the choices we make along the way. The second delves into the decision-making process of which road to follow. The third considers the implications of that decision. The final stanza projects a reflection on the decision into the future. The stanzas follow a regular rhyme scheme of abaab.

Structure of the Poem

Because of its strong central metaphor, the poem has often been interpreted as a call to self-actualization. A quick reading of the work has led many to believe it is a message that self-determination can be achieved through an individual's assertiveness and the will and courage to take the road less traveled — and that by doing so, it will "make all the difference."

A closer look at what the poem actually says tells a different story. In the first stanza, a man comes to a fork in the road and laments the fact that he cannot travel both paths. He looks down one as far as he can see, to where it bends into the undergrowth.

The Self-Reliance Interpretation

In the second stanza, the protagonist examines the other path and describes it as just as fair — perhaps even better, since it is grassy and more inviting (wanted wear) — yet both paths seem equally traveled.

A Closer Reading: The Poem as Statement on Choice

In the third stanza, the protagonist observes that neither path had been recently traveled, as evidenced by the undisturbed leaves. He tells the reader he has saved the first path for another day and still hopes to travel it, but acknowledges how one path leads to another and doubts he will ever pass this way again.

The last stanza is the protagonist's projection of what the future will hold. He imagines himself telling this story with a sigh to someone else, explaining that when he came to the fork in the road he took the road less traveled — and that it made all the difference.

Two things Frost said are worth remembering: first, the poem is the story of his friend Edward Thomas; and second, Frost described the poem as "tricky" (Grimes, 2006). Although the roads are described as equal for all intents and purposes, a careful reading shows they are not. The first road is "bent in the undergrowth," while the second is described as "grassy," "wanted wear," and having "the better claim." The protagonist takes the second road — in other words, the easier way.

The protagonist asserts that he would like to travel both roads but understands he will never have that chance again. Frost then moves the action to the future, where the protagonist imagines telling the story with a heavy heart of how he took "the one less traveled by." This is, of course, a self-delusion — a repainting of the past for the sake of self-aggrandizement.

Conclusion

This is a poem about choices — how we choose to lead our lives and how we choose to remember those choices.