Critical Analysis of Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken"

Introduction

Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" tells the story of a traveler deciding which road to follow, and then looking back upon the road not taken and wondering what might have been. On first glance, a reader might assume that Frost is promoting the benefits of taking the road less traveled — the path in life that is perhaps most uncertain. Too many readers assume that the advantage lies in taking the road less traveled and relate this poem to personal hardships endured by following such a path. However, Frost actually compares both roads as equally promising and subtly challenges the notion that the road less traveled is inherently the better path. Frost comments on the human tendency to make decisions while consistently reflecting on and wondering what might have been.

From a strictly literal interpretation, Frost appears to speak about having the courage to travel the road less taken, leaving the reader with the assumption that one can expand one's horizons by taking risks and choosing the most unconventional path. He ends the poem with the idea that by taking the road less traveled, "a world of difference" has occurred in the life of the traveler.

However, closer examination of the poem reveals that Frost describes both paths as nearly equal — essentially the same. The title itself should lead the reader to consider the path that Frost does not take. The title emphasizes this unchosen path because the traveler looks back upon it — perhaps out of regret, perhaps out of curiosity — wondering what might have been, whether good or bad, had this road been taken instead.

Thematic Analysis: Choice and Regret

Frost speaks symbolically of the endless possibilities that may never be encountered once an individual commits to a particular road, whether it is less traveled or not. Each road represents countless opportunities. A person has the option to hesitate and never make a decision, but in the poem Frost describes the choice he makes and the chain of events that result from it. Frost claims that the road selected had "perhaps the better claim / because it was grassy and wanted wear." However, this may indicate only that the path appeared to invite a traveler. Both paths had, in fact, been worn "really about the same / and both that morning equally lay."

Frost metaphorically implies that the road taken — whether less traveled or not — will lead to something that leads to something else, as expressed in the line "yet knowing how way leads on to way." Though the opportunity may arise at some later date to take the other path, this outcome is unlikely, as Frost states: "I doubted if I should ever come back." People make decisions based on their present circumstances. Once a decision is made, one often wonders what could have or might have been if a different path had been chosen — hence the poem's emphasis, once again, on the road not taken.

Conclusion

Most people literally interpret Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" to mean that taking the path less traveled in life can make a world of difference. The reader might also initially assume that Frost is promoting the idea of taking the unconventional or less traveled path.

It is far more likely, however, that Frost wanted readers to question this assumption. He suggests that both roads and paths in life may present the traveler with equal opportunities — both good and bad. He does not truly favor one road over another, but simply takes the one that, at the moment of decision, appears slightly less worn. Each road represents different possibilities, and though the road taken may bring its own rewards, the traveler will likely always wonder what might have been had the other path been chosen. This seems to be the poem's true focus. Frost wants the reader to understand that life is full of choices, and that the choices made may result in joy — but that joy will not necessarily prevent people from wondering what could have been had they gone the other way.

A substantial use of assonance and rhyme appears throughout the poem, and the meter is blended to make the poem flow smoothly and thoughtfully. The reader is ultimately left with the sense that the poem speaks to their own present circumstances and that neither path should be judged as superior — even though it is human nature to do so.