Where I live, this morning the world was blanketed in fine white. The landscape jogged a memory of Robert Frost and so today we will look at one of his poems.
Let's have a little background today. An American, living from the 1870s to the 1960s, Frost liked to write about rural life and had an interest in American dialects too. His parents were British in blood and so his works were first published over here. He wrote with philosophical curiosity, perhaps influenced by the troubling times he had experienced in his family life; his father died when Frost was but 11 and his mother later of cancer. Depression and mental illness was also prevalent in all of the members and his wife as well. If you'd like to explore the link between mental health and literature, I am studying a course of the site Futurelearn which deals with the very topic, and I have found it enlightening. Here is the link if you are interested:
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/literature/1/todo/2641
Onto some poetry. I find most of his poems are punchy, very few lines long, so I should be able to really unpack his work and get the most out of it.
The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
As I began reading this poem, I immediately wondered whether the 'road' was the common metaphor for any choice in life, like a 'life path'. By the conclusion, I have understood this to be an accurate reading. The narrator has chosen to do something that either none or not many ('less traveled' implies it nevertheless has been travelled) others have done before, whether that is Frost choosing to leave manual work in the factory and become a writer, or whether he is merely observing that those who do more unique things will become more successful.
Is his meaning about success, though? Just because taking the path he did has 'made all the difference', does that mean the difference has been good? It entirely depends upon your reading (and probably your mood at the time of reading!) as to whether you view this positively or negatively. In support of the negative reading, we could take the 'sigh' to be one of regret, or even a positive sigh of fond recollection, after 'ages' have passed and the memory hardly seems real.
Looking back through the poem now, I have only just noticed the marking of the 'wood' as 'yellow'. To me it appears rather odd and could signify a range of things. As 'ages' have passed, I think it might resemble that he was going through the metaphorical 'wood', i.e. the time of the decision, in spring time, i.e. his youth. Others have suggested that it could also signify autumn, another time of change but this time one of decline, perhaps indicating that the decision he took had a diminishing impact upon his life. I am sure there are many other readings of this adjective, and I would love to hear your thoughts.
The hindsight in this poem is what strikes me. Frost knows that once a significant life path has been taken, like choosing to become a poet, the tread cannot be erased and finding your way back to the circumstances for which the other decision could have been taken is nigh on impossible. I think his message is to take the 'less traveled' path, because any 'difference' is surely better than none. In my opinion, he leaves out whether it has been a positive experience for him because he wants to encourage others to take the risk. He is not claiming that it will work well for everyone but he is claiming that the adventure will change you and become a permanent part of you. Take the leap...
Let's have a little background today. An American, living from the 1870s to the 1960s, Frost liked to write about rural life and had an interest in American dialects too. His parents were British in blood and so his works were first published over here. He wrote with philosophical curiosity, perhaps influenced by the troubling times he had experienced in his family life; his father died when Frost was but 11 and his mother later of cancer. Depression and mental illness was also prevalent in all of the members and his wife as well. If you'd like to explore the link between mental health and literature, I am studying a course of the site Futurelearn which deals with the very topic, and I have found it enlightening. Here is the link if you are interested:
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/literature/1/todo/2641
Onto some poetry. I find most of his poems are punchy, very few lines long, so I should be able to really unpack his work and get the most out of it.
The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
As I began reading this poem, I immediately wondered whether the 'road' was the common metaphor for any choice in life, like a 'life path'. By the conclusion, I have understood this to be an accurate reading. The narrator has chosen to do something that either none or not many ('less traveled' implies it nevertheless has been travelled) others have done before, whether that is Frost choosing to leave manual work in the factory and become a writer, or whether he is merely observing that those who do more unique things will become more successful.
Is his meaning about success, though? Just because taking the path he did has 'made all the difference', does that mean the difference has been good? It entirely depends upon your reading (and probably your mood at the time of reading!) as to whether you view this positively or negatively. In support of the negative reading, we could take the 'sigh' to be one of regret, or even a positive sigh of fond recollection, after 'ages' have passed and the memory hardly seems real.
Looking back through the poem now, I have only just noticed the marking of the 'wood' as 'yellow'. To me it appears rather odd and could signify a range of things. As 'ages' have passed, I think it might resemble that he was going through the metaphorical 'wood', i.e. the time of the decision, in spring time, i.e. his youth. Others have suggested that it could also signify autumn, another time of change but this time one of decline, perhaps indicating that the decision he took had a diminishing impact upon his life. I am sure there are many other readings of this adjective, and I would love to hear your thoughts.
The hindsight in this poem is what strikes me. Frost knows that once a significant life path has been taken, like choosing to become a poet, the tread cannot be erased and finding your way back to the circumstances for which the other decision could have been taken is nigh on impossible. I think his message is to take the 'less traveled' path, because any 'difference' is surely better than none. In my opinion, he leaves out whether it has been a positive experience for him because he wants to encourage others to take the risk. He is not claiming that it will work well for everyone but he is claiming that the adventure will change you and become a permanent part of you. Take the leap...
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