Figurative Language 2: Chapter 6

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

            Robert Frost employs the use of a symbol, the forked road, to reveal his desire for infinite exploration. The road represents a choice in the speaker’s life. The poem revolves around a person walking in the woods, forced to choose between two equally promising roads. The speaker can only choose one path, and therefore expresses his sorrow: “And sorry I could not travel both” (2). He tells himself that he will explore one road and then come back and explore the other, but deep down he knows that once a decision is made there is no turning back. With both roads being so similar, “And both that morning equally lay/ In leaves no step had trodden black” (11-12), there comes to question if the speaker makes the correct choice. Although the reader will never know the speaker’s real-life choice, one can assume it emerges successful: “I shall be telling this with a sigh/ Somewhere ages and ages hence” (16-17). Both choices are likewise appealing, but the speaker chooses the one that will benefit him down the road and have a greater impact on his life. He chooses the one that will eventually put him in the position to accurately tell others about it. All of the decisions the speaker makes results in one overarching theme: forging one’s own path leads not only to individuality, but also to success. He says, “I took the one less traveled by,/ And that has made all the difference” (19-20). The speaker’s courage trumps his natural inclination to travel the “safer” route. He chooses the path that less people have traveled and finds it advantageous. His life choices, whether resulting in success or failure, represent one’s natural belief in free will and self determination. This speaker will forever crave the experiences he has to forgo, but the forked road will always represent his ability to make his own choices, permanently affecting his future.