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Compare And Contrast The Road Not Taken

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Recommended: The Road Not Taken essay introduction

Darika Turner
Mr. Beall
English 251
6 April 2017

Mistaken Interpretations vs True Meaning
Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” is a well-known poem of the twentieth century that has become famous due to its inspirational interpretation by readers (Baym 735). In the poem, the speaker narrates and reflects on his dilemma of choosing one of two diverging roads. After great consideration, the speaker chooses the road that he proclaims as “less traveled”. Most people take this detail in the poem for face value and fail to understand the underlining message of the poem. The simplicity of the poem causes readers to dismiss questions such as, “Is the true interpretation of this poem about the speaker’s choice of the road less traveled?” In David Orr’s …show more content…

However, they differ in each authors perception of the tone that is portrayed by the poems speaker. Orr believes that the tone of the poem is regretful as a result of the speaker’s dissatisfaction with his decisions. George views the poems tone as reflective yet mocking because of the speaker’s judgement of his past and future choices. Although both authors magnify hidden objectives within the poem that can be invisible to readers, I agree with Orr’s explanation of the work because it provides a clear depiction of how the theme is encompassed in every aspect of the poem including the title. The title itself foreshadows what the poem is about and is often taken so literally that its interpretation is mistaken. Unlike what many readers believe, Orr says that the road not taken is just that, it is the road that the speaker does not take. Because the speaker does not take this road but instead chooses the road less traveled, he feels remorseful when he analyzes his decision closely. The speaker states that, “I shall be telling this with a sigh, somewhere ages and ages hence,” announcing the regret of his decision (Baym 736). Someone who is proud of the decisions that they have made would not merely sigh when thinking about them if it impacted their lives in a positive way. Furthermore, Orr is pointing out that the poem isn’t about what the speaker did in his lifetime but what he did not

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The “Road Not Taken” and Sotomayor had a connection of making a decision between different roads to take. They are a little different because in the poem the narrator had to make a decision about two yellow roads and for Sotomayor she had the decision of taking the road of growing up for her dream job. The roads that were available to Sotomayor were about the job she wanted when she grows up but the only problem is she had a decision between to try and become what she wanted to be or grow up to be something else. She looks back at her choices and maybe always thinks that the decision she made she won’t change her mind. Towards to the poem the narrator point of view and attitude toward the poem is that once he made the decision he thinks and says

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In the poem "The Road Not Taken," the speaker faces a similar choice of paths. The speaker is presented with two paths and has to choose which one to take. The speaker eventually chooses the less traveled path, knowing that it will make all the difference in their life. The speaker understands that the road they choose will shape their life and that choosing the less traveled path will lead to greater

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Detroit: Gale, 2006. Literature Resource Center. Web. 1 Nov. 2015. Nathan Cervo notes the tragic irony of Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken" in this critical essay.

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He achieves this by making a summarizing statement about how people over 60 tend to reflect on life and the impact of their decisions. He shifts his focus to the overall significance of the piece when he declares, “Over 60 we are fascinated by the mystery of our life, why roads were taken and not taken, and our children encourage this as they develop a sense of family history” (98-101). Murray conveys to the audience that people over 60 often have the tendency to reflect on major events in their life and attempt to discover a reason for why they made they the life choices that they made. This allusion calls the Frost poem to mind without mentioning it explicitly. The author utilizes the rhetorical device to conclude his writing and synopsize its significance.

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The main theme of the poem is regret and this is shown throughout the poem numerous times. The line “Oh, I kept the first for another day” indicates that the individual is already regretting his decision and thinking about the other path by saying he will come back to it in the future. A key element that adds to the mood of this line is “oh” which shows the speakers personal emotions and affection for his decision. Another indication of regret is towards the last stanza. This is where we see that there is hesitation in the speaker about their decision and what they have done.

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