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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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