NON-AFRICAN POETRY Comment on Frost's use of symbolism in The Road Not Taken.

Answer Details

Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken is a deceptively simple poem about a traveller choosing between two paths in a wood. Its power lies almost entirely in its symbolism, for the literal choice of a road stands for the larger choices that shape a human life.

The two roads as life's choices. The central symbol is the fork where two roads diverge in a yellow wood. Literally the persona must decide which path to walk, but symbolically the roads represent the alternative courses open to a person at a moment of decision. The fork is any crossroads in life where one must choose one direction and give up another.

The yellow wood as time and life. The setting, a wood in autumn with yellow leaves, is itself symbolic. Autumn suggests the passing of time and a mature stage of life, hinting that the choices we make occur within the limits of a fleeting existence and cannot easily be undone.

The road less travelled as individuality. The persona claims to have taken the road that was grassier and less worn, the one less travelled by. This symbolises the choice of the unconventional, independent path rather than the well-trodden way of the crowd. It represents individuality and the willingness to make a distinctive personal choice.

The impossibility of return. The persona's remark that he doubts he will ever come back to try the other road symbolises the irreversibility of life's decisions. Once a course is chosen, time carries us forward and the abandoned alternative is lost, so that every choice involves permanent loss as well as gain.

The sigh and the future looking back. The persona imagines telling this story with a sigh ages and ages hence, claiming his choice made all the difference. This symbolises how people look back on the decisive moments of their lives and attribute their whole destiny to them, though the two roads were in truth much alike. Frost thus hints, with gentle irony, at how we construct meaning around our choices.

Conclusion. Through the symbols of the diverging roads, the autumn wood, the less-travelled path and the irreversible journey, Frost transforms a simple walk into a meditation on decision, individuality and the lasting consequences of the choices that shape a life.