Good poets utilize a variety of poetic elements to create a literary masterpiece. Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” is a classic example of the interaction of various elements. This poem contains a vast array of poetic elements including irony, symbolism, ambiguity, and conflict and retrospective patterning. Frost uses these poetic elements to help create the theme in “The Road Not Taken.”
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Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” is a well known poem that is admired by many. Andrew Lakritz, a literary critic notes, “It is a comforting poem, because it seems so clear, and its lovely conclusion, offers a wonderful self-congratulatory kernel of wisdom for the schoolchild to take home” (211). On the surface the poem appears to be a classic dilemma of making choices in life however, a number of different interpretations can be made from the poem, leading the reader to struggle with Frost’s central meaning of the poem. Closely examining the irony, symbolism, ambiguity, conflict and retrospective patterning found in “The Road Not Taken” can help reveal the true theme of the poem.
Faggen believes, “The Road Not Taken” “is an ironic commentary on the autonomy of choice” (par. 1). A great amount of irony is embedded in the poem, but it is difficult to identify and interpret the irony on the first reading. After several reads it becomes apparent the vast amount of irony Frost utilizes in the poem. Katherine Kearns considered the irony found in the final stanza of the poem “lethal” (37). Kearns believes the last stanza is a prediction of the future and the truth is foreshadowed in the present by the poem itself: “the narrator knows where he will end up, and ‘all the difference’ can have made no difference” (37). This leads the reader to believe the traveler’s choice will make little difference in the remainder of his life. The traveler made a choice, it turned out to be a good choice, and he proceeded to live his life. The irony is the traveler believed that the choice would make a big difference, and that he spent so much time making the choice hoping it would make a difference, as well.
The title, “The Road Not Taken” is ironic in itself. “The Road Less Traveled” is a more appropriate title. However, Frost ironically chose to use the title to emphasize the road the narrator did not choose. In an address at a college ceremony, Susan Dentzer explains that she felt Frost utilized verbal irony in his title to express his idea “that the roads we don’t choose to go down in life have as much of a role in shaping the course of our lives as the ones that we do pick” (par.16).
Symbolism is portrayed throughout the poem. One example of symbolism is Frost describing a road in the woods to represent the choices in life. The narrator comes to a fork in the road that “diverged in a yellow wood” (Frost, “Road” 1), and contemplates which road to take. This depiction symbolizes the choices in life people face, and how they make those choices. The narrator in the poem chooses the road “less traveled” and finds it makes a difference in his life once he arrives at his destination (Frost, “Road” 19). However, Frost never explains the difference it made; he lets the reader decide why the road “less traveled” made a difference (Frost, “Road” 19). Another example of symbolism in the poem is found in how the narrator decides which road to take. His decision is based primarily on the wear and tear of the road, and this represents how hastily people make important decisions in life. George Nitchie believes that although in “The Road Not Taken” making a decision seems to be portrayed as “whimsical and unmotivated” the narrator is aware that every choice has unknown consequences (160). Life is full of choices and there are many choices people must make and once made, there is no undoing those decisions. There is no redoing the past experiences except in memories, whether they are full of joy or regret, at the choices made and the road that was chosen to travel in life. Robert Faggen sums it up well when he states “The Road Not Taken” reminds us of the “consequences of the principle of selection in all aspects of life” (par.1).
Ambiguity is found in many different areas in the poem. One example of ambiguity is when the narrator first says the road he takes is “grassy and wanted wear” (Frost, “Road” 8). However, he goes on to say in the next line that the roads were really worn about the same. There is no explanation about the ambiguity in these statements, even though the narrator says it made a difference in the end. The reader does not know if the road chosen was the road less traveled or not.
Another example of ambiguity is found when the narrator says, “Oh I kept the first for another day” (Frost, “Road” 13). Then the narrator says later on in the poem that he will probably never come this way again. Additionally, the narrator says he spends a long time looking at both roads, and wished he could take both roads, but will save one road for a later trip. Reading these statements in context, they make little sense. However, realizing the statements are ambiguous helps the reader understand that Frost may indeed be trying to illustrate that the narrator has no idea where he is going or how his life will end up. The narrator can not make sense of his life, and so, Frost utilizes ambiguities in the poem that do not make sense, as well.
The ambiguities in this poem help to make this poem intriguing and cause the reader to question the poet’s meaning. Although the poem appears short and straightforward, the ambiguities embedded in the poem allow Frost to raise questions in the reader’s mind, making the poem more complicated than it appears. Frost’s ability to utilize ambiguity helps to add intrigue and mystery to his work. Frost once said a poem “is at its best when it is a tantalizing vagueness” (“Letters 588).
Conflict is another poetic element found in “The Road Not Taken”. The main conflict revolves around the narrator’s inability to choose which road to take. The narrator can choose the common, easy road that will ensure success but won’t necessarily bring fulfillment; or choose the “less traveled” road that will be more challenging journey with unknown consequences (Frost, “Road” 19). Most readers of the poem can quickly relate to the narrator’s conflict because this conflict is common in everyday life.
Frost also adds an underlying conflict in the poem.
There is also another underlying conflict found in the poem as well. The narrator notes he probably will never pass this way again. Is there conflict in his life that will keep him from traveling this way again? Is he old, and on one of the last journeys of his life? The complexity of this poem sneaks up on the reader, and the more they understand the complexities, the more perplexing the poem becomes.
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A poetic element found in the closure of “The Road Not Taken” is retrospective patterning. Retrospective patterning is when the author places a word or a phrase at the end of the poem that leads the reader to reconsider their original interpretation of the poem (Feeler, par 1). Frost used this technique when he placed the word “sigh” in the first sentence of the last stanza (“Road” 16). The use of that one word caused me to question my initial interpretation of the theme and prompted me to reread the poem a number of times before grasping a firm understanding of the theme.
Some critics find Frost’s work simple and easy to understand. However, others dig deeper into the words and create deeper meanings. Peter Davison once stated, “To this day, in classrooms and libraries, students and teachers alike struggle with that sweetly puzzling poetry: the enigmatic meaning concealed within simple language, the paradoxical and surprising meaning couched in traditional form” (113). Thus, the elements of this poem are more than what they seem, and so is the ultimate theme of the work. Frost buries many elements in just a few short lines, and while they may seem simple at first glance, underneath they are much more complex and interesting.
It is interesting to note that Frost made a notation about the poem in his journal, noting he actually wrote it with a friend in mind. A Frost biographer noted “This is more about a friend of mine, [Edward Thomas, as Frost noted on other occasions]” (Romine 37). Thus, Frost had a real person and a real situation in mind when he composed the poem, which is yet another important element. Frost often wrote poetry with real situations and friends in mind, and this helps give a real, natural quality to his writing, and makes it seem more concrete to the reader. Lee Jacobus wrote in his commentary that Frost’s work is characterized by “concrete experiences” (573).
“The Road Not Taken” is an enduring poem containing a smorgasbord of poetic elements. The interaction of these elements helps to make this poem a true masterpiece. Jacobus believes, “The achievement of a poem results from the subtle cooperation of all of its elements” (445). To effectively interpret the true meaning or theme of a poem every element must be examined. After analyzing the poetic elements found in “The Road Not Taken”, I have established the following interpretation of the theme. Life is a journey full of choices that will determine an unseen future. The choices though often virtually identical lead to different destinies. Happiness or regret will be determined by each individual’s personal reflection on the choices made and the road chosen during their journey.
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