Clarifying “The Road Not Taken” By Robert Frost

Jeffrey R.

April 18, 2011

Clarifying “The Road Not Taken” By Robert Frost

In the Poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost the tone portrayed in the poem is didactic. It teaches a moral lesson towards human and regular life decisions. The main conflict in the poem revolves around a man choosing between two different lifestyles. It depicts the two obstacles one man’s struggled between. He analyzed both roads to see what benefited him the most and chose the one that was least taken. He didn’t let any other’s decisions reflect on his lifestyles.

            In the poem Frost uses rhetorical devices such as diction. He uses words such as, “better” to recite the claim. He also uses “trodden black” to describe that no other steps are left by the travelers before him. He states, “Yellow Wood” defining the season of the poem, which is in Autumn/ Fall. Uses “Undergrowth” for a preview of each road of life.

            In the first stanza Frost introduces the readers to the two paths of life. He describes it as a yellow wood meaning it is Fall. He depicts how he stares at the roads to analyze the better path. In the second stanza he describes how he decides to take the path that looks greener and brighter. He knows that others decisions did not make him follow the crowd. After he concludes that both roads are equally the same.

In the third stanza Frost illustrates how both roads are covered equally with leaves. He also describes how no one has yet taken the roads meaning no one has passed through. He is determined to take the road he had already chosen, so therefore he will leave the other road for another day. He concludes that his decision will create a great impact towards his lifestyle. In later years he will tell other family members or friends about the decisions he’s made either way he know that he will not regret it because he committed the right choice.

Robert Frost used diction and attention to detail to achieve a didactic tone in his poem “The Road Not Taken”. His tone depicts the daily life scene of making choices either good ones or bad. Somehow we all learn from the small decisions we make and they have a great impact towards our life. The poem teaches us a lesson and its up to us whether we learn from it or not. We know that the road we take makes us who we are.