The Road Not Taken By 谢爱仪 NO.19 W h a t i s t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e o f t h e t i t l e o f t h e p o e m ?

A BAB Which one would you like to take?

The Road not Taken The image: the road The theme: take the road not taken

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN Two roads diverged in a yellow wood And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference

The image The most common literary technique in the poem is symbolism. The Road in the poem obviously represents the direction of life, while the wood symbolizes our lives. The Road not Taken

The image The wood---life Life is like the wood because no one can clearly see or predict what will happen in the future due to the obstacles in the way such as branches and bushes, which blind our eyes.

Future is unpredictable bent into undergrowth two roads diverged also labyrinthian better claim: grassy, wanted wear more challenging & adventurous

Which one is not taken? By whom? Two choices

The Theme Which one to take, that is the question! However, many of us agree that we would like to choose the more traveled path because we are more likely to know what the coming result is. Taking the more challenging way is too threatening or difficult for an average person. Apparently the road not taken by the majority is the second one—grassy and wanted wear.

The poet proposed: Take the road which is not taken. No. I do not agree with you.

Initially, the poet depicted the uncertainty and the mental suffering of making choices.. Before making his decision, the poet had his mental struggle, [L3] “ be one traveler, long I stood ”. After comparing the two roads, he [L13] “ kept the first for another day ”. However, he knew there was no chance to return, though he stated that “ I doubted if I should ever come back. ” [L15]

The poet knew he had only one life and he would like to lead a different one. Gradually, he gained confidence in his choice. At the end of the poem he urged and encouraged that people should try something new instead of following others. ‘I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference’.

The last point is the ambiguity we see in the poem. Frost is too wise to be absolute. He never denied every possibility. Balancing each choice, he made his proposal but still left room for readers to have their final say.

前途是光明的, 道路是曲折的. References: nottaken.htm Thank you!