![]() ![]() 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. Victorian. Performed by the San Jose Symphonic Choir. Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both. You may access a video of the performance here. Robert Frost is spot on that we all look back and tell stories about our lives in an attempt to make sense of them.Choose from one of the following options:ġ) You may choose to read the poem on your own-aloud or silently.Ģ) You may partner up with a friend and read the poem to each other.ģ) If you would like to watch Robert Frost reciting his poem, click here for a video.Ĥ) If you are musically-inclined, you may choose to listen to the choral arrangement of Frost's poem. Heartwarming illustrations of a young boy journeying through a yellow wood accompany the original text of the poem. Personally, I find the real meaning of the poem so much more interesting and relevant than the flawed interpretation I had previously. For all of lifes adventures comes The Road Not Taken, which The New York TimesBook Review calls 'a book that begs rereading.'This beautifully illustrated companion is inspired by Robert Frosts perennial poem. So – maybe many of you knew of this interpretation of the poem and I was not paying attention the day we read this poem in high school or it’s a reflection of my career-preparation major in college (Finance). Written in 1915 in England, 'The Road Not Taken' is one of Robert Frostsand the worldsmost well-known poems. The poem isn’t a salute to can-do individualism it’s a commentary on the self-deception we practice when constructing the story of our own lives. He speaker will be claiming “ages and ages hence” that his decision made “all the difference” only because this is the kind of claim we make when we want to comfort or blame ourselves by assuming that our current position is the product of our own choices (as opposed to what was chosen for us or allotted to us by chance). The stanza is retrospective as the traveler/poet looks back on his decision – “ages and ages hence” – and comments how we create a life through the poetic fictions that we create about it to give it, and ourselves, meaning. In the ending stanza he basically says that he thinks in the future he’ll just make up a story about having taken the lesser worn path. What? He says he comes across a fork in the road but both paths looked equally traveled! There appears to be no difference in the paths! They were both “just as fair” and “had worn about the same.” They both were covered with leaves! 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. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. 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,Īnd both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. 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 And, The Road not Taken is not an exception for this but one of his. Yesterday I learned from my daughter that my understanding of this poem is TOTALLY WRONG! Here’s the whole poem, see if you pick up on what it really says: Basically, Frosts writing is very much colloquial but at the same time very suggestive. ![]() My reasoning was based on its very famous ending line: “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.“ Until yesterday, I used to think that the poem was all about individualism: the benefits of thinking differently, being your own person and taking the less traveled path. I feel bad about that because I really love Robert Frost, or at least the idea of him. This book contains two of those and then several that left no impression on me. This book opens by discussing the cultural ubiquity of this poem (used in car advertisements, graduation ceremonies, etc.), and then moves on to a close reading of the poem itself. If you are like me, you probably are totally wrong about its true message. Out of all Robert Frost's works, The Road Not Taken, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, and Birches are my favorites, over and above any other poet. The Road Not Taken is a poem that everyone is familiar with, but which 'almost everyone gets wrong', as this books subtitle indicates. The Road Not Taken may be the most well-known poem in America.
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