Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”: Graduation, Privilege, and Our Meta-Narratives

Last updated on: June 1, 2015 at 4:32 pm by Rebecca Florence Miller

Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”: Graduation, Privilege, and Our Meta-Narratives 2015-06-01T16:32:20-06:00 Rebecca Florence Miller

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Most likely, everything you know about Robert Frost’s most famous poem, “The Road Not Taken,” is wrong.

Most of us know only the last three lines of the poem:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

You can read the whole poem here.

Most people think of this poem as inspirational schmaltz—a brave, inspired anthem of individuality and willingness to go against the crowd. Perhaps even a celebration of the American Dream! Except, that isn’t what the poem is getting at at all.

The Daunting Challenge of Decision-Making

As the poem opens, the narrator describes a “fork in the road” that he came to in the woods one day, early in his life. He stood at this fork, looking down two separate pathways. He knew he had to make a decision. He could not clone himself or appear simultaneously in two places at the same time. He had to choose one or the other. This is a common dilemma that young people, in particular, face. Many fear commitment to a career path or to a marriage partner. It is daunting to consider “I could not travel both / And be one traveler,” as Frost writes. Saying “yes” to anything (even to choices such as open marriage or itinerant living) categorically means saying “no” to other options. While there is always the chance for course correction later in life, there is no going back to this time, this one choice.

The struggle to make a decision is particularly poignant this time of the year, as young people graduate from high school and college. Suddenly, their parents no longer direct the course of their lives. They face a crossroads and must own decisions for themselves. They can put off the decision, but that indecision itself is a decision that will take them down a certain path and away from another path.

The Insidious Nature of Personal Mythologies

The narrator of the poem goes on to describe his long indecision, considering which of two paths to take. The first path is untrodden, covered by undergrowth (at least at first sight). The second path is easier to a certain extent (at least at first sight): it is grassy and perhaps an easier walk. But then again, the narrator corrects himself. This is the key point: He describes the second path as “just as fair” as the first and acknowledges that “the passing there / Had worn them really about the same.” He also adds, “both that morning equally lay / In leaves no step had trodden black.” The paths are very, very similarly worn and traveled. Although the ending we all know seems to suggest that one path was better than the other, the truth is that they really were quite equivalent in many ways.

You see, the narrator can’t help himself; even as he tries to honestly recount his biographical choices, he still has a tendency to overlay them with personal mythology.

He goes on to describe the way he rationalized his decision. He would take the second path, but he could always come back and take the first later! (And yet, he sadly acknowledges that it was highly unlikely that he would ever return.)

Now comes the final and most important stanza.

Previous Post

May 29, 2015

Leah Libresco's Arriving at Amen: Tradition, Freshly Articulated

Next Post

June 8, 2015 Suggest a Topic for Me to Blog

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Books Charis Christian Witness Church Year Conversation Creativity Cultural Engagement Curiosity Current Events Film Jesus Lectionary Message Literature Lutheran Theology Politics Story Television Theology Uncategorized

Select a Month December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 December 2016 October 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz