As Thompson writes, Frost “could never bear to tell the truth about the failure of this lyric to perform as he intended it. Yet even Thomas needed explicit instructions-indeed, six entire letters-in order to appreciate the series of double games played in “The Road Not Taken.” That misperception galled Frost. ![]() I doubt if you can get anybody to see the fun of the thing without showing them & advising them which kind of laugh they are to turn on.”Įdward Thomas was one of the keenest literary thinkers of his time, and the poem was meant to capture aspects of his own personality and past. I wonder if it was because you were trying too much out of regard for me that you failed to see that the sigh was a mock sigh, hypocritical for the fun of the I don’t suppose I was ever sorry for any thing I ever did except by assumption to see how it would feel.”Ħ. Thomas responds on July 11, 1915: “You have got me again over the Path not taken & no mistake. In the spring of 1915, Frost sent an envelope to Edward Thomas that contained only one item: a draft of “The Road Not Taken,” under the title “Two Roads.” According to Lawrance Thompson, Frost had been inspired to write the poem by Thomas’s habit of regretting whatever path the pair took during their long walks in the countryside-an impulse that Frost equated with the romantic predisposition for “crying over what might have been.” Frost, Thompson writes, believed that his friend “would take the poem as a gentle joke and would protest, ‘Stop teasing me.’”ĥ. Frost writes back on June 26, 1915: “Methinks thou strikest too hard in so small a matter. “The Road Not Taken” has confused audiences literally from the beginning. Would be pretty sure to fall forward over them in the dark.įorward, you understand, and in the dark.įROST TO LEONIDAS W. Set to trip the reader head foremost into the boundless.Įver since infancy I have had the habit of leaving myīlocks carts chairs and such like ordinaries where people We may look back on a sunset or a blooming flower with a sense of longing, but we can never truly go back to that moment in time.My poems-I should suppose everybody’s poems-are all As the poem suggests, the natural world is full of moments of beauty and wonder that are often fleeting and impossible to recapture. The theme of regret can also be read as a reflection of the natural world. ![]() The choices we make in life are just as fleeting and ephemeral, and we must learn to appreciate the beauty of the present moment. The seasons change, the weather shifts, and the landscape is in a constant state of flux. Once again, this idea of the impermanence of our choices can be read as a reflection of the natural world. ![]() The poem’s conclusion reinforces the natural atmosphere with the final line “And that has made all the difference.” He is reflecting on the paths he had taken and the unknown road that lies ahead of him. The mood is peaceful, and the speaker seems to be at one with nature. The tone is contemplative and reflective, as if the speaker is observing the natural world around him. The poem’s opening lines evoke the beauty and diversity of the natural world, and the different paths that we can take through it.įinally, the poem’s mood and tone are reflective of nature. The “grassy” path suggests a landscape that is lush and green, while the “less traveled” path implies a wilder, more rugged terrain. However, the opening lines of the poem can also be read as a description of the natural world. Nature is a dominant theme throughout the poem. The mention of the path in the woods is an indication that the speaker is in a natural environment. The speaker describes the woods as a “yellow wood” which suggests that it is autumn, and the leaves on the trees are changing color. However, one of the most common interpretations is that the poem is a nature poem which explores the themes of change, impermanence, and the beauty of the natural world.įirstly, the setting of the poem is in the woods. The poem has been analyzed and interpreted in many ways. “ The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost is one of the most popular and widely studied poems in the world.
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