Thursday, May 21, 2009
The Road Not Taken
For years I was a fan of Robert Frost's poem, The Road Not Taken, however this time around, I'm not quite sure. I still enjoy the imagery and between of the poem, yet there is a lingering sense of regret in the poem. The emphasis of the poem, including the title is about the road the author didn't take. The irony is that both roads were "about the same, and both that morning equally lay..." so why would Frost emphasize the road he didn't take? I concentrate on the line, "I shall be telling this with a sigh..." and argue that Frost was regretting past decisions in his life, he simply took the "wrong" road. When I look at the poem in this light, I'm drawn away from it. In the past, the poem always meant, be unique and don't take the same road as everyone else. In this reading, I still draw the same conclusion, however, Frost's regret contradicts my own personal beliefs. I believe firmly that the no matter the decision I have made in the past, I can't regret it, because at the time it was what I wanted to do and it has gotten where I am today, good or bad.
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I will definitely say that Dr. Dyer (and the class as a whole) gave me a different way to look at the poem and it left me feeling somewhat uncertain as well.
ReplyDeleteOf course I've never felt that taking a path just because it's the one others haven't taken means being unique. I think genuine uniqueness comes from taking the road one wants to take because they want to take it. Conformity is conformity whether one goes the same way as everyone, or goes the opposite way simply because it's the opposite way. Either route one is allowing others to dictate one's path. So maybe the sigh isn't because he regrets anything, really, merely that he can't help but wonder about the differences. He's curious, and a curiosity that you can never sate is a particularly annoying thing.
Maybe I just need a nap.