This particular poem, as Frost has pointed out many times, is complex and tricky in that most people miss what’s between the lines. The poem was published in 1916 and upon further research, it is said that he wrote the poem about a friend he had that was indecisive. Supposedly, this friend would make a decision and spend a fair amount of time believing the other option was better and that he should have picked it. I believe this could be classified as a contemporary piece as it is still relatable.
When I first read the poem, I believed that it was about a man who came to a fork in the road and took a good amount of time considering both options and showing how they were different, but equally traveled. The man wants to travel both, but cannot and fears he will look back upon this decision with a sigh, for he didn’t pick the other one. The poem ends with the idea that he took the path less traveled by and that that has somehow made a difference for him. Upon further inspection, one could almost speculate that because he contradicts himself when it comes to how often the roads are traveled, that he is lying to himself in the end to help himself feel better. This gives us the feeling of a wolf in sheep’s clothing as he places a false claim to how he took the one less traveled by. Overall, it shows how indecisive he is and the lack of confidence that he won’t pick the right one, but a sense of understanding that this path less traveled by is a defining point in his life.
The tone of this piece of work is almost a nostalgic and apologetic one as he wants to travel both, but cannot. He uses the line "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood," twice and this could mean the coming of fall or it could symbolize a seasoned man, one who has entered into young adulthood and has to make the important decision of which path he wants his life to go in. The irony is that there is no right path, but the chosen path and the other path. And the reference to ages and ages told with a sigh may not be about the decision at all, but the moments that mark the passing of life. In a sense, it is his own sole path, so this could be where the line the road less traveled by comes into play.
I picked this particular work, because Frost has a way of taking simple phrases and turning them around into tricky meanings and sub-meanings that has his audience guessing and re-guessing. Also, his poem greatly captures that point in life where we come to an impasse and struggle to choose the "right" path. It is because of the relevance and relatability of the idea of the poem that makes it so popular. It capture indecisions, regret, wonder of what was lost, and the passing of life all in four stanzas and shows us that while people go through similar choices, our path is unique and chosen by us.
