Deciphering Frost Essay, Research Paper
Deciphering Frost Ambiguous: capable of being understood in two or more possible senses or ways Is our destiny set forth in front of us without the possibility of our own intervention. Robert Frost’s use of ambiguity in the poems “The Road Not Taken,” “Design,” “Mending Wall,” “Stopping By Woods On a Snowy Evening, ” and a few others, gives his poetry a different perspective. Beginning with the time of birth until the time of death, people have to make choices everyday on how to achieve the goals in their lives. One can imagine life as a long winding road with millions of other roads branching off in many directions. The only problem is that life is too short to explore every single road. In addition, it is impossible for anyone to go back to a road that was passed. Robert Frost wrote in “The Road Not Taken,” ” I took the one less traveled by, / and that has made all the difference”. In Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken,” a man is standing in front of two different paths through the woods. He is trying to decide which path would bring him the greatest rewards. Frost finally comes to his decision by looking down each path and choosing the one that “was grassy and wanted wear.” In other words, he does not want to follow in anyone else’s footsteps. He wants to be independent. The traveler knows that the only way to accomplish this is to break away from what society has already set and take the path that had not been traversed. This decision, once started, can not be reversed. However, in choosing the less traveled road, the man says, “Oh, I kept the first for another day!” Although his intention may be to return someday and explore the other path of life, he realizes: I shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere. The title of this poem suggests that Frost’s use of the sigh is referring to regret for not taking the other. Perhaps he is afraid that he will regret his decision to not take the path usually taken. On the other hand, he ends the poem in saying, “I took the one less traveled by, / and that has made all the difference.” This statement suggests that he sees his decision is a positive one; however, it could also be interpreted in a negative way. Frost leaves this to the reader to decide. We are enticed every day of our lives by evils of today’s society. How are we to stop these temptations? The poem “Stopping By Woods On a Snowy Evening” construes what the feelings are like to be tempted and having to stop yourself and do what is right. While a rider sleighs home one evening, he is tempted by the darkness of the woods. Frost suggests that perhaps a mysterious evil lurks in the forest. This, as with almost all of Frosts poems, have a second level of meaning. This poem can be interpreted that is reflects a man’s surrendering to suicide. The woods may be used to represent death. The action of “stopping by the woods” could be referring to death. When he first “stops” and is talking about the owner of the woods, he is stating that this is the land of someone who lives in town and by the time they would reach him if he did “stop by the woods”, he would already be dead. The bells represents a ‘wake-up call’, as if the horse is his conscience. In the last stanza “the woods are lovely, dark and deep” meaning death is a restful place. It is a place to be at peace. The line “but I have miles to go before I sleep” can be interpreted that he cannot lay down in the snow because he has obligations to take care of. These two poems, “The Road Not Taken” and “Stopping By Woods On a Snowy Evening” construct together to form a sub-category of
ambiguity. This two poems both having a sense of pursuing something in life. In “The Road Not Taken” a man is pursuing a goal. The temptations of “Stopping By Woods On a Snowy Evening” could be complications and decisions within the path of life. Should life be followed by ways already set forth fo
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