Introduction: “The Road Not Taken” and “Stopping by Woods”
Wavering, hesitation, reluctance; these words immediately comes to mind when we call to make a choice in life when reading “The Road Not Taken” and “Stopping by Woods” by Frost. Everybody has some options at every point of his life and he is to make a choice based on the rational decision after long or short deliberations. This choice made reviewing the topical situation takes a person on the road to ideal solution of the issue at hand. However, sometimes the same choice lead to highly tough situation where both of the choices or all other available choices seem equally good or equally bad and person has to choose one or the other based on his rational judgment. Poetry is fraught with the theme of such choices made by “The Road Not Taken” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost have demonstrated how the action of making a choice and selection an option weighs heavily upon a person’s mind. The first one is about when the life time decision is made and second is perhaps when the poet has had some liking for natural but he was also under moral obligations. Whatever the case is both the poems “The Road Not Taken” as well as “Stopping by Woods” shows the same thing as to what choices are there, nature of decisions to select one and limits on the decision to make ideal solutions.
Choices in “The Road Not Taken” and “Stopping by Woods”
In “The Road Not Taken” frost immediately discloses his choice “Two roads diverged in yellow wood, / And sorry I could not take travel both” (The Road Not Taken 1-2) which is also an expression of remorse that both seems equally good but he cannot take both at the same time. He is to leave one and chose the other and when one is left, there is no way he can come to it later in life. This is where the youth comes and it is perhaps his choice of career as a poet that he has made. In fact, Frost calls attention only to the role of human choice. A second target was the notion that “whatever choice we make, we make at our peril” (Montiero, On “The Road Not Take”). However, he also seems to be hell bent on keeping the other “I kept the first for another day” (12) which shows that he does not want to leave the first and has some thinking in his mind that he might turn back and take it but it is not possible as he is doubtful of his return in the future. However, he is satisfied that the type of choices he has, he has made the second one “I took the one less travelled by” (19) that no other person have taken. Similarly, in “Stopping by Woods on a Snowing Evening” he has same two types of choices either to watch the woods and enjoy the nature at this hour of the evening or leave it as he is forced to leave. He is lured by the beauty “The woods are lovely, dark and deep” (13) and he has almost there to enjoy it. However, the issue is that he has to go to perform his mundane responsibilities. He hesitates and “It is an [this] internal will and force that keeps the speaker unsettled in the few moments that he stops to watch the woods fill up with snow” (Pederson). Even his little horse in is wavering whether to stop and see or leave and finaly the poet is weighed down by the other choice that is “But I have promises to keep” (14) that is demands more urgency on the part of the poet.
Nature of Decisions in “The Road Not Taken” and “Stopping by Woods”
The decision in both the cases depend on paragmtic nature. In “The Road Not Taken” the decision depends on whether it would prove fruitful for futrue and that he would make some gains for it is “I took the one less travelled by” (The Road Not Taken 19) which means that in career choice he has made the decision not made but all and sundary “And that has made all the differnce” (20) showing where the poet stands now as it is the result of the same decision that he has made. The decision was hard and tough but the problem is that he has to made in in any way which is very much clear from the first stanza that “And I looked one as far as I could” (4) but ultimately he has to choose the one that is “less travelled by” (19). The decision, whether it is arbitrary or not, depends solely on him at this point. Same thing is in “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” where he comes to pass by a woods and he is fully aware that he can enjoy it as long as he could despite the fact that his little horse is also aware of his mental wavering. But he has two choices and his decision depends on rational thinking of that “But I have promises to keep” (Stopping by Woods 12) and there is along distance that he has to cover to keep his words. This is the obligation of mundane responsibilities that is weighing heavy upon him, ultimately forcing him to abandon the first choice and keep the second to leave for promises. The situation is the same whether he is to “go forward to the touch,” or will he “stand still in wonderment and let him pass by” in the anecdote” (Montiero).
Limits in “The Road Not Taken” and “Stopping by Woods”
The point of limitation is not so easy to decide as in “The Road Not Taken” he is limited by his choice that both roads are the same and “both that morning equally lay” (The Road Not Taken 11) where he is to think about the one not have been trodden as much as the other one, but the issue is both are almost the same. This takes carefull and deliberate thinking in the face of only two equal choices and finally he, depending on his own decision, made the ideal choice of “I took the one less travelled by” (19) which was to last long for him and set his career path. Similarly, in “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” he has not only two choices, but also the worldly limitation of covering a long distance before he has to reach home and fulfill his promises, for he knows mundane obligations are urgent that mere enjoyment of nature “And miles to go before I sleep” (Stopping by Woods 16) is another choice before him. The repetition of this sentence is a reminder of the limit that he has to see before leaving.
Conclusion: “The Road Not Taken” and “Stopping by Woods”
Summing up the debate, it is clear that both the poems have presented the speaker two choices, the hard deliberation in making the final decision and limitations before making the ideal solution and that is that the speaker has to be pragmatic in his choice. First the choice of road is the choice of career that everybody is to make in life and second the choice to enjoy nature and keep mundane promises also puts the same burden on mind to make a choice. Therefore, the weight of choice in both the poems is equally difficult not only involving types of choice, but also the situation in which the decision is to be made and finally to choose the decision to go for ideal solution.
Works Cited: “The Road Not Taken” and “Stopping by Woods”
- Frost, Robert. Robert Frost’s Poems. Edited by Louis Untermeyer, Washington Square Press, 1968.
- Montiero, George. “On ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’.” 2003. 07 December 2013 http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/frost/woods.htm.
- Montiero, George. “On ‘The Road Not Taken’.” 2003. 27 December 2013 http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/frost/road.htm.
- Pederson, Steve. “‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’: A Burkean/Ecocritical Reading.” n.d. 07 December 2013 http://rhetoric.sdsu.edu/lore/6_1/6.5_pederson.pdf.
Three Relevant Questions: “The Road Not Taken” and “Stopping by Woods”
- How does Robert Frost use nature and the imagery of woods in both “The Road Not Taken” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” to convey deeper meanings and themes in the poems?
- In “The Road Not Taken,” the speaker reflects on a choice that has made all the difference in their life, while in “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” the speaker contemplates the beauty of nature. Compare and contrast the themes of individual choice and the appreciation of nature in these two poems.
- Analyze the tone and mood in both “The Road Not Taken” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” How does Frost use language and poetic devices to evoke specific emotions in each poem, and what impact does this have on the reader’s interpretation of the works?
