A good devotional reading, but I have to point out that it falls into the very common snare of misreading Frost’s masterpiece. But, as it works for the meditation, it’s not a huge problem. And (ironically?) this reading is the one most readers travel upon.
Hi Brett! You're right that Frost initially wrote the poem as a joke for a friend. However, almost no one (including the person the joke was aimed at) interpreted "The Road Not Taken" in the manner that Frost intended. In the film "Dead Poets Society," Robin Williams’ character, Mr. Keating, interprets the poem as a rallying cry for holding fast to your own beliefs, regardless of how “odd or unpopular” they may be. In my reading of the poem, I attempt to juxtapose Frost’s road with Christ’s road to Golgotha—alongside the “less traveled” road we walk as followers of Christ. Would love to hear how this poem meets you, as a reader, if you have time to share! Thanks for your comments, Brett.
Yes. I'll give a gloss on what I think the language Frost chose actually says. (Because I love talking about poetry! Please don't read any emotion into it but nerdy joy and fraternity/sorority.) First of all, the title he's chosen is "The Road Not Taken", which I take to refer to the road the speaker did not take, thereby making the poem more about those unknown not-taken paths. The main thing I think people don't take into consideration is that Frost goes out of his way to tell us that the roads "were really about the same" and that "both that morning equal lay". I think we exaggerate the difference between the two. The speaker's choice seems almost arbitrary: wanting to "travel both", he settles for the one that had "perhaps the better claim". I think that "perhaps" is crucial and points back to the fact that the roads "that morning" are pretty much the same. The final stanza introduces a predictive timeshift to "ages and ages hence". It is then--long after he has forgotten the actual look of the two roads--that he claims it was "less traveled by". To me, this is a poem about looking back on our flippant youthful choices and (incorrectly) imbuing them with the power and weight to "[make] all the difference". The sigh with which he recollects the choice helps to further build an aura of self-mythologizing around his reverie. And meanwhile, the title is asking us to consider "the road not taken" (not "the road less traveled" as many will incorrectly title the poem in conversation). Anyone else want to jump on the close-reading train and say what they see?
Welcome aboard, Brett! Love nerding out with other poetry fans. Appreciate your insight, too—you raise some great points. In fact, I kept stumbling over that particular line of the poem myself. Knowing that Frost's original intent was to make fun of a friend who, in Frost's mind, needlessly agonized over his choice of footpaths helps both of us to read that line for what it was.
I can easily place myself inside your reading, too—"looking back on...flippant youthful choices and (incorrectly) imbuing them with...power and weight." What you share about our tendency, as humans, to "self-mythologize" rings true as well.
A good devotional reading, but I have to point out that it falls into the very common snare of misreading Frost’s masterpiece. But, as it works for the meditation, it’s not a huge problem. And (ironically?) this reading is the one most readers travel upon.
Hi Brett! You're right that Frost initially wrote the poem as a joke for a friend. However, almost no one (including the person the joke was aimed at) interpreted "The Road Not Taken" in the manner that Frost intended. In the film "Dead Poets Society," Robin Williams’ character, Mr. Keating, interprets the poem as a rallying cry for holding fast to your own beliefs, regardless of how “odd or unpopular” they may be. In my reading of the poem, I attempt to juxtapose Frost’s road with Christ’s road to Golgotha—alongside the “less traveled” road we walk as followers of Christ. Would love to hear how this poem meets you, as a reader, if you have time to share! Thanks for your comments, Brett.
Yes. I'll give a gloss on what I think the language Frost chose actually says. (Because I love talking about poetry! Please don't read any emotion into it but nerdy joy and fraternity/sorority.) First of all, the title he's chosen is "The Road Not Taken", which I take to refer to the road the speaker did not take, thereby making the poem more about those unknown not-taken paths. The main thing I think people don't take into consideration is that Frost goes out of his way to tell us that the roads "were really about the same" and that "both that morning equal lay". I think we exaggerate the difference between the two. The speaker's choice seems almost arbitrary: wanting to "travel both", he settles for the one that had "perhaps the better claim". I think that "perhaps" is crucial and points back to the fact that the roads "that morning" are pretty much the same. The final stanza introduces a predictive timeshift to "ages and ages hence". It is then--long after he has forgotten the actual look of the two roads--that he claims it was "less traveled by". To me, this is a poem about looking back on our flippant youthful choices and (incorrectly) imbuing them with the power and weight to "[make] all the difference". The sigh with which he recollects the choice helps to further build an aura of self-mythologizing around his reverie. And meanwhile, the title is asking us to consider "the road not taken" (not "the road less traveled" as many will incorrectly title the poem in conversation). Anyone else want to jump on the close-reading train and say what they see?
Welcome aboard, Brett! Love nerding out with other poetry fans. Appreciate your insight, too—you raise some great points. In fact, I kept stumbling over that particular line of the poem myself. Knowing that Frost's original intent was to make fun of a friend who, in Frost's mind, needlessly agonized over his choice of footpaths helps both of us to read that line for what it was.
I can easily place myself inside your reading, too—"looking back on...flippant youthful choices and (incorrectly) imbuing them with...power and weight." What you share about our tendency, as humans, to "self-mythologize" rings true as well.
Thanks again for chiming in, Brett!
Another feast, Heather. Thank you for your thoughtfulness and insight as we sojourn through Lent.
Appreciate your generous words, Karen! As always, your encouragement is a gift.
This is truly beautiful and worthy of coming back to often, as necessary.
Grateful it resonated with you, Suzanne!
Thank you for your words and insight.
Thank you for reading, Shelly!