The Road Not Taken is one of the most well-known poems by American poet Robert Frost.

“A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom.”   --------------  Robert Frost

The Road Not Taken is one of the most well-known poems by American poet Robert Frost. Though the poem did not intend to put arduous phrases into the lines, the cadence is vivid, light and relaxed, and the described scenario is fascinating but quiet – a forest with yellowish-orange leaves covering the floor wholly, but with the two paths clearly distinguished. With direct simple words used, not only did the poet successfully created a peaceful atmosphere, but also brought about a philosophic lesson which provides me with infinite insights in making decisions in the future.

The poet had implied quite a lot of poetic devices in order to maintain the poem in a structured manner and to express himself with the assistance of those literary terms. Firstly, when reading aloud this poem, it is not difficult to spot out the rhythm scheme of “a-b-a-a-c”, which makes the poem a more pleased reading, as well catchier and easier to be memorized. In the first and third stanza, sentences like “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood”, “And both that morning equally lay” and “In leaves no step had trodden black” are the concrete examples of how imagery is used in the poem. The devices used allows me to depict the actual circumstance and visualize the dilemma the poet was facing, in which he was unable to take a pick of which way to go. In addition, from the line “because it was grassy and wanted wear” in the second stanza, the road, being an object, is described to have a desire. The use of personification provides the poem with a more vivid and lively cadence, as mentioned before. Moreover, the word “sigh” in stanza four, which is an adoption of onomatopoeia, emphasizes the traveler’s depression and distress for the outcome of the decision he has made. In fact, after reading the poem over and over for several times, I discovered that the poet was symbolizing the road as the difficulties ahead of him, that he was confused and puzzled.

      The poem seems to be describing the mood of the traveler, in which he hesitated for a long period of time when encountering a fork in a woodland; nevertheless, through this poem, I am convinced that WE are the ones who control our own destiny – we may regret for what we have given up at the moment, but without giving ups we would not have the chance to welcome another new page of life. Though I am still an adolescent and still not mature enough to make earthshaking decisions (like getting married or purchasing a house, etc), but choosing elective subjects to be studied in the senior forms was one of the critical moments in my life as well. Apart from not knowing which subject to take, due to the fearful and distrust towards the new form of examination, I once struggled whether to stay at Hong Kong or to study overseas. I could not foresee my future but could only visualize my learning path behind a pair of blurred spectacles. “I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” Incontrovertibly, there are many reasons for me to carry on my study in SPCC; but I believed that exposing myself in risks or new challenges does not necessarily equal to failure, and now see how I enjoy my busy but fruitful secondary school life now! :D

I appreciate Robert Frost’s poet writing skills, for he can imply profound meaning and lessons onto many negligible and trivial daily experiences, and he was professional in using specific matters to present some abstract ideas. Take this poem as an example: the poet used one of the million paths in the enormous forest as a metaphor for the decisions made in our life.
    Who can ever tell if your decision made is right or wrong?