![]() ![]() Thus, when Frost discusses taking a walk in the woods and coming to a place where a choice must be made, the reader has already made the jump, deep within their mind, that this poem must have something to say about life. “Accordingly, we talk about things the way we conceive of them, and this is fashioned through and grounded in experience and culture: our basic conceptual system ‘is fundamentally metaphoric in nature’” (Bailey, 2003). ![]() In other words, we are only able to discuss our ideas and beliefs with others through the use of the conceptual metaphor, which requires a shared language and cultural base and serves as a means by which we define ourselves. ![]() “Lakoff and Johnson revealed, through theoretical argument supported by empirical investigation, the centrality of metaphor to thought exemplified in the ubiquity of metaphorical forms in everyday, conventional language” (Bailey, 2003). It is an idea that is brought forward by Lakoff and Johnson that illustrates that this connection is made at such a deep level that it cannot be avoided. Generally speaking, a conceptual metaphor is defined as a metaphor “that is so basic in the way people think about something that they fail to perceive that it is a metaphor” (“Conceptual Metaphor”, 2007). The conceptual metaphor that links ‘life’ with ‘journey’ is culturally ingrained in nearly every Western-born individual. According to Larry Finger (1978), he once told an audience, “You have to be careful of that one it’s a tricky poem – very tricky” when referring to “The Road Not Taken.” While the conceptual metaphor still applies, a close reading of the textual cues of the poem indicate that Frost is not recommending which road should be selected, only providing a warning that, once selected, it is impossible to know what might have been missed on the other way. It isn’t bad advice, but it isn’t exactly what Frost had in mind when he wrote it. Pulling from the conceptual metaphor that life is a journey, this essentially translates to the concept that individuals should strive to follow their own path in life rather than attempting to follow the paths that have been mapped out for them by others. An example of this is the mistaken concept by many people that Frost is recommending they take the road less traveled by as a means of living an independent and happy lifestyle. We want to hear what you think about this article.Most people reading Robert Frost’s poetry get so caught up in the beautiful imagery of the Vermont landscape that they forget to pay attention to the deep meaning he typically embedded within his poems. It is now widely considered to be one of the most popular works of American literature. “The Road Not Taken” was originally published in The Atlantic in 1915 along with two other poems from Frost. It’s a commentary on the self-deception we practice when constructing the story of our own lives.” In the final stanza, we can’t know whether the speaker is sighing with contentedness or regret as he justifies the choices he’s made and shapes the narrative of his life.įrost wrote the poem to tease his chronically indecisive friend, Edward Thomas, who misinterpreted the meaning and enlisted in the military shortly thereafter, only to be killed two years later in WWI. In fact, the critic David Orr deemed Frost’s work “the most misread poem in America,” writing in The Paris Review: “This is the kind of claim we make when we want to comfort or blame ourselves by assuming that our current position is the product of our own choices… The poem isn’t a salute to can-do individualism. But as Frost liked to warn his listeners, “You have to be careful of that one it’s a tricky poem-very tricky.” In actuality, the two roads diverging in a yellow wood are “really about the same,” according to Frost, and are equally traveled and quite interchangeable. This interpretation has long been propagated through countless song lyrics, newspaper columns, and graduation speeches. Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” is often interpreted as an anthem of individualism and nonconformity, seemingly encouraging readers to take the road less traveled. ![]()
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