Robert Frost, An American Sensation
The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
The next piece of work I would like to write about is "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost. Many people are aware of this poem because it is usually taught in our school systems, I believe this is defiantly justified. This poem may not seam to be very patriotic but lets consider something that we do differently in the United States. In many other societies we have our profession chosen for us and our society is very collective in that we work as a group instead of putting emphases on the our selves. Here in the US we are extremely and uniquely individualistic which means that basically, our whole lives, we are taught to make decisions for our selves and our futures are never written in stone. We have the choice to be doctor, lawyer, or anything we want really. So how does this relate to the Poem? We all will come to a fork in the road where we will have to make a choice. The choice we make has many factors involved but sometimes we just pick the easy road. But the best things in the world come when we take to road less traveled and we get the opportunity to do something new or make a change. Next time you come to a fork in the road, try the hard way, it could be the most rewarding thing you do.
Link to Poem: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173536
Great post, Bret! I had actually never read the poem before but I had heard of it lots of times. I liked your practical application of it to personal lives. So often we do things in school that we aren't sure how they will ever lend anything to our future lives. Most things do have a purpose though. We are a very unique, individualistic culture which is something I've always been so thankful for because I am someone who hates being told I have to do something or have no choices. I like options and the freedom to choose what direction I take for my future. It's definitely true that the hard road is usually the one worth taking. Nothing good comes easily. I enjoyed your thoughts on this classic poem. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete