The Brief Analysis of the Symbolic Implication of the Road in The Road not Taken

Cheng+Xin

【Abstract】Symbolism is a major literary theory which is often adopted by many poets. The Road not Taken is one of classic works of Robert Frost， This paper analyze specifically the image “road” from the perspective of symbolism in order to enable the readers understand the underlying themes of the road of life explained in this poetry and also use some ideas of Confucius to achieve further understanding of the depth of the poem.

【Key words】symbolism； the road of life

1. Introduction

In The Road Not Taken， the poet Robert Frost described his experience in a frost by using the simple language， where every reader could find his own life experience and understand the philosophy and connotation embodied in this poetry. This mainly accounts that the poet masters and applies the artistic method “symbolism” skillfully. The Road Not Taken is a classic symbolic poetry. The poet used the method of symbolism to recall the imagination of readers and told the profound philosophy of the road of life through the description of the fork of two roads in the forest.

2. The Symbolic Implication of the Road

In this poetry， the “road” superficially refers to the road not taken by the poet in the forest， namely， a tangible road in nature. Nevertheless， readers can easily find it contains an extremely profound symbolic implication through careful reading. The poet uses the common image “road” which people are familiar with to express the philosophical theme of the road of life.

Through the choices between the two roads， with a neat twist， the poet turns the theme to the choices of the road of life. Two roads diverged in the forest， one is grassy and wanted wear， people less passing by； the other one with some sporadic footprints， are taken by most people often. After thinking for a while， the poet was determined to take the one less traveled by and thought what will happened as if he chose the other one.

3. Three Stages of Life

This poem has totally 4 stanzas， which can be divided into three parts. Stanza 1 as the first part：two roads diverged in a yellow wood and sorry “I” could not travel both， long stood and looked down one as far as “I” could to where it bent in the undergrowth. A or B， this is a question； the second and the third stanza made up to the second part：“I” ask myself deeply that choosing the one less traveled by or the one often passed by and filled with the exploratory temptation. That is “how way leads on to way and I doubted if I should ever come back”. The four stanza is the third part：After taking the road of life for year， “I” felt that “two roads diverged in a wood. I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference”.

The three parts of content actually generate the three stages of life concisely. Youth， middle age and old age. Specifically， in the first stage， people have many choices to choose but faced the confusion of choosing； In the second stage， people get to realize that it can never turn back once chosen after 30 years； In the last stage， people still doubt that what will changed as if we chose the another one after all things done. The ancient Chinese thinker Confucius had made a conclusion of his own life， it said that people aged 15 are willed to study and own the rich life experience after the other 15 years. And believe that it is the road that he must take， while there still are doubts and hesitation. First， Confucius told us the “will”， in other words， namely the “choice” of Frost. Whether the one less traveled by or the one passed by often， both of them are the will in life， which can determine the direction of life

4. Conclusion

The Road Not Taken is a combination of determinacy and indeterminacy. The “road” in this poem not only refers to the nature tangible road but also has its symbolic implication， that is， the road of life. The poet uses a common image “road” to enable people think about the question of choice in life， sometimes a little choice may make a big difference in ones life. Therefore， people should make a decision carefully， believe own belief and take the responsibility for what have been done.

References：

[1]Drabble，Margaret.2005.The Oxford Companion to English Literature.Beijing：Foreign Language.Teaching and Research Press，Oxford University Press.

[2]許楚娟.A Symbolistic Study of Robert Frosts“The Road not Taken” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”[J].外語教研，2008.08（20）.

[3]佘藝玲.歧路的意象內涵與譯文的信度—談弗洛斯特的詩歌“The Road Not Taken”[J].哈爾濱學院學報，2007，28（6）：97-99.

Author brief introduction：Cheng Xin（1994.12-）， female， Han， Chongqing， masters degree， study in Chingqing Normal University， the direction of research is English literature and teaching.