| 2014 | | Liberty University, ENG 102
Marsha Alvarez |

[Poetry Essay] | |

“The Road not Taken” by Robert Frost demonstrates the power of allegory in simple writings of poetry with vivid use of symbolism to convey the true message. “The Road not Taken” is written by Robert Frost who was born on March 26, 1874 and passed away on January 29, 1963. His father William was a 1872 Harvard graduate and a teacher and his mother Isabelle was a Scotswoman and a teacher as well. They moved from Pennsylvania to San Francisco where they had their first son who they named after the southern hero General Robert E. Lee. Robert had one sister Jeanie who was born in 1876. Robert seemed to struggle as a child in school but after graduating from Lawrence High school top of his class he started college at Dartmouth College but dropped out before the semester ended. In 1894 Mr. Frost sold his first poem and shortly thereafter 1895 he married his high school sweetheart Elinor. In 1906 Derry Enterprise publishes “The Tuft of Flowers” after a public reading of the poem. Shortly thereafter in 1913 David Nutt and Company publishes Frost’s first book of poems called “a Boys Will. In 1937 Frost won The Pulitzer Prize for “A Further Range”. In the midst of all the publications and literature success Frost is plagued with family problems that include the death of several of his children one by suicide and the passing of his wife and he himself passed away on January 29, 1963. “The Road not Taken” clearly shows the use of allegory in order to portray the meaning in which the author intends for the audience to receive (Gioia K. a., 2013). Allegory is the systematic use of terms that are equivalent in their labeling as something much grander. The poem creates the picture of a fork in the road that both roads are equally worn. This is a physical attribute that symbolizes the life direction of the author and for that matter the reader. It states concretely that both roads are equal in the wear and tear of them physically but by use of symbolic imagery it becomes clear that Mr. Frost is not speaking of road yet referencing the life path that he chose. In stanza two lines three and four it mentions again in concrete words that the two roads are much the same in wear and tear but in the continued writings it becomes very clear that the words are that of allegory and have a truly symbolic meaning. The symbolism clear reflects that the two roads where not equally tattered by any means but in fact two completely different life choices that made Mr. Frost’s life that of an exceptional one. Any reader of this poem will have a different take on it due to the fact that symbolism is the dominant element in the writing and can produce various results based on the perception of the symbolic imagery. In the last stanza it becomes very clear that the “two roads diverged (Gioia, 2013)” into the same place but the element of imagery gives the real meaning to this statement. The fact that is evident is these two roads did not have the same wear and tear in fact Mr. Frost took the one that appeared to be less taken but in turn seemed to be the one that proved itself more difficult but at the same time it yielded the positivity that made all the difference in his life. This poem gives the reader the available option to make the judgment call of what the symbolic imagery will describe for them with the concrete words found in each stanza. Many reviews have stated that this poem gives positive recognition to the use of symbolic imagery while at the same time it for many years now has had a concrete definition of life and the paths that he chose. The flexibility that the imagery in this poem provides give great variety to the interpretation of the writing itself. The many definitions of the systematic imagery used makes this writing a great example of allegory. In conclusion “The Road not Taken” by Robert Frost is a very positive demonstration of symbolism and how the theme of the writing can change based on the readers comprehension of the allegory in all its forms.

Works Cited
Gioia, K. a. (2013). Literature (Vol. 7th). New York: Pearsons.
Gioia, X. K. (2013). Literature (Vol. 7th). New York : Pearson.