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the road not taken节奏划分和重读-回复题目：《The Road Not Taken》的节奏划分和重读导言：《The Road Not Taken》是罗伯特·弗洛斯特（Robert Frost）的一首著名诗歌，诗中描述了一个人在面临两条道路选择时的困惑。
本文将对这首诗的节奏划分和重读进行逐步回答，以帮助读者更好地理解其诗歌特点。
第一部分：诗歌的整体结构《The Road Not Taken》全长四节，每节包含五行。
整体上来看，诗歌采用了一个常见的结构形式，即a-b-a-a-b。
即每两个句子的第一行（a）和最后一行（b）是押韵的，第二行和第三行（a）是押韵的。
这种结构形式为诗歌的节奏和重读提供了一定的基础。
第二部分：节奏划分1. 音节和意节的辨析在进行节奏划分之前，需要先了解音节和意节的含义，并进行区分。
音节是指单词中划分出来的拍数，而意节则是指强调某个词或短语的一组相关词。
在诗歌中，有时音节和意节并不完全一致。
2. 节奏划分的原则a.根据韵脚词的位置：通常情况下，韵脚词（押韵的词）会出现在每行的末尾，因此每行的最后一个音节通常是需要强调的音节。
b.根据词的意义：在弗洛斯特的诗中，一些含义丰富、带有重要意义的词可能需要强调，这将影响到节奏的划分。
第三部分：第一节的节奏和重读1. 第一节的韵脚和押韵第一节的韵脚词是"wood"和"stood"，押韵形式为A-A。
2. 第一节的音节和意节第一节的每行都是五个音节，因此可以划分为五拍。
此外，第一节的意节可以在每行的最后一个音节中找到。
3. 第一节的重读位置第一节的每行都以强音节结尾，因此最后一个音节是重读的位置。
第四部分：第二节、第三节和第四节的节奏和重读1. 第二节、第三节和第四节的韵脚和押韵第二节的韵脚词是"way"和"day"，押韵形式为A-A。
the road not taken节奏划分和重读-回复题目：《The Road Not Taken》节奏划分和重读的解析导论：《The Road Not Taken》是美国著名诗人罗伯特·弗罗斯特创作的一首著名诗歌作品。
尽管这首诗的主题似乎很明确，但在解读它的过程中，不得不提节奏划分和重读的作用。
本文将逐步回答题目所提及的内容，对该诗的节奏划分和重读进行解析。
第一部分：诗歌节奏的概述首先，我们需要了解什么是诗歌节奏。
诗歌节奏是诗歌语言的组织方式，由音节和重读形成的一种有规律的韵律。
它帮助诗人传达情感和思想，增强诗歌的表现力和感染力。
在《The Road Not Taken》中，节奏划分和重读起到了重要的作用。
第二部分：《The Road Not Taken》的节奏划分接下来，我们将进一步分析《The Road Not Taken》的节奏划分。
这首诗采用了四行一组的ABAB韵脚结构，每行通常含有九个音节。
由于这首诗并没有严格的押韵规则，诗人更注重诗歌的节奏韵律。
在整首诗中，诗人通过将句子划分为不同的节奏单元，使诗歌的节奏更加流畅自然。
例如，诗的开始两行就形成了一个明显的节奏单元，如下所示：Two [roads] di[verged] in a [yel]low [wood],And [sorry] I could [not] [trav]el both;在这个节奏单元中，每行的第一个音节都是重读音节，强调了"roads"和"diverged"两个关键词。
这种节奏划分让读者更加专注于诗歌中的故事情节，引起了人们对选择和决策的思考。
第三部分：《The Road Not Taken》的重读分析接下来，我们将探讨《The Road Not Taken》中一些重要的重读部分。
罗伯特·弗罗斯特在这首诗中巧妙地使用了重读，以便突出一些关键信息和情感。
The road not takenThe Road Not Taken is a poem by Robert Frost, published in 1916 as the first poem in the collection Mountain Interval、Robert Lee Frost was an American poet、He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech、His work frequently employed settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex social and philosophical themes、Frost receives four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry、"The Road Not Taken" is a narrative and autobiographical poem consisting of four stanzas of iambic tetrameter and is one of Frost's most popular works、“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both”、This poem symbolizes that life always gives you two choices、For the large moral meaning which "The Road Not Taken" seems to endorse - go, as I did, your own way, take the road less traveled by, and it will make "all the difference"-does not maintain itself when the poem is looked at more carefully、Then one notices how insistent is the speaker on admitting, at the time of his choice, that the two roads were in appearance "really about the same," that they "equally lay / In leaves no step had trodden black," and that choosing one rather than the other was a matter of impulse, impossible to speak about any more clearly than to say that the road taken had "perhaps the better claim、" But in the final stanza, as the tense changes to future, we hear a different story, one that will be told "with a sigh" and "ages and ages hence、"At that imagined time and unspecified place, the voice will have nobly simplified and exalted the whole impulsive matter into a deliberate one of taking the "less traveled" road: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -- I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference、The final lines "I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference" are often cited as emblematic of America's individualist spirit of adventure, in a reading that assumes they are to be taken literally、But whatever difference the choice might have made, it was not made on the basis of a discerned difference between the two paths that opened up before the travelers、The speaker admits in thesecond and third stanzas that both paths may be equally worn and equally leaf-covered, and it is only in his future recollection that he will call one of the two roads, the one he took, "less traveled by、"The "sigh" can be interpreted as one of regret or of self-satisfaction; in either case, the irony lies in the distance between what the speaker has just told us about the roads' similarity and what his or her later claims will be、While a case could be made for the sigh being one of satisfaction, given the critical support of the 'regret' analysis it seems fair to say that this poem is about the human tendency to look back and attribute blame to minor events in one's life, or to attribute more meaning to things than they may deserve、A close look at the poem reveals that Frost's walker encounters two nearly identical paths: so he insists, repeatedly、The walker looks down one, first, then the other, "as just as fair、" Indeed, "the passing there / Had worn them really about the same、" As if the reader hasn't gotten the message, Frost says for a third time、"And both that morning equally lay/ In leaves no step had trodden black、" Frost might what to say that "When I am old, like all old men, I shall make a myth of my life、I shall pretend, as we all do, that I took the less traveled road、But I shall be lying、" Frost signals the mockingly self-inflated tone of the last stanza by repeating the word "I," which rhymes - several times - with the inflated word "sigh、" Frost wants the reader to know that what he will be saying, that he took the road less traveled, is a fraudulent position, hence the sigh、。
the.road not taken原文赏析
《The Road Not Taken》是美国诗人罗伯特·弗罗斯特的一首诗，体现了诗人在人生道路的选择上的思考和决断。
以下是原文赏析及中文翻译。
原文：
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
中文翻译：
在一片森林里，有两条路分岔，我——
选择了少走人的那一条路，
这一选择改变了我的一生。
赏析：
这首诗虽然只有四行，但却令人深感其中的哲理和思考。
诗人面临两条选择，必须要做出决定，但他选择了不同于大多数人的那条路。
他认为，这样的选择改变了他的一生，并让他不同于他人。
诗中的“two roads”可以看作是人生道路的抉择，这是每一个人都必须面对并做出决策的问题。
而诗人选择了不同于他人的那条路，这表达了诗人独立的思想和勇气，他不害怕走不同于他人的道路，他愿意探险和冒险，尝试新的可能性。
诗人说“that has made all the difference”，这说明了他的选择对他的人生产生了深远的影响，他成为了独一无二的存在。
从诗中可以看出，诗人并不认为自己的选择是正确的，但他肯定认为它是自己的选择，并且它使他不同于他人。
这首诗表达了个人的勇气、决心和追寻独立思考的精神。
不惧走不同于大多数人的道路，不断寻找自己的方向和目标。
这是一首鼓舞人心的诗歌，提醒我们要敢于探险并持续前进，从而创造出属于自己的人生。
the road not taken节奏划分和重读-回复the road not taken这首诗的节奏划分和重读。
在英语诗歌中，节奏划分和重读是极为重要的元素。
它们帮助诗歌传达情感和表达思想，也为诗人营造出特殊的音乐感。
the road not taken这首诗，由罗伯特·弗罗斯特于1916年创作，充满了深意和寓意。
对于理解这首诗的核心思想和情感表达，了解其节奏划分和重读的方式至关重要。
首先，让我们来分析这首诗的结构。
the road not taken由四个四行的诗节组成，总共16行。
这首诗的韵脚为ABAAB，每个诗节的第一、第三行押韵，而第二、第四行则不押韵。
这种押韵方式给诗歌带来了一种平稳的韵律感。
接下来，我们来看重读的方式。
弗罗斯特的诗歌以自然、简洁的风格著称，他在the road not taken中通过重读一些特定的词语和音节，强调了诗中的重要部分。
第一节“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,”强调了“diverged”这个词。
通过将这个词的重读，弗罗斯特表达了人生中选择的重要性。
在我们的生活中，我们常常面临选择，而这些选择可能会决定我们的未来。
正因为如此，《The Road Not Taken》在诗歌的开头就给人一种强烈的思考感。
第二节“And sorry I could not travel both”中，弗罗斯特重读了“both”，强调了他无法同时选择两条路。
这种选择的犹豫和纠结也正是这首诗的主旨。
第三节“I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference”的重读在于“less”、“by”以及“difference”，这表达了“选择不同路”所带来的真正的变化。
最后一节“I shall be telling this with a sigh, Somewhere ages and ages hence”强调了“sigh”和“ages”，这传达了诗人在回顾过往时所产生的感叹和对时间的理解。
弗罗斯特诗歌林中小路
弗罗斯特是美国著名的诗人，他的作品以自然景观和人生哲理为主题，其中一首著名的诗歌就是《林中小路》（The Road Not Taken）。
这首诗以林中小路作为象征，描绘了一个人在人生道路上做出选择的心理历程。
诗中描绘了一个人来到了一片分岔的森林中，面对两条小路，他犹豫不决，不知道该选择哪条路前进。
最后，他选择了一条少有人走过的小路。
他知道这条路将决定他的人生之路，而且他也清楚这条路可能会带来更多的困难和挑战。
然而，他坚定地选择了这条小路，因为他认为这将使他的人生有所不同。
这首诗歌的意义深远，它不仅反映了人生中的抉择和决策对个人命运的影响，同时也传达了作者对冒险精神和个人独立性的崇尚。
作者通过描绘林中小路，表达了对不同选择的思考和追求个人价值的勇气。
这首诗所传递的信息是，人生中的每个决策都是重要的，无论选择哪条路，我们都要对自己的决定负责，并为之承担后果。
这首诗也可以被视为一种对社会期望和压力的反抗。
诗中的主人公选择了与大众不同的道路，这体现了对个人独立性和独特性的追求。
作者可能希望读者能够勇敢地追随自己的内心声音，不被社会或他人的期望所束缚。
《林中小路》这首诗歌至今仍然广为人知，它通过简洁而深刻的表达方式，引发了读者对人生选择的深思。
这首诗让我们意识到，生命中的每个选择都是独一无二的，并且每个选择都会为我们的人生带来不同的结果。
因此，我们应该珍惜每一个选择的机会，勇敢地追随自己内心的声音，去开拓属于自己的独特之路。
The Road Not Taken 《未选择的路》罗伯特•弗罗斯特（RobertFrost）生于1874年，卒于1963年，可能要算是20世纪美国最受欢迎和爱戴的一位诗人了。
1912年，他弃农从文，从此成为了一名专业诗人。
他曾在1961年时受邀在约翰•F•肯尼迪总统的就职典礼上朗诵他的诗歌——《The Gift Outrigh t》。
而本次我为大家推荐的《The Road Not Taken》则是他最著名的一首诗歌。
Two roads diverge d in a yellowwood 黄色的树林里分出两条路And sorry I could not travel both 可惜我不能同时去涉足And be one travele r, long I stood 我在那路口久久伫立And lookeddown one as far as I could 我向着一条路极目望去To where it bent in the undergrown 直到它消失在丛林深处Then took the other, as just as fair 但我却选了另外一条路And havingperhaps the better claim 它荒草萋萋，十分幽寂Because it was grassyand wantedwear; 显得更诱人、更美丽Thoughas for that the passing there 虽然在这两条小路上Had worn them reallyabout the same 都很少留下旅人的足迹And both that morning equally lay 虽然那天清晨落叶满地In leavesno step had trodden black 两条路都未经脚印污染Oh, I kept the first for another day! 呵，留下一条路等改日再见！Y et knowing how way leads on to way, 但我知道路径延绵无尽头I doubted i f I shouldeven come back.恐怕我难以再回返I shall be telling this with a sigh 也许多少年后在某个地方Somewhe re ages and ages hence: 我将轻声叹息把往事回顾Two roads diverge d in a wood, and I--- 一片树林里分出两条路I took the one less travele d by, 而我选了人迹更少的一条And that has made all the differe nce 从此决定了我一生的道路评论1："The Road Not Taken" is a poem by RobertFrost, publish ed in 1916 in the collect ion Mountai n Interva l, it is the first poem in the volumeand is printed in italics. The title is often mistake nly given as "The Road Less Travele d", from the penulti mate line: "I took the one less travele d by".The poem has two recogni zed interpr etatio ns; one is a more literal interpr etatio n, while the other is more ironic.Readers often see the poem literal ly, as an express ion of individ ualism. Critics typical ly view the poem as ironic.[1] – "'The Road Not Taken,' perhaps the most famousexample of Frost's own claimsto conscio us irony and 'the best example in all of America n poetryof a wolf in sheep's clothin g.'"[2] –and Frost himself warned"You have to be careful of that one; it's a trickypoem – very tricky."[3] Frost intende d the poem as a gentlejab at his great friendand fellowpoet EdwardThomaswith whom he used to take walks through the forest(Thomasalwayscomplai ned at the end that they shouldhave taken a differe nt path) and seemedamusedat this certain interpr etatio n of the poem as inspira tional.Literal interpr etatio nAccordi ng to the literal(and more common)interpr etatio n, the poem is inspira tional, a paean to individ ualism and non-conform ism.The poem consist s of four stanzas. In the first stanza,the speaker describ es his positio n. He has been out walking in the woods and comes to two roads, and he standslooking as far down each one as he can see. He would like to try out both, but doubtshe could do that, so therefo re he continu es to look down the roads for a long time tryingto make his decisio n about which road to take.Ironicinterpr etatio nThe ironicinterpr etatio n, widelyheld by critics,[1][5] is that the poem is instead about regretand persona l myth-making,rationa lizing our decisio ns.In this interpr etatio n, the final two lines:I took the one less travele d by,And that has made all the differe nce.are ironic: the choicemade littleor no differe nce at all, the speaker's protest ations to the contrar y. The speaker admitsin the secondand third stanzas that both paths may be equally worn and equally leaf-covered, and it is only in his futurerecolle ctionthat he will call one road "less travele d by".The sigh, widelyinterpr eted as a sigh of regret,might also be interpr eted ironica lly: in a 1925 letterto Cristin e Yates of Dickson, Tenness ee, askingabout the sigh, Frost replied: "It was my ratherprivate jest at the expense of those who might think I would yet live to be sorry for the way I had taken in life."Everyon e is a travele r, choosin g the roads to followon the map of their continu ous journey, life. There is never a straigh t path that leavesone with but a sole directi on in which to head. Regardl ess of the origina l message that RobertFrost had intende d to convey, his poem, "The Road Not Taken", has left its readers with many differe nt interpr etatio ns. It is one's past, present and the attitud e with which he looks upon his futurethat determi nes the shade of the light that he will see the poem in. In any case however, this poem clearly demonst ratesFrost's beliefthat it is the road that one chooses that makes him the man who he is. "And sorry I could not travelboth..." It is alwaysdifficu lt to make a decisio n because it is impossi ble not to wonderabout the opportu nity cost, what will be missedout on. There is a strongsense of regretbeforethe choiceis even made and it lies in the knowled ge that in one lifetim e, it is impossi ble to traveldown every path. In an attempt to make a decisio n, the travele r "looks down one as far as I could". The road that will be chosenleads to the unknown, as does any choicein life. As much he may strainhis eyes to see as far the road stretch es, eventua lly it surpass es his visionand he can never see where it is going to lead. It is the way that he chooses here that sets him off on his journey and decides where he is going. "Then took the other, just as fair, and havingperhaps the betterclaim." What made it have the betterclaim is that "it was grassla nd wantedwear." It was somethi ng that was obvious ly not for everyon e because it seemedthat the majorit y of peopletook the other path therefo re he calls it "the road less travele d by". The fact that the travele r took this path over the more popular, secureone indicat es the type of persona lity he has, one that does not want to necessa rily followthe crowd but do more of what has never been done, what is new and differe nt. "And both that morning equally lay in leavesno step had trodden black." The leaveshad covered the groundand since the time they had fallenno one had yet to pass by on this road. Perhaps Frost does this because each time a personcomes to the point where they have to make a choice, it is new to them, somewhe re they have never been and they tend to feel as thoughno one else had ever been there either. "I kept the first for another day!" The desireto traveldown both paths is express ed and is not unusual, but "knowing how way leads on to way", the speaker of this poem realize s that the decisio n is not just a tempora ry one and he "doubted if I shouldever come back." This is his commonsense speakin g and acknowl edging that what he chooses now will affectevery other choicehe makes afterwa rd. Once you have perform ed an act or spokena word that crystal lizeswho you are, there is no turning back and it cannotbe undone. Once again at the end of the poem the regrethangs over the travele r like a heavy cloud about to burst. He realize s that at the end of his life, "somewhe re ages and ages hence", he will have regrets about havingnever gone back and traveli ng down the roads he did not take. Yet he remains proud of his decisio n and he recogni zes that it was this path that he chose that made him turn out the way and he did and live his life the way in which he lived. "I took the road less travele d by and that had made all the differe nce." To this man, what was most importa nt, what reallymade the differe nce, is that he did what he wanted, even if it meant takingthe road less travele d. If he hadn't, he wouldn't be the same man he is now. There are many equally valid meaning s to this poem and RobertFrost may have intende d this. He may have been tryingto achieve a univers al underst anding. In other words, there is no judgmen t, no specifi city, no moral. There is simplya narrato r who makes a decisio n in his life that had changed the directi on of his life from what it may have otherwi se been. It allowsall readers from all differe nt experie nces to relateto the poem.RobertFrost is one of the finestof rural New England’s20th century pastora l poets. His poems are great combina tion of wisdom, harmony and serenit y. They are simpleat first sight, but demandreaders for deep reading to grasp further meaning beyondsurface.The famouspoem of Frost The Road Not Taken is my favorit e. This poem consist s of four stanzas of five lines. The rhyme schemeis ABAAB. the rhymesare strictand masculi ne, with notable excepti on of the last line. There are four stresse d syllabl es each line, varying on iambictetrame ter base.The Road Not Taken tells about life choice.Man’slifeismetapho ricall y related to a journey filledwith twistsand turns. One has to conside r a lot beforemakinga wise choice. Thoughthe diverge d roads seem identic al, they actuall y lead to differe nt directi ons, which symboli ze differe nt fates.A less than rigorou s look at the poem may lead one to believethatFrost’smoralisembodie d in those lines. The poem is taken as a call to indepen dence,preachi ng origina lity and Emerson ian self-relianc e. The poem deconst ructsits conclus ion stanzaby stanza.At the beginni ng of this poem, the poet shows the inabili ty of human beingsto foresee the future, especia lly the results of choices. At the split in the road, the speaker looks far down both the two paths to see what each of the paths will bring. However, his sight is limited; his eyes can only see the path until it bendsinto―theundergr owth‖. Man is free to choose, but doesn’tknowbeforeh and the results of his choice.Both roads divergeintoa―yellowwood‖andappeartobe―aboutthesame‖intheirpurpose s. The first path is a more commonroute. The other is less travele d, which―wasgrassandwantedwear‖. The poet present s a conflic t here—the decisio n between the commoneasy path and excepti onal challen ging path. The two differe nt paths signify two differe nt kinds of lives. Choosin g the commoneasy path, peoplewill feel at ease and live in safety,because the outcome is predict able. However, that kind of life may be less excitin g and lack of novelty. While choosin gthe―lesstravele d‖roadreprese nts the gambleof facinga more difficu lt path in lives. This forms contras t with familia r lives of most people. Peoplehope to achieve r a satisfa ctoryand interes ting life on this road. The wish is good, but reality is full of challen ges and uncerta inties. Nobodycan be sure of the outcome. After vacilla ting between the two roads, the poet finally decidestotaketheroad―lesstravele dby‖and leads a differe nt life from commonpeople.This may indicat e his choiceto be a poet, other than other jobs. The poet makes up his mind to dedicat e himself to poem writing, which is regarde d as a less commoncareer.Once the decisio n is made, there will be no way to returnto the origina l choiceto experie nce the other route. So the poet utters―Yetknowing how way leads on to way,I doubted if I shouldever come back.‖Themadechoiceis irrevoc able, so man must be careful and rationa l beforemakingdecisio ns. At the same time, he must be courage ous enoughto shoulde r the resultof his choice, whether it is good or not.Frost present sman’slimitat ion to explorelife’sdiffere nt possibi lities. Thepoet―sighs‖attheendofthepoem. For at the time ofone’schoice, he must give up other choices and miss some other things. At the same time, he―sighs‖withlamenta tion, ponderi ng what he may have missedontheotherpathandthathedoesn’thaveopportu nities to experie nce another kind of life.The Road Not Taken is interpr eted univers ally as a represe ntatio n of two similar choices. At the beginni ng, man may face two identic al forks, which symboli ze the nexus of free choiceand fate. They contras t increas inglywith each other as they diverge in their separat e directi ons. Man is free to choose,butit’sbeyondhis ability to foretel l the consequ ences. Man can choosea commonroute which guarant ees a safe and reliabl e life. He can also choosea less commonone which is unknown, uniqueand standsoutaboveotherelse’s. All in all, man must be respons ible for his choiceand has courage to shoulde r the result. He can never go back to the past and experie nce other possibi lities. It is impossi ble to predict the outcome of decisio ns, so it is essenti al for him to make wise decisio ns after conside ring, selecti ng and questio ning which selecti on will provide him with fulfill ment.The Road Not Taken is full of philoso phical overton es. This poem shouldbe read as a warning. Man shouldconside r a lot beforemakingchoices and reflect over the choices he has made to discove r―allthediffere nces‖.RobertFrost’s―TheRoadNotTaken‖hasbeenoneofthemostanalyze d, quoted, antholo gizedpoems in America n poetry. A wide-spreadinterpr etatio n claimsthat the speaker in the poem is promoti ng individ ualism and non-conform ity.A TrickyPoemFrost claimsthat he wrote this poem about his friendEdwardThomas, with whom he had walkedmany times in the woods near London. Frost has said that while walking they would come to differe nt paths and after choosin g one, Thomaswould alwaysfret wonderi ng what they might have missedby not takingthe other path.About the poem, Frost asserte d, "You have to be careful of that one; it's a trickypoem - very tricky." And he is, of course, correct. The poem has been and continu es to be used as an inspira tional poem, one that to the undisce rningeye seems to be encoura ging self-relianc e, not followi ng where othershave led.But a close reading of the poem provesotherwi se. It does not moraliz e about choice; it simplysays that choiceis inevita ble, but you never know what your choicewill mean until you have lived it.First Stanza– Describ es Situati onThe poem consist s of four stanzas. In the first stanza, the speaker describ es his positio n. He has been out walking the woods and comes to two roads, and he standslooking as far down each one as he can see. He would like to try out both, but doubtshe could to that, so therefo re he continu es to look down the roads for a long time tryingto make his decisio n about which road to take.SecondStanza– Decides to Take Less-Travele d RoadThe speaker had lookeddownthefirstone―towhereitbentintheundergr owth,‖andinthesecon dstanza, he reports that he decided to take the other path, because it seemedto have less traffic than the first. But then he goes on to say that they actuall y were very similar ly worn. The secondone that he took seems less travele d, but as he thinksabout it, he realize s that theywere―reallyabout the same.‖Notexactlythatsamebutonly―aboutthesame.‖Third Stanza– Continu es Descrip tion of RoadsThe third stanzacontinu es with the cogitat ion about the possibl e differe nces between the two roads. He had noticed that the leaveswere both fresh fallenon them both and had not been walkedon, but then again claimsthat maybe he would come back and also walk the first one sometim e, but he doubted he would be able to, because in life one thing leads to another and time is short.Also on Suite101Frost's Snow and WoodsRobertFrost's "Stoppin g by Woods on a Snowy Evening" seems simple, but its nuanced phrase, "And miles to go beforeI sleep," offersmuch about which to specula te.FourthStanza– Two TrickyWordsThe fourthstanzaholds the key to the trickin ess of the poem:I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhe re ages and ages hence:Two roads diverge d in a wood, and I—I took the one less travele d by,And that has made all the differe nce.Those who interpr et this poem as suggest ing non-conform itytaketheword―differe nce‖tobeapositiv e differe nce. But there is nothing in the poem that suggest s that this differe nce signals a positiv e outcome. The speaker could not offer such informa tion, becausehehasnotlivedthe―differe nce‖yet.The other word that leads readers astrayistheword―sigh.‖Bytaking―differe nce‖tomeanapositiv e differe nce, they think that the sigh is one of nostalg ic relief; however, a sigh can also mean regret.Thereisthe―oh, dear‖kindofsigh, but also the ―whatarelief‖kindofsigh.Whichoneisit?If it is the reliefsigh, then the differe nce means the speaker is glad he took the road he did; if it is the regretsigh, then the differe nce would not be good, and the speaker would be sighing in regret. But the plain fact is that the poem does not identif ythe natureof that sigh. The speaker of the poem does not even know the natureof that sigh, because that sigh and his evaluat ion of the differe nce his choicewill make are still in the future. It is a truismthat any choicean indiviu al make is goingtomake―allthediffere nce‖inhowourfutureturns out.Careful ReadersWon’tBeTrickedSo Frost was absolut ely correct; his poem is tricky—very tricky. In this poem, it is importa nt to be careful with the time frame. When the speaker says he will be reporti ng sometim e in the futurehow his road choiceturnedout, he clearly statesthat he cannotassignmeaningto―sigh‖and―differe nce‖yet, because he cannotknow how his choicewill affecthis future, until after he has lived it.评论4：1．Introdu ctionAs is well known to people, RobertFrost is one of the most famousnationa l poets of America. Thoughcontemp orarywith moderni sts like T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound, RobertFrost is often regarde d as a traditi onal poet of nature.He rejecte d the revolut ionary poeticprincip les of his contemp orary. On the contrar y, hechose―theold- fashion ed way to be new and urged poets to use the idiomsof spokenEnglish and, when possibl e, to rely on commonp lace and even rusticimagery. And he saw natureas a storeho use of analogy and symbol.However, unlikeother poets of nature, he depicte d natureas somethi ng in constan t conflic ts with human beingsand bring a deep sense of uncerta inty and even tragedy to them. Simpleas they seem, his poems are often profoun d in meaning between the lines. Most of his poems are charact erized with an unusual sense of tragedy and reflect weaknes s of human beingsin the face of vast, imperso nal force.Additio nally,the poem reflect sFrost’sownpersona l tragedy and his miserab le, sorrowf ul inner feeling s exactly. When it comes to this, his persona l life experie nce has to be taken into conside ration. Famousand popular as he became, but he suffera lot duringall his life. He lost his fatheras a young boy, and he was bereave d of his beloved wife in his middleage. What is worse, all of his childre n ended up dying young or sufferi ng from mentaldisease. For him, life seemedto keep playing trickson him and made his life miserab le. As a result, many poems compose d by him, not only this one, are feature d with an exoticsense of tragicbeauty.2. Analysi sIn this poem, the speaker, a travele r in the wood faced with the choiceof two roads. The roads bear two connota tions: the materia l roads and the roads of life. Now, let me give some specifi c analysi s.2.1 See over one roadIn part one, the speaker faced with two roads in the autumna l wood and feel puzzled over which one to choose.―Tworoadsdiverge d in a yellowwood‖, He stood there for a long time and mused on one of them, which was taken by many people. Unfortu nately, he was unableto find out which place the，road would take him to, for it is far beyondhis ability to know where the road would lead. However, he must chooseto take.2.2. The other oneIn part two, he stepped on the other road, ―Thentooktheother, asjustasfair‖, It was grassyand not taken. His choicewould affectevery other subsequ ent choice, and there was no turning back. From his choicefor the less trodden road, it could be conclud ed that he did not like to followthe steps of other people, he wantedhis own life choired by himself.2.3 Helples sIn part three, he decided to choosethe less travele d one, but he was aware that he could never have a chanceto returnto the first road. ―Idoubted if I shouldnevercomeback‖showedhe is helples s.2.4 Chose the less travele d roadIn part four, ―Ishallbetellingthiswithasign‖, he articul ated why he chose the less travele d road, for he expecte d his life to be unusual and differe nt. But there was no way to foretel l the consequ encesof his choice.All in all, for the speaker, the road of life was acciden t and mystica l, and his very choicewas crucial in determi ning the consequ encesof his life. The ordinar y peoplefollowother’schoice, while the excepti onal ones choosetheir uniqueroads oflife.3. Conclus ion3.1 Everyon e is a travele rEveryon e is a travele r, choosin g the roads to followon the map of their continu ous journey. There is never a straigh t path but a sole directi on in which to head. It is one's past, present and the attitud e with which he looks upon his futurethat determi nes the shade of the light.In any case however, this poem clearly explain ed Frost's beliefthat it is the road that one chooses that makes him the man who he is. It is alwaysdifficu lt to make a decisio n because it is impossi ble not to wonderabout the opportu nity cost, what will be missedout on. It is impossi ble to traveldown every path. The road that will be chosenleads to the unknown, as does any choicein life. As much he may strainhis eyes to see as far the road stretch es, eventua lly it surpass es his visionand he can never see where it is going to lead.It is the way that he chooses here that sets him off on his journey and decides where he is going. It was somethi ng that was obvious ly not for everyon e because it seemedthat the majorit y of peopletook the other path. There is simplya narrato r who makes a decisio n in his life that had changed the directi on of his life from what it may have otherwi se been. It allowsall readers from all differe nt experie nces to relateto the poem.3.2 Human beingsare so weakIn a word, the poem The Road Not Taken is a very beautif ul and excelle nt poem. It is set in a rural natural environ ment where alwaysinspire the speaker to think of life. It is based on a metapho r in which the journey through life is compare d to a journey on a road. And the speaker of the poem has to chooseone path instead of another. Even thoughthe two paths look equally attract ive, the speaker knows that his choiceat this momentmay have a signifi cant influen ce on his future. He does make a decisio n, hopingthat he may be able to visit this place again, yet realizi ng that such an opportu nity is impossi ble. He imagine s himself in the futuretelling the story of his life, and claimin g that his decisio n to take the road less travele d by, the road few other peoplehave taken, has made all the differe nce.This thesisintends to exploreFrost’sownviewoflife. He told us that human beingsare so weak when compare d with natureand the destiny. Thoughhuman beingshave made great progres s in the past several centuri es, there will forever exist somethi ng that is far beyondtheir control. For human, it is unableto do anythin g usefulwhen he is in conflic t with the imperso nal force. Andit’salsounableto control his own destiny; on the contrar y, his fate and destiny are in the chargeof somethi ng mysteri ous beyondhim. In this sense, life is a tragedy to human. So it could be said that Frost conveye d his sense of tragedy commonto human through this simplebut beautif ul poem. It is simplein form but profoun d in meaning.评论5：SummaryThe speaker standsin the woods, conside ring a fork in the road. Both ways are equally worn and equally overlai d withun-trodden leaves. The speaker chooses one, telling himself that he will take the other another day. Yet he knows it is unlikel y that he will have the opportu nity to do so. And he admitsthat someday in the futurehe will recreat e the scene with a slighttwist: He will claim that he took the less-travele d road.From“TheRoadNotTaken‖consist s of four stanzas of five lines. The rhyme schemeis ABAAB; the rhymesare strictand masculi ne, with the notable excepti on of the last line (we do not usually stressthe -ence of differe nce). There are four stresse d syllabl es per line, varying on an iambictetrame ter base.Comment aryThis has got to be among the best-known, most-often-misunde rstood poems on the planet.Several generat ions of careles s readers have turnedit into a piece of Hallmar k happy-graduat ion-son, seize-the-futurepuffery. Cursedwith a perfect marriag e of form and content, arresti ng phrasewrought from simplewords, and resonan t metapho r, itseemsasif―TheRoadNotTaken‖getsmemoriz ed without reallybeing read. For this it has died the cliché’sun-death of trivial immorta lity.But you yoursel f can resurre ct it from zombie-hood by reading it—not with imagina tion, even, but simplywith accurac y. Of the two roads the speakersays―thepassing there / Had worn them reallyaboutthesame.‖Infact, bothroads―thatmorning lay / In leavesno step had trodden black.‖Meaning: Neither of the roads is less travele d by. These are the facts; we cannotjustifi ably ignorethe reverbe ration s they send through the easy aphoris ms of the last two stanzas.One of the attract ions of the poem is its archety pal dilemma, one that we instant ly recogni ze because each of us encount ers it innumer able times, both literal ly and figurat ively.Paths in the woods and forks in roads are ancient and deep-seatedmetapho rs for the lifelin e, its crisesand decisio ns. Identic al forks, in particu lar, symboli ze for us the nexus of free will and fate: We are free to choose,but we do not reallyknow beforeh and what we are choosin g between. Our route is, thus, determi ned by an accreti on of choiceand chance, and it is impossi ble to separat e the two.This poem does not advise. It does not say, ―Whenyoucometoaforkintheroad, study the footpri nts and take the road less travele dby‖ (or even, as Yogi Berra enigmat ically quipped, ―Whenyoucometoaforkintheroad, takeit‖). Frost’sfocusismore complic ated. First, there is no less-travele d road in this poem; itisn’tevenanoption.Next, the poem seems more concern ed with the questio n of how the concret e present (yellowwoods, grassyroads covered in fallenleaves) will look from a futurevantage point.The ironictone is inescap able: ―Ishallbetelling this with a sigh / Somewhe reagesandageshence.‖The speaker anticip ates his own futureinsince rity—his need, later on in life, to rearran ge the facts and injecta dose of Lone Rangerinto the account. He knows that he will be inaccur ate, at best, or hypocri tical, at worst, when he holds his life up as an example. In fact, he predict s that his futureself will betraythis momentof decisio n as if the betraya l were inevita ble. This realiza tion is ironicand poignan tly patheti c. Butthe―sigh‖iscritica l. The speaker will not, in his old age, merelygatherthe youth about him and say, ―DowhatIdid, kiddies. I stuck to my guns, took the road less travele d by, and that has made all the differe nce.‖Rather, he may say this, but he will sigh first; forhewon’tbelieve it himself. Somewhe re in the back of his mind will remainthe image of yellowwoods and two equally leafy paths.Ironicas it is, this is also a poem infused with the anticip ationof remorse. Itstitleisnot―TheRoadLessTravele d‖but―TheRoad Not Taken.‖Evenashemakesachoice(a choicehe is forcedto make if does not want to stand forever in the woods, one for which he has no real guide or definit ive basis for decisio n-making), the speaker knows that he will second-guess himself somewhe re down the line—or at the very least he will wonderat what is irrevoc ably lost: the impossi ble, unknowa ble Other Path. But the natureof the decisio n is such that there is no Right Path—just the chosenpath and the other path. What are sighedfor ages and ages hence are not so much the wrong decisio ns as the moments of decisio n themsel ves—moments that, one atop the other, mark the passing of a life. This is the more primalstrainof remorse.Thus, to add a further level of irony, the theme of the poem may, after all, be―seizetheday.‖Butamorenuanced carpe diem, if you please.。
The Road Not Taken ?未选择的路?罗伯特•弗罗斯特〔Robert Frost〕生于1874年，卒于1963年，可能要算是20世纪美国最受欢迎和爱戴的一位诗人了。
1912年，他弃农从文，从此成为了一名专业诗人。
他曾在1961年时受邀在约翰•F•肯尼迪总统的就职典礼上朗读他的诗歌——?The Gift Outright?。
而本次我为大家推荐的?The Road Not Taken?那么是他最著名的一首诗歌。
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood 黄色的树林里分出两条路And sorry I could not travel both 可惜我不能同时去涉足And be one traveler, long I stood 我在那路口久久伫立And looked down one as far as I could 我向着一条路极目望去To where it bent in the undergrown 直到它消失在丛林深处Then took the other, as just as fair 但我却选了另外一条路And having perhaps the better claim 它荒草萋萋，非常幽寂Because it was grassy and wanted wear; 显得更诱人、更美丽Though as for that the passing there 虽然在这两条小路上Had worn them really about the same 都很少留下旅人的足迹And both that morning equally lay 虽然那天清晨落叶满地In leaves no step had trodden black 两条路都未经脚印污染Oh, I kept the first for another day! 呵，留下一条路等改日再见！Yet knowing how way leads on to way, 但我知道途径延绵无尽头I doubted if I should even come back.恐怕我难以再回返I shall be telling this with a sigh 也许多少年后在某个地方Somewhere ages and ages hence: 我将轻声叹息把往事回忆Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--- 一片树林里分出两条路I took the one less traveled by, 而我选了人迹更少的一条And that has made all the difference 从此决定了我一生的道路评论1："The Road Not Taken" is a poem by Robert Frost, published in 1916 in the collection Mountain Interval, it is the first poem in the volume and is printed in italics. The title is often mistakenly given as "The Road Less Traveled", from the penultimate line: "I took the one less traveled by".The poem has two recognized interpretations; one is a more literal interpretation, while the other is more ironic.Readers often see the poem literally, as an expression of individualism. Critics typically view the poem as ironic.[1] – "'The Road Not Taken,' perhaps the most famous example of Frost's own claims to conscious irony and 'the best example in all of American poetry of a wolf in sheep's clothing.'"[2] – and Frost himself warned "You have to be careful of that one; it's a tricky poem – very tricky."[3] Frost intended the poem as a gentle jab at his great friend and fellow poet Edward Thomas with whom he used to take walks through the forest (Thomas always complained at the end that they should have taken a different path) and seemed amused at this certain interpretation of the poem as inspirational.Literal interpretationAccording to the literal (and more common) interpretation, the poem is inspirational, a paean to individualism and non-conformism.The poem consists of four stanzas. In the first stanza, the speaker describes his position. He has been out walking in the woods and comes to two roads, and he stands looking as far down each one as he can see. He would like to try out both, but doubts he could do that, so therefore he continues to look down the roads for a long time trying to make his decision about which road to take.Ironic interpretationThe ironic interpretation, widely held by critics,[1][5] is that the poem is instead about regret and personal myth-making,rationalizing our decisions.In this interpretation, the final two lines:I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.are ironic : the choice made little or no difference at all, the speaker's protestations to the contrary. The speaker admits in the second and third stanzas that both paths may be equally worn and equally leaf-covered, and it is only in his future recollection that he will call one road "less traveled by".The sigh, widely interpreted as a sigh of regret, might also be interpreted ironically: in a 1925 letter to Cristine Yates of Dickson, Tennessee, asking about the sigh, Frost replied: "It was my rather private jest at the expense of those who might think I would yet live to be sorry for the way I had taken in life."Everyone is a traveler, choosing the roads to follow on the map of their continuous journey, life. There is never a straight path that leaves one with but a sole direction in which to head. Regardless of the original message that Robert Frost had intended to convey, his poem, "The Road Not Taken", has left its readers with many different interpretations. It is one's past, present and the attitude with which he looks upon his future that determines the shade of the light that he will see the poem in. In any case however, this poem clearly demonstrates Frost's belief that it is the road that one chooses that makes him the man who he is. "And sorry I could not travel both..." It is always difficult to make a decision because it is impossible not to wonder about the opportunity cost, what will be missed out on. There is a strong sense of regret before the choice is even made and it lies in the knowledge that in one lifetime, it is impossible to travel down every path. In an attempt to make a decision, the traveler "looks down one as far as I could". The road that will be chosen leads to the unknown, as does any choice in life. As much he may strain his eyes to see as far the road stretches, eventually it surpasses his vision and he can never see where it is going to lead. It is the way that he chooses here that sets him off on his journey and decides where he is going. "Then took the other, just as fair, and having perhaps the better claim." What made it have the better claim is that "it was grassland wanted wear." It was something that was obviously not for everyone because it seemed that the majority of people took the other path therefore he calls it "the road less traveled by". The fact that the traveler took this path over the more popular, secure one indicates the type of personality he has, one that does not want to necessarily follow the crowd but do more of what has never been done, what is new and different. "And both that morning equally lay in leaves no step had trodden black." The leaves had covered the ground and since the time they had fallen no one had yet to pass by on this road. Perhaps Frost does this because each time a person comes to the point where they have to make a choice, it is new to them, somewhere they have never been and they tend to feel as though no one else had ever been there either. "I kept the first for another day!" The desire to travel down both paths is expressed and is not unusual, but "knowing how way leads on to way", the speaker of this poem realizes that the decision is not just a temporary one and he "doubted if I should ever come back." This is his common sense speaking and acknowledging that what he chooses now will affect every other choice he makes afterward. Once you have performed an act or spoken a word that crystallizes who you are, there is no turning back and it cannot be undone. Once again at the end of the poem the regret hangs over the traveler like a heavy cloud about to burst. He realizes that at the end of his life, "somewhere ages and ages hence", he will have regrets about having never gone back and traveling down the roads he did not take. Yet he remains proud of his decision and he recognizes that it was this path that he chose that made him turn out the way and he did and live his life the way in which he lived. "I took the road less traveled by and that had made all the difference." To this man, what was most important, what really made the difference, is that he did what he wanted, even if it meant taking the road less traveled. If he hadn't, he wouldn't be the same man he is now. There are many equally valid meanings to this poem and Robert Frost may have intended this. He may have been trying to achieve a universal understanding. In other words, there is no judgment, no specificity, no moral. There is simply a narrator who makes a decision in his life that had changed the direction of his life from what it may have otherwise been. It allows all readers from all different experiences to relate to the poem.评论2：Robert Frost is one of the finest of rural New England’s 20th century pastoral poet s. His poems are great combination ofwisdom, harmony and serenity. They are simple at first sight, but demand readers for deep reading to grasp further meaning beyond surface.The famous poem of Frost The Road Not Taken is my favorite. This poem consists of four stanzas of five lines. The rhyme scheme is ABAAB. the rhymes are strict and masculine, with notable exception of the last line. There are four stressed syllables each line, varying on iambic tetrameter base.The Road Not Taken tells about life choi ce. Man’s life is metaphorically related to a journey filled with twists and turns. One has to consider a lot before making a wise choice. Though the diverged roads seem identical, they actually lead to different directions, which symbolize different fates.A less than rigorous look at the poem may lead one to believe that Frost’s moral is embodied in those lines. The poem is take n as a call to independence, preaching originality and Emersonian self-reliance. The poem deconstructs its conclusion stanza by stanza.At the beginning of this poem, the poet shows the inability of human beings to foresee the future, especially the results of choices. At the split in the road, the speaker looks far down both the two paths to see what each of the paths will bring.H owever, his sight is limited; his eyes can only see the path until it bends into “the undergrowth〞. Man is free to choose, but doesn’t know beforehand the results of his choice.Both roads diverge into a “yellow wood〞and appear to be “about the same〞in their purposes. The first path is a more common route. The other is less traveled, which “was grass and wanted wear〞. The poet presents a conflict here—the decision between the common easy path and exceptional challenging path. The two different paths signify two different kinds of lives. Choosing the common easy path, people will feel at ease and live in safety, because the outcome is predictable. However, that kind of life may be less exciting and lack of novelty. While choosing the “less traveled〞road represents the gamble of facing a more difficult path in lives. This forms contrast with familiar lives of most people. People hope to achiever a satisfactory and interesting life on this road. The wish is good, but reality is full of challenges and uncertainties. Nobody can be sure of the outcome. After vacillating between the two roads, the poet finally decides to take the road “less traveled by〞and leads a different life from common people. This may indicate his choice to be a poet, other than other jobs. The poet makes up his mind to dedicate himself to poem writing, which is regarded as a less common career.Once the decision is made, there will be no way to return to the original choice to experience the other route. So the poet utters “Yet knowing how way leads on to way,I doubted if I should ever come back.〞The made choice is irrevocable, so man must be careful and rational before making decisions. At the same time, he must be courageous enough to shoulder the result of his choice, whether it is good or not.Frost presents man’s limitation to explore life’s different possibilities. The poet “sighs〞at the end of the poem. For at the time of one’s choice, he must give up other choices and miss some other things. At the same time, he “sighs〞with lamenta tion, pondering what he may have missed on the other path and that he doesn’t have opportunities to experience another kind of life.The Road Not Taken is interpreted universally as a representation of two similar choices. At the beginning, man may face two identical forks, which symbolize the nexus of free choice and fate. They contrast increasingly with each other as they diverge in their separate directions. Man is free to choose, but it’s beyond his ability to foretell the consequences. Man can choose a common route which guarantees a safe and reliable life. He can also choose a less common one which is unknown, unique and stands out above other else’s. All in all, man must be responsible for his choice and has courage to shoulder the result. He can never go back to the past and experience other possibilities. It is impossible to predict the outcome of decisions, so it is essential for him to make wise decisions after considering, selecting and questioning which selection will provide him with fulfillment.The Road Not Taken is full of philosophical overtones. This poem should be read as a warning. Man should consider a lot before making choices and reflect over the choices he has made to discover “all the differences〞.评论3：Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken〞has been one of the most analyzed, quoted, anthologized poems in American poetry.A wide-spread interpretation claims that the speaker in the poem is promoting individualism and non-conformity.A Tricky PoemFrost claims that he wrote this poem about his friend Edward Thomas, with whom he had walked many times in the woods near London. Frost has said that while walking they would come to different paths and after choosing one, Thomas would always fret wondering what they might have missed by not taking the other path.About the poem, Frost asserted, "You have to be careful of that one; it's a tricky poem - very tricky." And he is, of course, correct. The poem has been and continues to be used as an inspirational poem, one that to the undiscerning eye seems to be encouraging self-reliance, not following where others have led.But a close reading of the poem proves otherwise. It does not moralize about choice; it simply says that choice is inevitable, but you never know what your choice will mean until you have lived it.First Stanza – Describes SituationThe poem consists of four stanzas. In the first stanza, the speaker describes his position. He has been out walking the woods and comes to two roads, and he stands looking as far down each one as he can see. He would like to try out both, but doubts he could to that, so therefore he continues to look down the roads for a long time trying to make his decision about which road to take.Second Stanza – Decides to Take Less-Traveled RoadThe speaker had looke d down the first one “to where it bent in the undergrowth,〞and in the second stanza, he reports that he decided to take the other path, because it seemed to have less traffic than the first. But then he goes on to say that they actually were very similarly worn. The second one that he took seems less traveled, but as he thinks about it, he realizes that they were “really about the same.〞Not exactly that same but only “about the same.〞Third Stanza – Continues Description of RoadsThe third stanza continues with the cogitation about the possible differences between the two roads. He had noticed that the leaves were both fresh fallen on them both and had not been walked on, but then again claims that maybe he would come back and also walk the first one sometime, but he doubted he would be able to, because in life one thing leads to another and time is short.Also on Suite101Frost's Snow and WoodsRobert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" seems simple, but its nuanced phrase, "And miles to go before I sleep," offers much about which to speculate.Fourth Stanza – Two Tricky WordsThe fourth stanza holds the key to the trickiness of the poem:I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere 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.Those who interpret this poem as suggesting non-conformity take the word “difference〞to be a positive difference. But there is nothing in the poem that suggests that this difference signals a positive outcome. The speaker could not offer such information, because he has not lived the “difference〞yet.The other word that leads readers astray is the word “sigh.〞By taking “difference〞to mean a positive difference, they think that the sigh is one of nostalgic relief; however, a sigh can also mean regret. There is the “oh, dear〞kind of sigh, but also the “what a relief〞kind of sigh. Which one is it?If it is the relief sigh, then the difference means the speaker is glad he took the road he did; if it is the regret sigh, then the difference would not be good, and the speaker would be sighing in regret. But the plain fact is that the poem does not identify the nature of that sigh. The speaker of the poem does not even know the nature of that sigh, because that sigh and his evaluation of the difference his choice will make are still in the future. It is a truism that any choice an indiviual make is going to make “all the difference〞in how our future turns out.Careful Readers Won’t Be TrickedSo Frost was absolutely correct; his poem is tricky—very tricky. In this poem, it is important to be careful with the time frame. When the speaker says he will be reporting sometime in the future how his road choice turned out, he clearly states that he canno t assign meaning to “sigh〞and “difference〞yet, because he cannot know how his choice will affect his future, untilafter he has lived it.评论4：1．IntroductionAs is well known to people, Robert Frost is one of the most famous national poets of America. Though contemporary with modernists like T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound, Robert Frost is often regarded as a traditional poet of nature. He rejected the revolutionary poetic principles of his contemporary. On the contrary, he chose “the old- fashioned way to be new and urged poets to use the idioms of spoken English and, when possible, to rely on commonplace and even rustic imagery. And he saw nature as a storehouse of analogy and symbol. However, unlike other poets of nature, he depicted nature as something in constant conflicts with human beings and bring a deep sense of uncertainty and even tragedy to them. Simple as they seem, his poems are often profound in meaning between the lines. Most of his poems are characterized with an unusual sense of tragedy and reflect weakness of human beings in the face of vast, impersonal force.Additionally, the poem reflects Frost’s own personal tragedy and his miserable, sorrowful inner feelings exactly. When it comes to this, his personal life experience has to be taken into consideration. Famous and popular as he became, but he suffer a lot during all his life. He lost his father as a young boy, and he was bereaved of his beloved wife in his middle age. What is worse, all of his children ended up dying young or suffering from mental disease. For him, life seemed to keep playing tricks on him and made his life miserable. As a result, many poems composed by him, not only this one, are featured with an exotic sense of tragic beauty.2. AnalysisIn this poem, the speaker, a traveler in the wood faced with the choice of two roads. The roads bear two connotations: the material roads and the roads of life. Now, let me give some specific analysis.2.1 See over one roadIn part one, the speaker faced with two roa ds in the autumnal wood and feel puzzled over which one to choose. “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood〞, He stood there for a long time and mused on one of them, which was taken by many people. Unfortunately, he was unable to find out which place the，road would take him to, for it is far beyond his ability to know where the road would lead. However, he must choose to take.2.2. The other oneIn part two, he stepped on the other road, “Then took the other, as just as fair〞, It was grassy and not taken. His choice would affect every other subsequent choice, and there was no turning back. From his choice for the less trodden road, it could be concluded that he did not like to follow the steps of other people, he wanted his own life choired by himself.2.3 HelplessIn part three, he decided to choose the less traveled one, but he was aware that he could never have a chance to return to the first road. “I doubted if I should never come back〞showed he is helpless.2.4 Chose the less traveled roadIn part four, “I shall be telling this with a sign〞, he articulated why he chose the less traveled road, for he expected his life to be unusual and different. But there was no way to foretell the consequences of his choice.All in all, for the speaker, the road of life was accident and mystical, and his very choice was crucial in determining the consequences of his life. The ordinary people follow other’s choice, while the exceptional ones choose their uni que roads of life.3. Conclusion3.1 Everyone is a travelerEveryone is a traveler, choosing the roads to follow on the map of their continuous journey. There is never a straight path but a sole direction in which to head. It is one's past, present and the attitude with which he looks upon his future that determines the shade of the light.In any case however, this poem clearly explained Frost's belief that it is the road that one chooses that makes him the man who he is. It is always difficult to make a decision because it is impossible not to wonder about the opportunity cost, what willbe missed out on. It is impossible to travel down every path. The road that will be chosen leads to the unknown, as does any choice in life. As much he may strain his eyes to see as far the road stretches, eventually it surpasses his vision and he can never see where it is going to lead.It is the way that he chooses here that sets him off on his journey and decides where he is going. It was something that was obviously not for everyone because it seemed that the majority of people took the other path. There is simply a narrator who makes a decision in his life that had changed the direction of his life from what it may have otherwise been. It allows all readers from all different experiences to relate to the poem.3.2 Human beings are so weakIn a word, the poem The Road Not Taken is a very beautiful and excellent poem. It is set in a rural natural environment where always inspire the speaker to think of life. It is based on a metaphor in which the journey through life is compared to a journey on a road. And the speaker of the poem has to choose one path instead of another. Even though the two paths look equally attractive, the speaker knows that his choice at this moment may have a significant influence on his future. He does make a decision, hoping that he may be able to visit this place again, yet realizing that such an opportunity is impossible. He imagines himself in the future telling the story of his life, and claiming that his decision to take the road less traveled by, the road few other people have taken, has made all the difference.This thesis intends to explore Frost’s own view of life. He told us tha t human beings are so weak when compared with nature and the destiny. Though human beings have made great progress in the past several centuries, there will forever exist something that is far beyond their control. For human, it is unable to do anything useful when he is in conflict with the impersonal force. And it’s also unable to control his own destiny; on the contrary, his fate and destiny are in the charge of something mysterious beyond him. In this sense, life is a tragedy to human. So it could be said that Frost conveyed his sense of tragedy common to human through this simple but beautiful poem. It is simple in form but profound in meaning.评论5：SummaryThe speaker stands in the woods, considering a fork in the road. Both ways are equally worn and equally overlaid withun-trodden leaves. The speaker chooses one, telling himself that he will take the other another day. Yet he knows it is unlikely that he will have the opportunity to do so. And he admits that someday in the future he will recreate the scene with a slight twist: He will claim that he took the less-traveled road.From“The Road Not Taken〞consists of four stanzas of five lines. The rhyme scheme is ABAAB; the rhymes are strict and masculine, with the notable exception of the last line (we do not usually stress the -ence of difference). There are four stressed syllables per line, varying on an iambic tetrameter base.CommentaryThis has got to be among the best-known, most-often-misunderstood poems on the planet. Several generations of careless readers have turned it into a piece of Hallmark happy-graduation-son, seize-the-future puffery. Cursed with a perfect marriage of form and content, arresting phrase wrought from simple words, and resonant metaphor, it seems as if “The Road Not Taken〞gets memorized without really being read. For this it has died the cliché’s un-death of trivial immortality.But you yourself can resurrect it from zombie-hood by reading it—not with imagination, even, but simply with accuracy. Of the two roads the spea ker says “the passing there / Had worn them really about the same.〞In fact, both roads “that morning lay / In leaves no step had trodden black.〞Meaning: Neither of the roads is less traveled by. These are the facts; we cannot justifiably ignore the reverberations they send through the easy aphorisms of the last two stanzas.One of the attractions of the poem is its archetypal dilemma, one that we instantly recognize because each of us encounters itinnumerable times, both literally and figuratively. Paths in the woods and forks in roads are ancient and deep-seated metaphors for the lifeline, its crises and decisions. Identical forks, in particular, symbolize for us the nexus of free will and fate: We are free to choose, but we do not really know beforehand what we are choosing between. Our route is, thus, determined by an accretion of choice and chance, and it is impossible to separate the two.This poem does not advise. It does not say, “When you come to a fork in the road, study the footprints and take the road less traveled by〞(or even, as Yogi Berra enigmatically quipped, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it〞). Frost’s focus is more complicated. First, there is no less-traveled road in this poem; it isn’t even an option. Next, the poem seems more concerned with the question of how the concrete present (yellow woods, grassy roads covered in fallen leaves) will look from a future vantage point.The ironic tone is inescapable: “I shall be telling this with a sigh / Somewhere ages and ages hence.〞The speaker anticipates his own future insincerity—his need, later on in life, to rearrange the facts and inject a dose of Lone Ranger into the account. He knows that he will be inaccurate, at best, or hypocritical, at worst, when he holds his life up as an example. In fact, he predicts that his future self will betray this moment of decision as if the betrayal were inevitable. This realization is ironic and poignantly pathetic. But the “sigh〞is critical. The speaker will not, in his old age, merely gather the youth about him and say, “Do what I did, kiddies. I stuck to my guns, took the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.〞Rather, he may say this, but he will sigh first; for he won’t believe it himself. Somewhere in the back of his mind will remain the image of yellow woods and two equally leafy paths.Ironic as it is, this is also a poem infused with the anticipation of remorse. Its title is not “The Road Less Traveled〞but “The Road Not Taken.〞Even as he makes a choice (a choice he is forced to make if does not want to stand forever in the woods, one for which he has no real guide or definitive basis for decision-making), the speaker knows that he will second-guess himself somewhere down the line—or at the very least he will wonder at what is irrevocably lost: the impossible, unknowable Other Path. But the nature of the decision is such that there is no Right Path—just the chosen path and the other path. What are sighed for ages and ages hence are not so much the wrong decisions as the moments of decision themselves—moments that, one atop the other, mark the passing of a life. This is the more primal strain of remorse.Thus, to add a further level of irony, the theme of the poem may, after all, be “seize the day.〞But a more nuanced carpe diem, if you please.。
《The Road Not Taken》"The Road Not Taken" is a poem by Robert Frost, published in 1916 in the collection Mountain Interval; it is the first poem in the volume and is printed in italics. The title is often mistakenly given as "The Road Less Traveled", from the penultimate line: "I took the one less traveled by".The poem has two recognized interpretations; one is a more literal interpretation, while the other is more ironic.Readers often see the poem literally, as an expression of individualism. Critics typically view the poem as ironic. – "'The Road Not Taken,' perhaps the most famous example of Frost's own claims to conscious irony’ and 'the best example in all of American poetry of a wolf in sheep's clothing.'" – and Frost himself warned "You have to be careful of that one; it's a tricky poem –very tricky." Frost intended the poem as a gentle jab(猛击) at his great friend and fellow poet Edward Thomas with whom he used to take walks through the forest (Thomas always complained at the end that they should have taken a different path) and seemed amused at this certain interpretation of the poem as inspirational.Literal interpretationAccording to the literal (and more common) interpretation, the poem is inspirational, a paean（赞美歌）to individualism and non-conformism.The poem consists of four stanzas. In the first stanza, the speaker describes his position. He has been out walking in the woods and comes to two roads, and he stands looking as far down each one as he can see. He would like to try out both, but doubts he could do that, so therefore he continues to look down the roads for a long time trying to make his decision about which road to take.Ironic interpretationThe ironic interpretation, widely held by critics, is that the poem is instead about regret and personal myth-making, rationalizing our decisions. In this interpretation, the final two lines: “I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference. ”are ironic: the choice made little or no difference at all, the speaker's protestations to the contrary. The speaker admits in the second and third stanzas that both paths may be equally worn and equally leaf-covered, and it is only in his future recollection that he will call one road "less traveled by".The sigh, widely interpreted as a sigh of regret, might also be interpreted ironically: in a 1925 letter to Cristine Yates of Dickson, Tennessee, asking about the sigh, Frost replied: "It was my rather private jest at the expense of those who might think I would yet live to be sorry for the way I had taken in life."Everyone is a traveler, choosing the roads to follow on the map of their continuous journey, life. There is never a straight path that leaves one with but a sole direction in which to head. Regardless of the original message that Robert Frost had intended to convey, his poem, "The Road Not Taken", has left its readers with many different interpretations. It is one's past, present and the attitude with which he looks upon his future that determines the shade of the light thathe will see the poem in. In any case however, this poem clearly demonstrates Frost's belief that it is the road that one chooses that makes him the man who he is."And sorry I could not travel both..." It is always difficult to make a decision because it is impossible not to wonder about the opportunity cost, what will be missed out on. There is a strong sense of regret before the choice is even made and it lies in the knowledge that in one lifetime, it is impossible to travel down every path. In an attempt to make a decision, the traveler "looks down one as far as I could". The road that will be chosen leads to the unknown, as does any choice in life. As much he may strain his eyes to see as far the road stretches, eventually it surpasses his vision and he can never see where it is going to lead. It is the way that he chooses here that sets him off on his journey and decides where he is going."Then took the other, just as fair, and having perhaps the better claim." What made it have the better claim is that "it was grassland wanted wear." It was something that was obviously not for everyone because it seemed that the majority of people took the other path therefore he calls it "the road less traveled by". The fact that the traveler took this path over the more popular, secure one indicates the type of personality he has, one that does not want to necessarily follow the crowd but do more of what has never been done, what is new and different."And both that morning equally lay in leaves no step had trodden back." The leaves had covered the ground and since the time they had fallen no one had yet to pass by on this road. Perhaps Frost does this because each time a person comes to the point where they have to make a choice, it is new to them, somewhere they have never been and they tend to feel as though no one else had ever been there either. "I kept the first for another day!" The desire to travel down both paths is expressed and is not unusual, but "knowing how way leads on to way", the speaker of this poem realizes that the decision is not just a temporary one and he "doubted if I should ever come back." This is his common sense speaking and acknowledging that what he chooses now will affect every other choice he makes afterward. Once you have performed an act or spoken a word that crystallizes who you are, there is no turning back and it cannot be undone.Once again at the end of the poem the regret hangs over the traveler like a heavy cloud about to burst. He realizes that at the end of his life, "somewhere ages and ages hence", he will have regrets about having never gone back and traveling down the roads he did not take. Yet he remains proud of his decision and he recognizes that it was this path that he chose that made him turn out the way and he did and live his life the way in which he lived. "I took the road less traveled by and that had made all the difference." To this man, what was most important, what really made the difference, is that he did what he wanted, even if it meant taking the road less traveled. If he hadn't, he wouldn't be the same man he is now.There are many equally valid meanings to this poem and Robert Frost may have intended this. He may have been trying to achieve a universal understanding. In other words, there is no judgment, no specificity, no moral. There is simply a narrator who makes a decision in his life that had changed the direction of his life from what it may have otherwise been. It allows all readers from all different experiences to relate to the poem.Robert F rost is one of the finest of rural New England’s 20th century pastoral poets. His poems are great combination of wisdom, harmony and serenity. They are simple at first sight, but demand readers for deep reading to grasp further meaning beyond surface.The famous poem of Frost The Road Not Taken is my favorite. This poem consists of four stanzas of five lines. The rhyme scheme is ABAAB. the rhymes are strict and masculine, withnotable exception of the last line. There are four stressed syllables each line, varying on iambic tetrameter (四步抑扬格) base.The Road Not Taken tells about life choice. Man’s life is metaphorically related to a journey filled with twists and turns. One has to consider a lot before making a wise choice. Though the diverged roads seem identical, they actually lead to different directions, which symbolize different fates.A less than rigorous look at the poem may lead one to believe that Frost’s moral is embodied in those lines. The poem is taken as a call to independence, preaching originality and Emersonian self-reliance. The poem deconstructs its conclusion stanza by stanza.At the beginning of this poem, the poet shows the inability of human beings to foresee the future, especially the results of choices. At the split in the road, the speaker looks far down both the two paths to see what each of the paths will bring. However, his sight is limited; his eyes can only see the path until it bends into “the undergrowth”. Man is free to choose, but doesn’t know beforehand the results of his choice.Both roads diverge into a “yellow wood” and appear to be “about the same” in their purposes. The first path is a more common route. The other is less traveled, which “was grass and wanted wear”. The poet presents a conflict here—the decision between the common easy path and exceptional challenging path. The two different paths signify two different kinds of lives. Choosing the common easy path, people will feel at ease and live in safety, because the outcome is predictable. However, that kind of life may be less exciting and lack of novelty. While choosing the “less traveled” road represents the gamble of facing a more difficult path in lives. This forms contrast with familiar lives of most people. People hope to achieve a satisfactory and interesting life on this road. The wish is good, but reality is full of challenges and uncertainties. Nobody can be sure of the outcome. After vacillating (犹豫) between the two roads, the poet finally decides to take the road “less traveled by” and leads a different life from common people. This may indicate his choice to be a poet, other than other jobs. The poet makes up his mind to dedicate himself to poem writing, which is regarded as a less common career.Once the decision is made, there will be no way to return to the original choice to experie nce the other route. So the poet utters “Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.” The made choice is irrevocable, so man must be careful and rational before making decisions. At the same time, he must be courageous enough to shoulder the result of his choice, whether it is good or not.Frost presents man’s limitation to explore life’s different possibilities. The poet “sighs” at the end of the poem. For at the time of one’s choice, he must give up other choices and miss so me other things. At the same time, he “sighs” with lamentation, pondering what he may have missed on the other path and that he doesn’t have opportunities to experience another kind of life.The Road Not Taken is interpreted universally as a representation of two similar choices. At the beginning, man may face two identical forks, which symbolize the nexus of free choice and fate. They contrast increasingly with each other as they diverge in their separate directions. Man is free to choose, but it’s beyond his ability to foretell the consequences. Man can choose a common route which guarantees a safe and reliable life. He can also choose a less common one which is unknown, unique and stands out above other else’s. All in all, man must be responsible for his choice and has courage to shoulder the result.He can never go back to the past and experience other possibilities. It is impossible to predict the outcome of decisions, so it isessential for him to make wise decisions after considering, selecting and questioning which selection will provide him with fulfillment.The Road Not Taken is full of philosophical overtones. This poem should be read as a warning. Man should consider a lot before making choices and reflect over the choices he has made to discover “all the differences”.Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” has been one of the most analyzed, quoted, anthologized poems in American poetry. A wide-spread interpretation claims that the speaker in the poem is promoting individualism and non-conformity.A Tricky PoemFrost claims that he wrote this poem about his friend Edward Thomas, with whom he had walked many times in the woods near London. Frost has said that while walking they would come to different paths and after choosing one, Thomas would always fret wondering what they might have missed by not taking the other path.About the poem, Frost asserted, "You have to be careful of that one; it's a tricky poem - very tricky." And he is, of course, correct. The poem has been and continues to be used as an inspirational poem, one that to the undiscerning eye seems to be encouraging self-reliance, not following where others have led.But a close reading of the poem proves otherwise. It does not moralize about choice; it simply says that choice is inevitable, but you never know what your choice will mean until you have lived it.Three things make his poem tricky-the time frame, and the words "sigh" and "difference."First Stanza – Describes SituationThe poem consists of four stanzas. In the first stanza, the speaker describes his position. He has been out walking the woods and comes to two roads, and he stands looking as far down each one as he can see. He would like to try out both, but doubts he could to that, so therefore he continues to look down the roads for a long time trying to make his decision about which road to take.Second Stanza – Decides to Take Less-Traveled RoadThe speaker had looked down the first one “to where it bent in the undergrowth,” and in the second stanza, he reports that he decided to take the other path, because it seemed to have less traffic than the first. But then he goes on to say that they actually were very similarly worn. The second one that he took seems less traveled, but as he thinks about it, he realizes that they were “really about the same.” Not exactly that same but only “about the same.”Third Stanza – Continues Description of RoadsThe third stanza continues with the cogitation (深思) about the possible differences between the two roads. He had noticed that the leaves were both fresh fallen on them both and had not been walked on, but then again claims that maybe he would come back and also walk the first one sometime, but he doubted he would be able to, because in life one thing leads to another and time is short.Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" seems simple, but its nuanced (微妙的) phrase, "And miles to go before I sleep," offers much about which to speculate.Fourth Stanza – Two Tricky WordsThe fourth stanza holds the key to the trickiness of the poem:I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere 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.Those who interpret this poem as suggesting non-conformity take the word “difference” to be a positive difference. But there is nothing in the poem that suggests that this difference signals a positive outcome. The speaker could not offer such information, because he has not lived the “difference” yet.The other word that leads readers astray is the word “sigh.”By taking “difference” to mean a positive difference, they think that the sigh is one of nostalgic relief; however, a sigh can also mean regret. There is the “oh, dear” kind of sigh, but also the “what a relief” kind of sigh. Which one is it?If it is the relief sigh, then the difference means the speaker is glad he took the road he did; if it is the regret sigh, then the difference would not be good, and the speaker would be sighing in regret. But the plain fact is that the poem does not identify the nature of that sigh. T he speaker of the poem does not even know the nature of that sigh, because that sigh and his evaluation of the difference his choice will make are still in the future. It is a truism (自明之理) that any choice an individual make is going to make “all the difference” in how our future turn s out.Careful Readers Won’t Be TrickedSo Frost was absolutely correct; his poem is tricky—very tricky. In this poem, it is important to be careful with the time frame. When the speaker says he will be reporting sometime in the future how his road choice turned out, he clearly states that he cannot assign meaning to “sigh” and “difference” yet, because he cannot know how his choice will affect his future, until after he has lived it.。
