Opportunity Over Argument
     âIn three words I can sum up everything Iâve learned about life: it goes onâ. A great American poet, by the name of Robert Frost, once spoke these very words regarding some water in a cup and an endless argument over something about half full or half empty. Although Frost had managed to unbiasedly end this one argument, it seems that he had only won one battle of an eternal war between pessimists and optimists; this set the stage of Frostâs workâs interpretations. One must think, however, that he was asking for it: to sit back, have some popcorn, and watch these relentless perspectives duke it out over his perpetually vague language. In fact, Frostâs vague language within his poem, The Road Not Taken , is so vague that, while people are debating their interpretation of his tone, his readerâs completely overlook the not-so-hidden, hidden message.
      To preface this âhiddenâ message, you must first know what actually goes on at face value of The Road Not Taken. The scene is of a traveler hiking in an autumn forest, whom had stumbled upon a cross in the road. The poem leads on with the traveler stopping to inspect one path as far as the traveler could see, then compares the second path. The traveler briefly debates to himself/herself (gender is not mentioned) that one is possibly better: âAnd having perhaps the better claim, /Because it was grassy and wanted wear, /â (Frost 7-8). However, this thought was fleeting as the traveler decided that the paths were âreally about the same, /â (Frost 10). After reiterating the equality of each road, the traveler hastily chooses a path and doubts if he/she will ever come back. Finally, the traveler, now speaking directly to the reader, speculates, with a sigh, that someday they will be telling the story, that âTwo roads diverged in a wood, and I- / I took the one less traveled by, / And that has made all the difference. /â (18-20).
      Now, what does that all mean? Surely this poem isnât just about a traveler who took their sweet time deciding which direction to go, then being a bit melodramatic about the whole ordeal; luckily, this is Frost we are talking about. The poem in itâs entirety is primarily an allusion to life and decisions people face, even those as small as which road to take on a hike in autumn. More specifically a time in a personâs life; two clues are mentioned that lead the reader to knowing it is autumn: ââŠa yellow wood, /â (Frost 1) and âIn leaves no step had trodden back. /â (Frost 12). Note, there are four seasons in a year and autumn is third to last, last being winter, and last typically symbolizing death. This suggests that the traveler is older, closer to death. This is further suggested towards the end of the poem when the traveler is speaking to the reader, âI shall be telling this with a sigh/ Somewhere ages and ages hence:/â (Frost 16-17). The reader is often to trusting of the narrator, falling victim to believing false verb tense and inaccurate details. The narrator said it will be ages from this day that the story is told, which means the narrator is, in fact, much older.
      Once the allusion of an old traveler speaking of life decisions that the traveler once faced and the repercussions of such decisions is where Frostâs life long interpretation battle shows itâs face again. The optimist would readily argue that the traveler was quite excited and confident when the narrator said âOh, I kept the first for another day! / Yet knowing how way leads on to way, / I doubted if I should ever come back./â (Frost 13-15). Whereas that same quote to a pessimist would note how line 14 is filled with regret and line 15 was remorseful for missing out on other opportunities. Perhaps the optimist would then rebuttal with how the narrator, after he decided both roads were about equal, saw equal potential in both roads. Pessimist would then refute that equal opportunity comes from both choices, but then would point out the short sightedness of the optimist, for the narrator could only see so far down each. What if the road chosen lead to a grizzly bear? Death. Regardless of the possibility of danger, the narrator clearly lived to tell the tale, even breathing a sigh of relief in line 16, an optimist would interject. More like a sigh of regret, bittersweet Ă©nouement; you can tell because the optimist omitted line 17 speaking of aging which is only a happy subject for adolescence.
      On and on and on, that damn cup of water stealing aldl of Frostâs thunder. So what of this not-so-hidden, hidden lesson that was so rudely overlooked by those who cannot agree to disagree? It has been staring you in the face this whole time and you havenât figured it out? It lies within the very title of the poem, The Road Not Taken. The key word here, you see, is not. The poem isnât The Road Taken: a joyous tail where a narrator regales you with their pursuit of happiness; itâs The Road Not Taken: the somber tale of what ifâs and melancholy filled doubt. The lesson Frost is trying to get across is that nothing matters at all if all a persons time is spent dwelling on the past and what could have been, the only real thing that matters is ones own happiness. That is why while the optimist and pessimist were arguing about how full or empty the glass was, the realest drank, and enjoyed, the glass of water.
      The unforgiving war of cups and water, although distracted from, did not thwart Frostâs not-so-hidden, hidden message of not dwelling on the past, but cherish the now in his poem, The Road Not Taken. Whether you as a reader choose to read the poem, or even how you face life; at face value, unbiasedly, optimistically, pessimistically, or even realistically, just remember what Master Oogway said to Po in Kung Fu Panda: âYesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a giftâŠthatâs why they call it the present.â
An essay I wrote for my favorite college english class. My professor posed this poem, as well as a few others. I chose The Road Not Taken because it has been my favorite poem since I was about eight years old; not to mention one of the most influential pieces in my life to this date. I struggled at first trying to figure out the lesson I wanted to weave into this essay. Being that the poem held so much brevity to me, I wanted the lesson to bear the same level of influence and importance; it would be an insult to Frost if I didnât. It was by fated luck that I was scrolling through time hop to find a past post (around the same time I first read the poem), âDear Optimists and Pessimists, While you both were too busy arguing over how full the glass was, I drank it. Sincerely the Opportunistâ. Once I saw this forgotten post, I knew exactly where Frost and all his readers went, and continue to go, wrong. And thus my thesis was born.
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