The road not taken

1诗歌简介:这首名诗《The Road Not Taken》形式是传统的抑扬格四音步，但音步可变(含有不少抑抑扬的成分);每节的韵式为abaab 。弗罗斯特写诗最大的特色就是善于运用眼前看似平淡无奇的事物，去表达一个深刻的哲理。这正如他在一首诗中写的：“黄色的树林里有两条岔开的路/可惜我不能在同一时间走两条路/我选择了少人行走的那条/这就造成了一切的差异。”诗人选择了诗歌，放下了在一所师范学校教书的职业以及那可能平坦，安稳的生活。他对自己说：写诗吧，穷就穷吧，于是他们就来了英国，在离伦敦不远的一个村子里找到了一座木板茅屋作为新家。

罗伯特弗罗斯特堪称美国20世纪90年代最受欢迎的诗人之一，是美国非官方的桂冠诗人，他一生致力于诗歌的创作，主要写作并出版了10部诗集，这一首是其第三部诗集《山的间隔》中的名篇。

2诗歌翻译:

The Road Not Taken ——Robert Frost 未选择的路 罗伯特?弗罗斯特

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 undergrowth; 直到它消失在丛林深处

Then took the other, as just as fair, 但我却选择了另外一条路

And having perhaps the better claim, 它荒草萋萋，十分幽寂

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, 但我知道路径延绵无尽头

I doubted if I should ever come back. 恐怕我难以再回返

I shall be telling this with a sigh 也许多少年后在某一个地方

Somewhere ages and ages hence: 我将轻声叹息把往事回顾

Two roads diverged in a wood,and I, 一片森林里分出两条路

I took the one less traveled by, 而我却选择了人迹更少的一条

And that has made all the difference.从此决定了我一生的道路

3诗歌赏析:

(1)诗歌特点:全诗共4节，可分两层：1—3节为第一层，在树林里，“我”面临着两条路，而经过思考决定选择了一条人迹罕至的路。在这一层中，诗人描述了选择人迹罕至的路并不是草率决定的，而是经历了复杂的心理历程。描述了“我”站在岔路口，为不能同时涉足两条路而遗憾，“我在那路口久久伫立”，写出“我”的犹豫和久久思索：一条路平坦通畅，极目可望见它的尽头;而另一条路幽寂荒凉，充满着引人探索的诱-惑，但“无限美景在险峰”， “我”终于选择了那条人迹更少的路，就让另一条路留待后日去走，这显然是作者做出抉择后的一种自我安慰，因为“我知道路径延绵无尽头，/恐怕我难以再回返”，虽然如此，但依然义无返顾。 第4节为第二层，是作者多年以后的感慨， “我选择了人迹更少的一条，/从此决定了我一生的道路”。这告诉我们，人的一生面临着无数的选择，而每一次选择都会对人生产生重要影响;一个人的一生怎样度过，就看他在人生的岔路口做出了怎样的选择，选择不同，命运就会不同。

(2)弗罗斯特在诗歌风格上的一个最大特点是朴素无华，含义隽永，把深刻的思考和哲理寓于平淡无奇的内容和简洁朴实的诗句之中。本诗堪称是这方面的典范。这首诗的语言质朴自然，但在构思上却非常巧妙。我们不难看出，诗歌中所描写的岔路就是人生岔路的象征。它说明，在人生的旅途中，我们时常必须要在两条道路、两种思想或两种行动中做出选择，不同的选择将决定不同的人生方向。面对选择时，我们往往会变得犹豫不决，反复权衡，拿不定主意。最后，我们终究会选择其中的一条路。这首诗，描绘的是一个面临选择的人和他

进行选择时的心态，至于选择的具体内容并没有写出，诗人的着眼点是选择本身。每一个读者都能够在这首诗中发现自己的生活体验，体味其中的哲理。因为这首诗具有丰富的内涵，给读者留下了想像的空间，从而受到触动，引发深深的思索。这种每个人都有过的复杂的心理体验，被弗罗斯特敏感地捕捉到了，并谱写成一首脍炙人口的佳作.

选择了荒芜的路，经历痛苦、磨难，旅途中不断回想起那条未选择的路。“要是我走那条未选择的路，也许我就不会这般痛苦?”诗人写出了漫长人生路中的种种迷惘、惆怅。全诗最后并没有指出诗人选择那条路以后最终的结局，只是说“And that has made all the difference”......

 

第二篇：《The Road Not Taken》

《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.[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. 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 typRobert Frost 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, wi

th 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 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 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 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 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”.Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth;Then took the other, as just as fair,And having perhaps the better claim,Because it was grassy and wanted wear;Though as for that the passing thereHad worn them really about the same,And both that morning equally layIn leaves no step had trodden black.Oh, I kept the first for another day!Yet knowing how way leads on to way,I doubted if I should ever come back.I shall be telling this with a 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.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.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 Tr

icky 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 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 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 Suite101 Frost'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 informatio

n, 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 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.Robert Frost's Tricky PoemAnalysis of 'The Road Not Taken' Nov 13, 2006 Linda Sue Grimes Robert Frost - Wikimedia CommonsFrost said his poem "The Road Not Taken" was tricky-very tricky. Three things make his poem tricky-the time frame, and the words "sigh" and "difference." 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.Ads by GoogleFind your True Love Is your true Love compatible? We help explore your destiny Warehouse Analysis Independent Warehouse Analysis. Top Professionals From The UK www.logsim.co.ukBut 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 ha

ve 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 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 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 Suite101 Frost'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 futur

e. 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 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.Other Frost Articles