Symbolism and Irony in "The Road Not Taken".
In Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken," Symbolism and Irony shows the reader the true meaning of this poem. Most people when first reading this poem believe that it is about the author taking "the road less traveled." But the true meaning is different, like the title of the poem, "The Road Not Taken.".
Symbolism is used to attract us to the poem. Frost uses a simple metaphor, one that we instantly recognize because we encounter this situation many times, both literally and figuratively. Paths in the woods and forks in the road are metaphors for life, and its different choices and decisions. Identical forks in the road symbolize a link between free choice and fate. This shows us that we are free to choose but we do not know what we are choosing between until later in life. Our destiny is made between choice and chance. .
The first example of Ironic tone is that the poem does not advise. It does not say, "When you come to a fork in the road, study the leaves and take the less traveled road." It says, "Though as for that, the passing there/Had worn them really about the same," (9-10) and "And both that morning equally lay/In leaves no step had trodden black."(11-12). This means that neither of the roads is less traveled. This is the first indication of irony. The poem seems more concerned with the future in the last two stanzas.
The ironic tone is still evident: "I shall be telling this with a sigh/Somewhere ages and ages hence:"(16-17). The author anticipates his need to change his story slightly and to rearrange the facts and make it more exciting to tell people in the future. The "sigh" is critical. He may say, "I took the one less traveled by,"(19), but his "sigh" shows that he may not quite believe the story himself, knowing that both paths were the same. I believe this is also reinforced by the pause between lines eighteen and nineteen showing hesitation before he fudges the truth.
