Robert Frost- The Road Not Taken
Video: 26:43
My notes while watching the vid:
-Frost 1874-1963
-Pulitzer Prize: 4 times
-Contrast between the public and private Frost
-Demystifying poem interpretations
-Min 7. Reads the poem
-Appeal of the poem- apparently simple poem for basic decisions in life
-An affirmation of non-conformity. Go your own way.
-Autobiography. A tale with this uncle Peter. Inspiration for the poem
-How do we know that the person speaking in his poem took the road less travelled by?
-Examined one road and then took quickly at the other
-Rather than giving us evidence, it becomes an equivocation
-He wishes he could do everything.
-Sigh. Shifting point in the poem. Jumps forward to the future
Sigh. contentment? nostalgia? regret?
-A slight revision takes place ...and I (hesitation)
-The evidence before contradicts the statement of having taken the less travelled by road.
-He doesn't say if the difference made was good or bad. People seem to want to hear a positive message. 1973 readings.
-In the future I will provide a happy rationalization of the experience, not that it was good or bad.
-We would think well of ourselves. Our understanding of ourselves is a positive one.
-Self-deception. The title. Looking back to a decision. A terrible sensation: what if I have made the wrong decision?
-Indecision and equivocation. Could it be that they naturally lead to this kind of rationalisation? As fallible human beings , we will question our decisions.
-Clearly, the final two lines are not supported by the evidence that precedes them.
-Frost's darker side in his life was masked. Just as in the poem.
A darker depth, underside to the poem is an interpretation which has been overlooked.
Links
Some quotes on analysis of the poem.
Pictures of Robert Frost.
Labels: lectures, poetry, Robert.Frost
