Paired Poem over "The Road Not Taken" and "The Lover Not Taken"

Answer

Pairing “The Road Not Taken" and "The Lover Not Taken"  

            So much driven by an analysis mindset, Salman Rushdie once declared, “The only people who see the whole picture are the ones who step outside the frame.” The analysis of poems requires a similar approach. To get the deeper meaning and connotations of a poet’s intended message, one must analyze the poem, not just as an audience, but also by imagining themselves as the persona. With such a view in mind, this work delves into the work of renowned American poets – Frost and Farley – by analyzing their poems, “The Road Not Taken" and "The Lover Not Taken". Beginning with “The Road Not Taken" and concluding with "The Lover Not Taken", the essay analyses the thematic concerns raised in the two poems, considering this as a possible reason for why the two poems are paired together.

            Life being full of choices, decisions and life-long repercussions is a central theme of Frost’s “The Road Not Taken". Frost uses an example of a person taking a stroll in the woods to represent the daily life of a person. While in the woods, the person is forced to choose between two paths, and has to critically think through the decision. “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, “Sorry I could not travel both” (Frost). As Hudayberenov (2017) argues, the poem presents the uncertainty one usually faces while making decisions. The persona ponders for a long time which road is best. “And be one traveler, long I stood, / And looked down one as far as I could, / To where it bent in the undergrowth” (Frost). As much as the persona analyses the path, there are still bends in the path and the persona cannot possibly know what is beyond the bend. The struggle does not just end with the uncertainty of decision-making. It carries on to the consequences of each and every choice. The persona, for example, took the road less travelled but ended up contented and different. “I took the one less traveled by, / And that has made all the difference” (Frost). Hence, life being full of choices, decisions and life-long repercussions is a central theme of Frost’s “The Road Not Taken". 

            Farley’s "The Lover Not Taken" shares the familiar elements of choice, decisions and life-long repercussions. Like the persona in Frost’s poem, Farley’s persona is forced to choose between remaining in an already existing relationship or trying out a new relationship. “Committed to one, she wanted both, / And, mulling it over, long she stood” (Farley). She is similarly faced with the uncertainty of decision-making. Another writer terms it as, “the possibility of being at an advantage or disadvantage for choosing” (Individual’s Choice in The Road Not Taken).  The persona wonders whether ages later, if the decision to stay faithful would still matter. “She might be telling tis. "And I --, / She would say, "stood faithfully by." But by then who would know the difference?” (Farley). The persona is equally not spared from the possible repercussions of making a choice. Farley writes, “No. For if way led on and Jack, / Found out, she doubted if he would ever come back.” Thus, Farley’s "The Lover Not Taken" shares the familiar elements of choice, decisions and life-long repercussions. 

            In conclusion, the analysis of poems brings out deeper understanding of the author’s intended message. Life being full of choices, decisions and life-long repercussions is a central theme of Frost’s “The Road Not Taken". Farley’s "The Lover Not Taken" shares the familiar elements of choice, decisions and life-long repercussions. Finally, the similarity in thematic concerns is a possible reason why the two poems are paired together.     

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