The Road Not Taken 未选择的路罗伯特弗罗斯特（Robert Frost）生于1874年，卒于1963年，可能要算是20世纪美国最受欢迎和爱戴的一位诗人了。1912年，他弃农从文，从此成为了一名专业诗人。他曾在1961年时受邀在约翰F肯尼迪总统的就职典礼上朗诵他的诗歌The Gift Outright。而本次我为大家推荐的The Road Not Taken则是他最著名的一首诗歌。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 undergrown 直到它消失在丛林深处 Then took the other, as just as fair 但我却选了另外一条路 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 even 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- 一片树林里分出两条路 I took the one less traveled by, 而我选了人迹更少的一条 And that has made all the difference 从此决定了我一生的道路评论1：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 Frosts own claims to conscious irony and the best example in all of American poetry of a wolf in sheeps clothing.2 and Frost himself warned You have to be careful of that one; its 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,15 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 speakers 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 ones 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 Frosts 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 hi