“If”/ “The Road Not Taken”
The best advice I’ve ever had is to not listen to advice. That has made all the difference. “If” by Rudyard Kipling and “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost are both similar. Rudyard Kipling is giving fatherly advice to his son about the art of manliness. The Road Not Taken is about a man not knowing what to do and deciding to ‘roam’ the untraveled.
This essay will show how time has changed, making the following poems no longer valid, or less valid, as advice. “If” and “The Road Not Taken” are both older poems, encompassing broader issues. While they’re seen and heard of today (the issues), the context has changed in which the poems are read due to modernization.
To begin with, language in “The Road Not Taken” is dated; as can be heard in day to day conversation “trodden” is no longer a word in use. Taking a road that’s less frequented might be taken because of a persons’ personal experience. Also people are no longer looked down upon for being themselves, for the most art at least. In addition when “Then took the other, just as fair,” the poet is saying that something is ‘fair’ shows that Rudyard Kipling’s poem is dated, and should be taken with a grain of salt. “If” bears the same problem, capitalizing words and using outdated expressions. Moreover, the poem is harder to take at face value without thinking it’s no longer valid because of its language. Pitch and Toss isn’t played anymore since coins have less value and gambling everything isn’t as common. Seeing words be twisted is easy nowadays with so much technology but seeing the word ‘knaves’ is really only common in poker. Take the following line as an example “Or walk with kings and not lose common touch,” while people still make ludicrous amounts of money, the internet has made selfishness frowned upon within the upper class. These poems are a reminder of how time has changed, just by looking at the way they’re written.
“The Road Not Taken” and “If” make every choice you make seem more serious than it actually is. In 1895 money and food must’ve been scarce, and in 1950 the economy was just pulling out of the war. Consequently, when referring to a side to take he’s (R.S.) weary of the road most have taken, which makes sense to think right after a war. The poem states the importance that his pathway made in his life, while not indicating how or why. The poem also tries to show that individualism is unheard of (at least when written), however being yourself isn’t as big of an issue today. When it’s said “I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference,” choices are blown out of proportion; this quote shows how something like a ‘promenade’ at the park can affect your life, which isn’t usually the case. “If” expands on the idea of how much money is related of a persons’ self-worth, it’s not so- money in Canada/ US is somewhat overlooked by technology. Social Structures interact with each other with easy because of the internet. “If” is all about the choices you make affecting everything from the people you walk with to the games you play. Furthermore, it makes broad generalizations about the wealthy and poor. When “And risk it all […] in pitch and toss, and lose,” is said, this line is in the 1890’s. Back then coins had more value, so losing a coin could’ve been losing a week’s salary. Over-all the poems have aged fairly well, however they put too much importance in choices nowadays overlooked. “If” and “The Road Not Taken” are applicable, but as mold guidelines to remember, they’re to make you think not change the way you think entirely.
The poem “The Road Not Taken” doesn’t state how to take your own road or what roads not to take. Which is why taking this poem as advice all the time could go poorly. The poem pokes a hole in itself by saying that the one more traveled could be better. The message of the poem also isn’t very clear, which is the point, but it’s also too open ended. Any advice the reader gets is entirely subjective. Rudyard Kipling wrote “And both that morning equally lay,” which means that that day the paths looked almost identical so the significance to one path has to be entirely personal. “If” states a clearer message, but the question still stands- how? The poem can only be followed on a basis of ‘if’. Day to day life isn’t always something you can think through. It also puts the horse after the carriage (the goal before the how), so the poem leaves more questions than answers. The line “if you can force nerve and sinew,” tells you to risk hurt feelings for what? To be a man? Put in layman’s terms the poems can’t be taken as advice without the risk of misconstruing the poems and messing up.
To summarize, as times change so too does context change, a person taking these poems as advice could take them the wrong way, too seriously or literally, which won’t end well. The three points used to prove this are: Dated language and terms, different issues and solutions for modern life, and there not being enough ground work to fully expand on these poems’ advice.