Robert Frost is famous for his philosophical approach to poetry so that each poem contains numerous symbols and allusions behind which vital questions of life and essence are to be found. One of the most curious things about his poetry is that Frost manages to use one and the same symbol to speak about different themes. Thus, on the first reading, his two poems The Road Not Taken and Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening might appear alike because of the similar symbols and hero types found in them. However, a close analysis of these two poems demonstrates that Frost skillfully exploits one and the same symbol and hero types to develop widely different themes.

The first thing that catches one eye is the way the author uses symbols in these poems. On the face of it, it might appear that these symbols are the same in The Road Not Taken and Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. Thus, they both contain such symbols as the road, the woods, the traveler, and nature. In the meantime, just as every sign has two sides (the form and the meaning) in semiotics, the literary symbols are likewise two-component and a closer analysis of the two poems reveals that it is only the form of the symbols that coincide while the meanings hidden behind them differ.

For example, the thick woods in Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening are described as “lovely, dark and deep” and the speaker experiences no discomfort staying there (line 13). More than that, it might be supposed that the woods are the symbol of home in this poem because the speaker is evidently willing to stay there and it is only the “promises” that make him travel further (line 14). On the contrary, the woods that are described in The Road Not Taken are associated with some anxiety and discomfort because it is the place where the traveler was forced to make some important decision.

The other feature that both unites and contrasts these two poems is the speaker, the way he is depicted and the role he plays. Just as in the case of the symbols, it appears that it is one and the same speaker at first. Thus, the main character of the two poems is a traveler who rides his horse along in beautiful natural settings and who takes a philosophical view on his journey. However, these are only the physical attributes of the speaker and they are indeed similar. From the sentimental point of view, the two speakers are absolutely different. For instance, the speaker in The Road Not Taken looks at his journey from a retrospective view.

This can be guessed by some evident hints such as the use of the past tense in “I took the one less traveled by” and by some less evident hints such as “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood” where “yellow” can be interpreted as the end of something (lines 19-20; 1). As opposed to it, the speaker in Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening has “miles to go” before he can rest what shows that his journey is all ahead (line 15). Therefore, despite the similar hero types, the two speakers have little in common: whereas the speaker in The Road Not Taken is filed of melancholy regarding his past, the one in Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening is filled with a determination regarding his future.

Finally, a curious element that needs to be discussed in relation to the two poems is their titles. So far, we have discussed those elements that appear to be similar, at first sight, and that turn out to be different upon a closer examination. An opposite situation can be seen while examining the poems’ titles. Thus, a quick glance at these two titles does not give an idea that there is anything common about them. The Road Not Taken is primarily associated with some melancholic and philosophical discourse while Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening sounds more like a line from the Christmas carol. Nevertheless, a closer analysis of this titles and the way they relate to the poems’ content shows that they are much more alike than it can be expected.

First and foremost, both titles give hints at the central theme of the poems which is a journey. Even though Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening does not contain a word “road” or “journey,” the verb “stopping” suggests that somebody should be traveling. Second, the two titles imply the perspective from which the story will be told. In such a manner, The Road Not Taken clearly implies the retrospective view while Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening hints that the story is in the process of its development. It can be, thereby, concluded that even though the titles appear to be different at first sight, they turn out to be alike from the standpoint of their functional attributes and their relation to the plot.

To summarize, it can be seen that despite the seeming likeness of the two poems, their analysis shows that they are rather different than alike. As such, the melancholic sentiments in The Road Not Taken contradict the determinate readiness in the Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening just as the retrospective view in the former contradicts the anticipation of the future in the latter. Thus, this analysis demonstrates how one and the same form can be used to convey different meanings.