Monthly Archives: September 2013

Most of you are likely familiar with Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken,” a perennial favorite of mediocre commencement speakers and seventh-grade English classes. The poem, and particularly the line “I chose the [road] less traveled by, / and that has made all the difference,” are usually taken as an endorsement of independent thinking and individualism, an ideology that aligns nicely with mainstream cultural values in Frost’s native United States. Whatever your feelings about the poem’s literary merit or hackneyed qualities, this message is accessible and often compelling to a wide range of students. It turns out, though, that Frost didn’t mean to say any such thing: through his unreliable narrator, he was actually making fun of his indecisive friend Edward Thomas [see this source], and suggesting that the idea that a single decision could be life-altering was a bit silly.

Discrepancies between authorial intent and reader interpretation are probably the rule more often than the exception, but it’s not so common for us to have the author’s definitive word on what his or her intentions were. My first question for you is, does it even matter? If something meaningful emerges from a text (especially with textual support, as in this case), is that meaning rendered null and void when the author reveals that it was not intended?

On a slightly more practical note, in the case of many texts, where we cannot state with any certainty what the author intended to convey but must content ourselves with what s/he did convey, can an “expert” interpretation of a text (by a parent, a teacher, or a friend) damage or destroy the personal meaning we derive from our own interpretation? In other words, do you believe the analytic study of a text enhances or detracts from your personal experience with that text? Does the answer depend? On what?

You may answer the first, second, or both questions, as you prefer. Year 2 students, your answers should be from 250 – 500 words. Year 1 students, your responses are optional, but I encourage you to follow these guidelines as well. Answers must be posted by midnight on Monday, 30 September.

Continue reading →