[生活美語]
Dear All,
Here is the poem I talked about in class. Below are the Chinese translation and different meanings:
THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
by Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
兩條路在黃色的樹林間叉開，
And sorry I could not travel both
可惜我不能走兩條路。
And be one traveler, long I stood
我這個過客久久徘徊，
And looked down one as far as I could
極目望去，一條路在遠處，
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
蜿蜒地進入樹林荒蕪；
Then took the other, as just as fair,
我向另一條路望去，同樣平坦，
And having perhaps the better claim,
也許它更值得行走，
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
因為它長滿茸茸綠草，等待人們的踐踏；
Though as for that the passing there
雖然它也已紛亂，
Had worn them really about the same,
行人在這裡過往奔沓。
And both that morning equally lay
那天清晨，兩條路上覆滿樹葉，
In leaves no step had trodden black.
沒有腳步把它們踏碎。
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
啊，哪一天我將走第一條路！
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
雖然我知道條條路相接，
I doubted if I should ever come back.
我仍懷疑是否仍能走回原路。
I shall be telling this with a sigh
我將把這事告訴別人，
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
一面深深嘆息。
Two roads diverged in a wood, and
樹林中有兩股岔道，
I took the one less traveled by,
而我走的那條路行人稀少，
And that has made all the difference.
這就造成了一切的差異。
Meaning:
The popular meaning: It's good to take the road less traveled. (This is the one I told you in class.)
The chooser's interpretation: Just to choose a road.
The revisionist's interpretation: When you're old, you'll think you chose the less traveled road.
Real meaning: The meaning is different for everyone. The one I told you in class is the most common one.
Sources:
http://www.darkwinner.com/literature/roadAnalysis.html
http://suite101.com/article/robert-frosts-tricky-poem-a8712
http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides2/RoadNot.html
