Et Tu, Robert Frost?

 

First Santa, now Robert Frost.

This is a continuation of my futile on-going digital assault on late 19th/early 20th century icons of American literature. Today the object of my ire is Robert Frost.

Arrested Development

I’m a college educated (dare I say grown-ass) man.  Yet, my comprehension of classic literature is frozen in time at the tenth-grade. In all honestly, I’d be hard pressed to earn a B- in my sophomore English class if I re-appeared there today. Who are we kidding? 

I am trying to make marginal improvements to my intelligence. I hate being one of those people who stops learning after they’ve been in the workforce a while. 

YouTube University

To this end, I’m watching a YouTube channel called TopTenz. It’s a dumb name but the format is perfect. Like everyone else in 2018, my brain only allows for learning in five minute sound bites. TopTenz is great. The topics are informative and host Simon Whistler speaks with a proper British accent that informs without coming off as condescending. I don’t know how he pulls that off. Watching his videos makes me feel like I’ve added few IQ points through osmosis. It’s similar to the way I feel walking around downtown Claremont. 

Today’s video was “Top Ten Most Misunderstood Lines in Literary History.” Simon jumps right in to “The Road Not Taken,” by Robert Frost. The popular (read dumb) interpretation of the poem is that it celebrates individual tenacity and determination. The more nuanced (read intellectual) interpretation is that it mocks the way people rationalize decisions that are of no consequence. 

In Conclusion

The Road Not Taken could have been the cynical inspiration for Born in the USA decades later. Two of America’s most successful inside jokes. 

I suspected Simon was not yanking my chain, but did some research to confirm and came up with this.  Apparently, Robert Frost had a dark cynical streak. When the public embraced his poem as an endorsement of the American spirit he must have laughed. Smartly, he kept his mouth shut and cashed in.

I should have paid more attention in class.