Misinterpretation of Poems

     While doing the poetry panel project for The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost, there was one key issue for our group in analyzing our poem which was the actual interpretation of it. In the poem, the final stanza is often the most noticed compared to the rest. With it reading "I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference", there was a common inference of the poem as a whole meaning that the speaker's life has benefited in a way by taking a less common path. Out of context this would be a reasonable assumption but when reading the previous stanzas it is clear that this is a total misinterpretation of the meaning of the overall poem. With all of the stanzas being taken in mind the actual meaning can be along the lines of the paths actually being equal with neither of them being less or more travelled. This whole thing has taught me two things in poetry. 1, when it comes to poems especially the shorter ones all lines are very important in understanding the entire message that is or is not conveyed. Skimming poems leads to incorrect comprehension and certain ideas going over your head. 2, a common interpretation does not necessarily mean it is correct. Just because some people view a poem a certain way does not have to lead you viewing it the same way if you spot something that the rest do not see. Poetry is loaded with messages and ideas which can lead to mistakes when first reading, so it is always nice to fully understand all of the poem and try to make sure it does not happen