Yet, Frost himself puts the poem on such an ambiguous footing with the last line being uttered in a tone that does not match the rest of the work. The tone may be understood to be one of whimsy and shrugging shoulders -- or it may be understood to be one of solemn pride and satisfaction. Indeed, for the president of Amherst College, where Frost was invited to stay, "Road" was a rallying cry of liberal education. Yet, the poem was hardly intended to be that at all. Frost himself indicated that the poem was tricky and could be easily misinterpreted. As Pritchard notes, it was meant only to be a poem in which Frost was teasing his friend (125). The poem, however, was read by the Amherst's president and by men like Keating as something more profound.

In other words, "Road" went from being a small, satirical poem to...
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