“The poem isn’t a salute to can-do individualism It’s a commentary on the self-deception we practice when constructing the story of our own lives. The poem  references regret rather than pride. Frost wrote it as somewhat of a joke to a friend, English poet Edward Thomas.  They often took walks in the woods, and Frost was amused that Thomas always said another path might have been better.( Orr “The Road Not Taken” (Penguin Press)

Bagpipe Music

Louis MacNeice

On the surface a light hearted poem that mimics  the sounds of bagpipe music in ' nonsense verse' - but hear what else MacNeice has to say when he discusses it.

The Beautiful Lie

Sheenagh Pugh

Lying and truth-telling are a matter of choice; our innate capacity for mendacity is the source of all story-telling. The title poem sets the thematic tone for her collection of pems  which explores the interface between fiction and reality

The Child Dying

Edwin Muir

Edwin Muir holds a definite place in the succession of these traditional poets and must be ranked among the most important of the twentieth-century British poets ( Poetry Foundation)