THE ROAD NOT TAKEN Robert Frost

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN Robert Frost
• Robert Lee Frost was an American Poet. He is highly regarded for his
realistic depictions of rural life. A popular and often-quoted poet, Frost
was honored frequently during his lifetime.
• “The Road Not Taken” is one of his famous poems which is published in
1916.
• In this narrative poem, he combines rustic simplicity with a significant
stage and situation of life.
TITLE
• LITERAL MEANING: The poet refers to an actual road which has not
been travelled on as much as other roads. The road shows less wear and
tear because fewer travellers have chosen to take that road.
• FIGURATIVE MEANING: The road symbolizes the journey of life that all
humans travel on from the day they are born.
Summary
This poem talks about the choices one has to make in life and their
consequences. One day while walking in a wooded area full of trees the
poet comes to a place where he has to decide which road he should take.
He starts debating over the choices as he realizes he cannot walk on both.
However he decides to take the second path with the intention of travelling
on the first some other time in future..
FIRST STANZA
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
The speaker describes his position. He has been out for walking in the
woods and comes in between the diversion of two roads, he stands there
looking as far down each one as he can see. He would like to try out
both, but doubts he could do that, so therefore he continues to look down
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the roads for a long time trying to make his decision about which road to
take.
The journey represents LIFE and the choices we have to make.
SECOND STANZA
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
He looked down the first one “to where it bend in the undergrowth”, and
then the second one, and he decided to take the other path, because it
seemed to have less traveled than the first. But then he goes on to say that
they actually were very similarly worn. Though the second one was more
grassed over and it was clear that very few people had taken that
particular path.
THIRD STANZA
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
The third stanza continues with the cogitation about the possible
differences between the two road. He had noticed that the leaves were
both fresh fallen on them both and had not been walked on, but then again
claims that maybe he would come back and also walk the first one
sometimes, but he doubted he would be able to, because in life one thing
leads to another and time is short.
FOURTH STANZA
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
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And that has made all the difference.
In years to come, the speaker says, he will be telling others about the
choice he made. While doing so, he will sigh either with relief that he
made the right choice or with regret that he made the wrong choice.
Whether right or wrong, the choice will have had a significant impact on
his life.
MESSAGE OF THE POEM

Life is a continuous journey full of divergence now and then. The
important thing is to move on without looking back whether the choice of
paths taken was right or wrong. The right or wrong are relative terms. We
cannot get everything in life and have to make choices. Whatever direction
in our life takes is determined by the choice made by us . In the journey of
life, one can seldom come back to travel the “roads” not taken earlier.
The poem revolves around the metaphor comparing the decisions we make
on the journey of life to a fork in the road. Just as we must decide which
road to take when traveling in order to arrive at a location, we must make
decisions in life that will greatly impact our destination.
He wants us all to realize that in life we face many different choices – there
will be options that will be popular with a lot of people and options that
people will not choose. Once we have made a decision, our path and
therefore our future has been determined. We cannot go back and change
the decisions we have made.
MORAL OF THE POEM
• This is an inspirational poem where the writer represents the eternal
dilemma of man.
• This poem is a call for the reader to forge his or her way in life and not
follow the path that others have taken.
• This poem encourages self-reliance, reinforces the power of independent
thinking and sticking to one’s decisions.
• The poet does not moralize about choice, he simply says that choice is
inevitable and you will never know till you have lived the ‘difference’.
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• So, there is nothing right or wrong about a choice, it is all relative.
Whatever direction one takes one must walk on that path with
determination.
SYMBOLS
“Yellow” - The yellow coloring of the woods is representative of the light,
hope, and promise that the speaker is standing before. His future is bright
and stretches before him. Though both paths are equally lit, he must choose
only one. “Yellow” also represents dilemma and indecision.
“Woods” - The poem is set in the quiet, deserted woods where the speaker
is left alone to decide, without any road sign or people to ask. Similarly,
there are no signs in life to help people choose their path.
“Roads” - The roads are symbolic of the paths we take in life. Every road
leads to a specific place, and our destination depends entirely on the
decisions that are made. We don’t just arrive at a location; we make a series
of choices that lead us there.
“Morning” - The morning represents a new beginning and the endless
possibilities the day ahead has to offer.

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