The Road Not Taken Partha

Facilitator : Partha Pratim Acharya.
OSD, SCERT, Tripura

About The Author
⚫ 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. His work
frequently employed themes from the early 1900’s
rural life in New England.
INTRODUCTIO
N
 First published in 1916 , “The Road Not Taken"
shows Frost at his best as a pastoral who combines
rustic simplicity with hidden , indirect and clarity
of style and language.
TITL
E
 ‘The road’ is the symbol of the choice made by us in
life. Many times, we regret the choice we make but
what is done once cannot be undone.
 Man regrets for what he has denied himself in life ,
rather than what he has chosen. Hence, the poet
has given his poem the title “The Road Not Taken”.
 The word "road" not only means "way", it also
means "journey" or a "stage of journey". Here
"road" does not signify any ordinary road, but
functions a metaphor of a vital decision.
The road not taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Summary, Stanza 1
• On the road of life, the speaker arrives at a
point where he must decide which of two
equally appealing (or equally intimidating)
choices is the better one. He examines one
choice as best as he can, but the future
prevents him from seeing where it leads.
Stanza-2
• 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,
Summary, Stanza 2
• The speaker selects the road that appears at first

glance to be less worn and therefore less traveled. This
selection suggests that he has an independent spirit
and does not wish to follow the crowd. After a
moment, he concludes that both roads are about
equally worn.
Stanza -3
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back
Summary, Stanza 3
• Leaves cover both roads equally. No one on this morning has
yet taken either road, for the leaves lie undisturbed. The
speaker remains committed to his decision to take the road he
had previously selected, saying that he will save the other road
for another day. He observes, however, that he probably will
never pass this way again and thus will never have an
opportunity to take the other road.
Stanza 4
• 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 travelled by,
And that has made all the difference
Summary, Stanza 4
• 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.
Themes
• The need to make choices in life
• We have to choose between two equally good option
wisely
• The choice may make all the difference in our lives
• As human beings, we most probably look back , wonder
and regret that we are unable to choose both the options
or choose the other option. (regret/sadness)
• So, choose wisely and accept the challenges and
consequences of the choice. Be bold, creative, original
and adventurous in taking up challenges few people
choose. Be brave to explore the opportunities and
possibilities that we face along the road we have
chosen. (satisfied/happiness)
Moral Values
We have to take the opportunities that life has to
offer us to make a choice
Think carefully before we make choices
We have to make the right choice and understand
ourselves
Should not have the feeling of regret for our
choice
If we make the right choice, we can have a
contended life
Appreciate the beauty of nature
Literary devices
Imagery
• “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood.” in this phrase
there is two image evoking words, diverged and yellow.
The words two roads diverged evokes the sight sense.
There is an obvious road that splits into two completely
different roads.
Another word that evokes sight is yellow. The yellow is
describing the road, again. There are two different
roads, sunny and bright.
“To where it bent into the undergrowth.”

• There is one major image evoking word is undergrowth.
Undergrowth sets an image of grass and over grow trees
and greenery. One of the paths winds on into a world of
green.
Onomatopoeia
• "sigh"
• The word sigh in stanza 4 emphasises the traveller
depression/sadness for the outcome of the decision
he made.
Personification
• The line "Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
in the third stanza
• It is an example of personification because the

poet says that the road "wanted wear"
while we all know that a road can not think and
would not have any desire at all.
Symbolism
• “the road”
• The road symbolizes the traveller has to make in
life in order to progress and continue on.
SYMBOLIS
M
 “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.
 “Woods” - The poem is set in the woods

because we get an image of a quiet, deserted
place where the speaker is left alone to decide.
There are no road signs or people to stop and
ask for directions. Similarly,
there are no signs in life designed 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 the nature of one’s 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. Frost sets the poem in the
morning to reveal that the speaker is in the early
years of his life and his future is spread out before
him.
Metaphor
• The road is a metaphor for the journey of life
• The two roads is compared to the two choices
in life
• The poet compares himself to a traveler
• The undergrowth at the end of one of the
roads is the obstacles and challenges/ it is
also hard to see what the future held for him
• The grass on one of the roads had hardly
been stepped on, it means not many people
had chosen that kind of life
Rhyme scheme
• There is a regular rhyming pattern in this poem.
The pattern is as follows:
abaab cdccd efeef ghggh.
MESSAGE Of This
Poem
 Robert Frost’s poem “ The road not taken” seems
to hold out the mortal that 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.
Thanks

The Road Not Taken Partha

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Road Not Taken Partha

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Road Not Taken Partha

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Facilitator : Partha Pratim Acharya.

OSD, SCERT, Tripura

• The speaker selects the road that appears at first

“To where it bent into the undergrowth.”

• It is an example of personification because the

 “Woods” - The poem is set in the woods

You might also like