The Road Not Taken Analysis

Mountain Interval1916Two 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;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,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.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,

And that has made all the difference.

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One initial comment that I have is that, although this might shed some meaning and is interesting, you don't necessarily have to know the background behind a poem...ie, what the poet was doing or thinking at the time. I feel that the poem should be able to stand on its own, partly because most readers really don't know the background, as the poet would be aware of, and the poet basically created the poem, and not the background.
As far as the poem goes, if you map it out time-wise, this is what happens:
The first (1) event to occur is that he comes to a juncture in a road, where it diverged into two roads.
Next (2), he then looked at both roads and tried to decide which road to take.
Next (3), he can't really discern any major differences in appearance between the roads. They are "as just as fair" "equally lay in leaves no step had trodden black." But one "perhaps" has less usage "because it was grassy and wanted wear."
Next (4), the person makes the choice to take the road that appears to be less traveled ("I took the one less traveled by").
Next (5), he has the thought that although he would like to someday go down the other road ("I kept the first for another day"), he doubts that this will ever happen ("Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.")
Finally (6), he has the thought that sometime in the future ("somewhere ages and ages hence") he will be telling "with a sigh" that 1) he came to a place where the road he was walking on diverged, 2)he took the road less traveled by and 3) "that this has made all the x a choice must be made. It can't be avoided, there is no way around it, unless he decides to return from where he came, which is not even considered.
Second, the message here could be that there are times in one's life when a decision between two options must be made. And because of (6) ("made all the difference"), this may actually be a single critical moment. If you make decision A, then X results; if you had made decision B, then Y would have resulted. And there were no other choices, A or B to become X or Y.
Third, it's almost as if a coin could be flipped to make the decision, because, as (3) shows, the choices are nearly identical. The person could have flipped a coin or do some other arbitrary technique, but he decides to personally make the choice.
Fourth, I get a sense of regret about not being able to take the other road and also not being able sometime in the future to go back and take the other road. This is logical I think because of the similarity between the roads. This may be what "with a sigh" is referring to, since it is just one line below the "doubted" line. I like this meaning because it kind of fits. In the future, he's still lamenting that he hadn't been able to take the other road, which would have led to much a different result.
Fifth, when does this contemplation take place? Ages and ages hence. That is, when one is much older and new choices are not available.
Putting this all together, there are many things a person could become: for example, go one way and you might become a teacher; go another way and you might become a writer. Both are good things to become and you can understandably wonder how things might have turned out, if you had made that other choice. When you make the choice, at that time, you may not see a major difference between the two options. But the choice that you made is decisive. It determines your future.

| Posted on 2010-01-21 | by a guest

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I think the the y in yellow in the first line could symbolize the fork in the road.
And what's a thesis for this?

| Posted on 2010-01-13 | by a guest

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The Road not Taken
It is a poem by Frost. It consists of four stanzas that talk about a scene of two roads in a wood, and the speaker needs to choose one of them. It is a beautiful poem that talks about a universal theme of choices in life. It is a matter that we face all the time in our lives. When we stand in front of two roads, choices, and doubt which one to take. The poet choice in this poem is the road less traveled by. It is so to tell us to be dependent in our choices and not just take the road others has taken. Finally, it is for future to tell whether this choice is right or wrong, but never regret not taking the other way because your choice is always the best you have done.

| Posted on 2010-01-11 | by a guest

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mohammad shafi kashmir india: in my understanding i think that it is not necessary that we have to confine our understanding of literary creation to tn at of its creator. we should think individually and interpret the poem indidually.

| Posted on 2010-01-11 | by a guest

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mohammad shafi kashmir india: in my understanding i think that it is not necessary that we have to confine our understanding of literary creation to tn at of its creator. we should think individually and interpret the poem indidually.

| Posted on 2010-01-11 | by a guest

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hhhuuuhhh?? i just hav to read this for my homskooling..

| Posted on 2010-01-07 | by a guest

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salamu alykom
iam an egyptian
the analysis of this poem is required from me
cuse this poem may be in my next exam
so thanx to persons who put analysis that help me.

| Posted on 2009-12-24 | by a guest

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x one!Oye!ziad free nahi!hona!for more info. to ma house at 11 pm!!!In the bed !!!hahahahaahahahaha

| Posted on 2009-12-07 | by a guest

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Although I can appreciate the comments made previously, I do not feel they fully grasp the meanings of the poem. The reader has to consider that Frost wrote this poem concerning Edward Thomas, who on walks in the English woods, with Frost, would come to a fork in the path and be troubled with which route to take. This most probably symbolises the choices he faced on a much larger scale, namely deciding whether to go to war or not. However, I do feel that although this poem was composed about Thomas, Frost has, perhaps unintentionally, involved himself in the poem, as he had also faced problems, such as, whether he should stay in England or go back to America. Also we have to recognise that Frost’s poetry intends to trick us, he says himself, “My poems are set to trip the reader headfirst into the boundless”, therefore we must approach his verse with caution. For example, in this poem many people have said that he, “took the one less travelled by”. However if we look back in the poem, although we see other lines that seem suggest this, “it was grassy and wanted wear”, the truth is presented to us through the line, “Had worn them really about the same”, which clearly illustrates that there is little difference in the state of the two paths. This, therefore, allows the poem to posses a much more powerful meaning. He creates an effective sense of balance throughout the poem which he stresses with words such as, “equally”, “same”. This is typical of Frost’s poetry, and, as is usual, this ambiguity helps to stress the central ideas of this poem, free will and fate. I feel this ideas are illustrated mort heavily in the last line of the poem, which appears to be paradoxical, as if the roads were, “really about the same”, then how could it make any difference. The last word is clearly meant to be awkward as it breaks from the rhyme scheme, and the choice of the word different is masterful and Frost uses it almost comically to express that the line itself is different.
To conclude, I feel that, due to the great balance and ambiguity in this poem, Frost, as he does in a great deal of his verse, is posing questions throughout the poem that he intends for us to answer for ourselves. Has this choice really made the “difference”? The word “sigh” seems to be regretful, is this “difference” positive? Finally, and most importantly, in my opinion, do we have free will, or is it just an illusion?

| Posted on 2009-11-20 | by a guest

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The author had chosen a road travel led by less people reason was he wants to do something different from others and even he feels sorry that he can't travel the both roads simultaneously and the last line of poem means that it made him very happy as he did he wants to do and reached his goals successfully
by
s.9

| Posted on 2009-10-31 | by a guest

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well, according to my understanding..what robert frost is trying to say is that..in life there are choices and i believe that the one he took led him to success...the choice is hard but sometimes we have to suffer for the better just like robert frost...

| Posted on 2009-10-25 | by a guest

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i feel that the author has taken the better road and not the one that went into the jungle as the following lines suggest:
"long i stood
and looked down one as far as i could
to where it bent in the undergrowth:"
the word undergrowth suggests that he looked at the road that went into the woods and bent and which also was less travelled by people.
then he says in the next line:
then i took the other, as just as fair,
the word 'the other' suggests the road other than the less travelled by that means the better and cleaner road.
and when we think about the better claim that too goes well with the frequently travelled road as the road less travelled can have a claim but not a better claim.
i also think frost had made a better choice (of good road) and was thinking if he had chosen the bad road he must have got into some trouble from where there would have been no return and then the troubled sigh while sharing the sorrow with somebody and telling how that happened due to a wrong choice of a bad road that led him there.
he is imagining the future with the 'if' conditional and passing on a message to the readers that they need to think while making choices as he did and make a better choice again as he did by keeping that road for some other time.
the real life has no facility of retake like the reel life and the decisions make all the difference so an example has been presented.

| Posted on 2009-10-23 | by a guest

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Does it really matter what you think Robert Frost meant? What does the peom mean to you? Howe does it make you feel? What does it mean to you because thats really all that matters. No matter what choices we make in life, you have to live with them, So you can be miserable and have regrets, or be happy with what you got not with what you could have had.

| Posted on 2009-10-22 | by a guest

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This poem is NOT Robert Frost spreading a message of individuality! Many people misinterpret this poem as being inspirational, when it was actually written by Robert to poke fun at his friend who would often hike with him and fret over which path to take when they encountered forks in the road. The point of the poem is that which path they take does not matter. The last line is meant to be ironic, because choosing one path over the other does not make a difference.

| Posted on 2009-10-21 | by a guest

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"The Road Not Taken" seems to support individualism and nonconformity, that you should take the road less traveled to set yourself apart from the ordinary. This, however, is not the true meaning of the poem as Frost intended. It really means that we have choices in everyday life, choices that will continue to affect us for years to come.
The fourth stanza holds the key to the trickiness of the poem:
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,
And that has made all the difference.
Those who interpret this poem as suggesting non-conformity take the word “difference” to be a positive difference. But there is nothing in the poem that suggests that this difference signals a positive outcome. The speaker could not offer such information, because he has not lived the “difference” yet.
The other word that leads non-discerning readers astray is the word “sigh.” By taking “difference” to mean a positive difference, they think that the sigh is one of nostalgic relief; however, a sigh can also mean regret. There is the “oh, dear” kind of sigh, but also the “what a relief” kind of sigh. Which one is it? We do not know. If it is the relief sigh, then the difference means the speaker is glad he took the road he did; if it is the regret sigh, then the difference would not be good, and the speaker would be sighing in regret. But the plain fact is we do not know what that sigh is. Again, the speaker of the poem does not even know the nature of that sigh, because that sigh and his evaluation of the difference his choice will make are still in the future. It is a truism that any choice we make is going to make “all the difference” in how our future turns out.

| Posted on 2009-10-15 | by a guest

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frost finds 2 roads and takes the less travelled. this is like life . if we take good decision then we will be happy

| Posted on 2009-10-01 | by a guest

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This one of the most misinterpreted poems in America. Robert Frost is saying that no matter what choice (road) you take in life as long as you learn from it and stay open minded you'll be where you what to be. And by the way there is no road less traveled by, chances are that alot of people have chosen the road you too are taking. As long as you learn along the way you'll be where you want to be. You can see that in line 9 and 10 he says that people have gone in that both those paths and that "Had worn them really about the same"

| Posted on 2009-09-23 | by a guest

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i haave been thinking and i really think the interpretation about non- comformity is not valid. because Frost hasnt experienced the "difference" yet.
my interpretation is that the choices we make in life influence our future. We cannot undo a choice because time is short

| Posted on 2009-09-14 | by a guest

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robert frost actually had a completely diffrnt reason
for riting the poem.he wrote it as a mockery of his frnd,fellow poet and walking companion.

| Posted on 2009-09-13 | by a guest

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According to the author, those two roads were in fact essentially identical. About the same number of people had travelled by each road.

| Posted on 2009-09-10 | by a guest

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i thnk the metaphor in this poem is not that we take the road less travelled by, but that we need to make choices in life and not worry about the other path. we may think that we are taking the one less travelled by/ the 'hard road', but really we will never ever know what happens in the other path. the roads are both equal, he cant see ahaed into the future and he therefore embraces the choice he has made without worrying 'what if?'. this is shown in the last stanza; he knows that in the future, when he is old and grey, he will tell his grand children that he was tough, but the last line indicates the humour and contradiction in what he is saying. the metaphor is that he is just walking in the woods, but really he is saying 'carpe dium', (seize the day) and the choices you make. there is no use worrying about the other path bcause you cant go back, just make the most out of the choice ypu have made.

| Posted on 2009-08-31 | by a guest

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This whole poem is actually an analogy of life. "Two roads diverge in a yellow wood" signifies a choice which we have to take in life. "It was grassy and wanted wear" and "In leaves no step had trodden black" mean that the path which the author chose is the one less taken. "Yet knowing how way leads on to way" means that there are many, many choices in life. "Somewhere ages and ages hence" means that the author has gone very far in his choice of life.
I like this poem because it gives a general sense of life. When we arrive at a certain point where we have to make a major decision, what would we do? Do we take the popular path? Or do we break away from the norm and venture out into our own dreams? Robert Frost has certainly shown here that he chose to pursue his dreams, and I suppose he has made a good choice and has excelled in his field of work. In today's society many things are based on money and wealth; Robert Frost, being a poet, certainly does not make much money, and yet he does not regret his choice.
When I read this poem, I am reminded of the music video of the song "Handlebars" by Flobots (which cannot be displayed here due to copyright restrictions). It tells of two friends who were originally close, but in the end separated due to differing dreams: one wanted to make it big in business, while the other chose the path of peace. In the end the businessman became the big corrupt boss, and his friend led a rebellion against him, which resulted in the friend's death. The businessman then realizes what a mistake he has made by choosing the path more trodden.
I am thoroughly inspired by Robert Frost's desire to go after his own dream and passion. He did not follow everybody else, he was not tempted by wealth and power, he ignored others' comments against his decision. He chose his own road. And that has made all the difference.

| Posted on 2009-08-26 | by a guest

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Albiet for self-gratification only, I write poetry and paint. More often than not, the results are not from concious effort but simply tangible depictions of thoughts or feelings that need to be expressed and spontaneously spew forth. As with the three blind men who went to see the elephant, any form of communication will mean something slightly different to each individual because of their own life experiences. Furthermore, a 54-year-old's perspective will be entirely different than a 24-year-old's. This poem is so successful because people strongly relate to it and have ever since it was published. It continues to survive the test of time and likely always will because it's so pertinent to our human condition - being faced with choices every day. Mr. Frost wins all the way around.
With that said, my personal belief is that this poem is strictly introspective curiousity (or perhaps retrospective). "What if" - neither good nor bad, simply different, since repercusions from every decision include both positive and negative.
The only unanswered question, I believe, is "the difference." Was the destination fated to be identical regardless of path, i.e. the difference being the journey itself, or, was it an entirely different destination pre-determined by the path taken?

| Posted on 2009-08-05 | by a guest

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The first time I came across this poem was my senior year of highschool. My choir teacher had us read the poem, and told us to think about it, as we would be singing the poem as a song for our graduation. At that point in time I did not really think about the poem and its meaning much. But it has been 3 years now since I graduated highschool. I look back now thinking about what Frost meant in his poem. I think that Frost related the two roads as the different choices in our lives that we will come across. And that no matter what we choose to do in life, we will always look back and wonder if what we did was the right choice. As I have done many times in the last three years. I continue to wonder each day if I chose the right path.

| Posted on 2009-07-26 | by a guest

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The Road Less Traveled.
In looking back over the course of my life and remembering the several different interpretations I’ve attached to his, Frost’s, meaning/intent I marvel at how fluid my understanding has been. In my early years of course I saw the obvious, what to do, what to do, select the comfortable, predictable, ordinary path as opposed to the uncommon, slightly mysterious (described as being obscured and bent in the undergrowth), unpredictable road (which, at first, I perceived as less traveled but was, as pointed out in the second stanza, equally well traveled and in truth possessed of no novelty beyond being ‘the other’) knowing full well the choice would, most probably, set the stage for my life and become irreversible? It was the last stanza that was most difficult for me to attach meaning in my younger days, and the one that now, from my more mature vantage point, I diverge with most thinking.
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
I would agree with the thinking that the speaker anticipates that in the end he will have a desire to have had the broader opportunity to enjoy the experience that each road offered, but no matter how content or resigned (by the very nature of his singularity) will be limited to those of the one road; but here is the big difference in my ‘interpretation of this work..I think ‘over all’ he (Frost) was suggesting/demonstrating, albeit obscurely, that ultimately, no matter which choices in life he/Frost/we make, in the end we are doomed to wonder, ‘What if?’

| Posted on 2009-07-24 | by a guest

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hey, there's sumone called anon, and the essay test guy.hope u got good marks in ur test. yaa.and ven i have ,my test tomorrow and im damn nervous. i dunno wjhere to get ready made questions fr a chp.

| Posted on 2009-07-20 | by a guest

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So i think that decisions in life was easy to say but difficult to make...so i think Sir Robert Frost wanted to imply that every decisions you make will always have a sacrifice...so i think that i help you understand the poem in my simple comment...actually i`m going to report this..hehehe

| Posted on 2009-07-08 | by a guest

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this poem has a realy good scent of living even though its sad but decitions are decitions and you always take the 1 you like and a lot of people like change so im glad he took the road less taken by the other poeple

| Posted on 2009-07-06 | by a guest

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How do we know this difference is a positive one? I think he is talking to God trying to explain the reason behind his bad decisions. -AK

| Posted on 2009-07-05 | by a guest

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maybe the two roads are 2 different women. he chose the one less traveled upon

| Posted on 2009-06-23 | by a guest

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THis poem is amazing it is showing that all people have the ability to choose. But i dont get it isnt this whole poem a metephor

| Posted on 2009-06-09 | by a guest

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This choice is mostly suggests that choices are inevitable but you never know what your choice will lead to until you've lived it.

| Posted on 2009-06-05 | by a guest

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I think it means that we should always take the road less travelled by; doing the thing that may be unpleasant or difficult, for instance staying in school, or even little things like finnishing chores. Because later in life, we will look at ourselves and ask, how did I come to be like this? You stayed in school or spent a little extra money on courses, and you became a rich doctor, or you might have dropped out and became a garbage collector, who begs for money every night. No matter what, we will always look back on that one decision. We might say, "that was the best thing I've ever done, whether I knew it at the time or not." or "I shouldn't have made that choice, I should've stayed in school." But my advice to you, is that if you want to get somewhere in life, take the road less travelled by.

| Posted on 2009-06-02 | by a guest

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It means that we should take the path less traveled by people- the path which is right- not the path which is wrong and easy- and this is why the people take the wrong and easier way in life- and as he has not taken that way he is now successfull because taking the harder and right way made all the difference.

| Posted on 2009-05-22 | by a guest

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I think this means, that the poem gives a example of choices in life. One way or the other. With regrets or not. What path is best to take in life?

| Posted on 2009-05-21 | by a guest

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I like poem very much too...
It tells about a real guy who have two ways to chose...
One is the way that like never had a ppl walk before and the other way will make him have a good life...
But he chose to get the way that ppl who never walk through it....
He tried his best to walk the way and sometimes he would regret the way that he chose but he never give up..
So this is wat i meant to i like this poem and tomorrow will be my essay test and teacher told me to study more about it... Some i get the information but some guys i hate him like making a fool in here talking nonsence....

| Posted on 2009-05-21 | by a guest

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If you look closely at the last paragraph, you can conclude that the traveler's choice had a positive influence. The repetition of the "I" before and after the dash shows this. The second I reinforces his decision by saying that he chose the path that others would not so it makes a difference.

| Posted on 2009-05-19 | by a guest

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This poem is fairly simple upon first inspection, and I'm sure Frost knew this as he was writing it, he himself states that poetry for him is 'the pleasure of ulteriority.'
The first stanza states his appraisal of the choice he must make, 'two roads diverged in a yellow wood' and that he cannot 'travel both' and be 'one traveler.' This suggests to me on a metaphorical level Frost is pondering the different approaches to life, and musing that there is only one choice you can make that will preserve your integrity.
Natural imagery is present, the image that the path is blocked by 'undergrowth' and one can only see so far intimates that the choice you make must be blind.
The speaker then relates that he 'took the other, as just as fair' that he seems to regard as a better path, and notes that it 'wanted wear.' then discovers that they had been 'worn really about the same.' This implies that although at first the speaker thought he was being courageous, this feeling is lessened as he realises that many people have walked the same way.
In the next stanza the speaker describes how he 'kept the first for another day' yet 'knowing how way leads on to way' he doubts he will come back. This shows he recognises that the choice he makes will be permanent and practically irreversible. Perhaps this is a reference to the stoicism of human nature, where a will is maintained by unchanging virtue. This also appears in Frost's longer poem 'The Black Cottage' In which the old woman could be seen to portray a stoic adherence to virtues. The minister in that poem states he 'would change the creed a little' if it wasnt for her 'tremulous bonnet' in the pew. This I believe is in accordance with 'The road not taken' because they both seem to implicitly question the nature of truth and morals, making no judgements on what is right or wrong, but more on the freedom of choice.
The speaker in the third stanza explains 'Oh, I kept the first for another day' this highlights the conversational register present in many of Frost's poetry, I believe here it is used in conjunction with a regular rhyme scheme to indicate a longing for choice. The callous use of 'oh' seems to be the speaker's attempt to delude himself that he could travel both paths freely if he wanted. This connects with 'Desert Places' where the speaker uses a constricting rhyme scheme to convey a tension and fear of the unknown. However 'The Road Not Taken' seems less urgent, and to offer a more balanced consideration of the choices man has to make.
The last stanza is a difficult one, and easily misinterpreted. We must note the speaker is digressing about the future, and not foreshadowing it. 'I shall be telling this with a sigh' does not necessarily mean he regrets his choice, but is more to do with the overall feeling of the poem, that he wishes he could have a broader experience of life by taking both choices.

| Posted on 2009-05-18 | by a guest

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what are pple on?
the two roads ARE NOT the same
they are equally worn, yes but not the same
its like diff paths in life. many people do these different things but these things are NOT the same.

| Posted on 2009-05-18 | by a guest

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The post left by a random someone on the 10th of March, 2009 by "a guest" made my day.
Good going. And I really hope you make it Univ. Unless you're there already.
Anon.

| Posted on 2009-05-14 | by a guest