The Road Not Taken

Robert Frost (1874–1963)

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;
Had worn them really about the same,

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

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.
 Literal meaning of "The Road Not Taken"

1. Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

There are these two roads. They split. (One goes one way, the other goes a
different way.) This happens in a yellow wood, ie, it is autmn when the green
leaves turn yellow.

2. And sorry I could not travel both

3. And be one traveler,

The narrarator regrets that he can't go down both roads, because then he'd have
to split himself in two and that's impossible.

4. long I stood, and looked down one as far as I could

5. To where it bent in the undergrowth;

He stands at the fork for a long time and examines one of the roads as far as he
can. He can't see the end of the road because the road curves away from his
line of vision.

6. Then took the other,

He takes the "Second Road" (the road that he didn't examine yet, but is going
to characterize in the next few lines (ie lines 7 to 9.)

7. as just as fair,

This "Second Road" is just as good as the "First Road" that he looked at.

8. And having perhaps the better claim,

9. Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
 This "Second Road" may be more deserving of the narrator walking down it.
Why? Well, there was grass on this "Second Road" and it seemed to be telling
the narrator "I want you to walk on me."

10. Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the
same.

However in reality, both the "First Road" and "Second Road" were equally
worn down by people walking down them. So line 9 says the ""Second Road"
had grass and would like to be walked on, but line 10 says that grassy "Second
Road" was walked on as much as the first road. (so maybe the dirt/pavement
on "Second Road" was equally packed down as road one, but "Second Road"
had hardy grass growing on it and was a glutton for punishment?)

"Though as for that, the passing there Had worn them really about the same"
This quote shows us that both roads were equally worn and that the speaker didn't necessarily take the
road less traveled.

11. And both that morning equally lay

12. In leaves no step had trodden black.

Both roads were equally NOT walked on that morning. (The yellow leaves on
the ground weren't crushed by people walking on them, breaking them up,
causing them to decompose.)

13. Oh, I kept the first for another day!

He decided to save traveling on the "First Road" (the one he examined to

where it bent) for another day [in the future].

14. Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

15. I doubted if I should ever come back.

But he suspects that he'll never follow through on that decisiion. Once he takes
the second road, that road will lead to another fork and he'l have to neglect
 another possible path choice. Hence, because of all the future road choices he
knows he'll encounter, he thinks he's unlikely to ever come back and discover
what this first road is like.

"Yet knowing how way leads on to way,I doubted if I should ever come back."
This quote speaks to the fact that the speaker has made his decision and cannot take it back. He may
have already chosen a path in life and he realizes that he would not be able to change it even if he
wanted to.

16. I shall be telling this with a sigh

17. Somewhere ages and ages hence:

When he's much older, he will reminisce about this decision he is making.
He'll do it with a sigh (of satisfaction? wistfulness? Regret? All of the above?)

"I shall be telling this with a sigh. Somewhere ages and ages hence"
This quote shows us that the speaker is remorseful over his decision and questions the fact that he made
the right one. However, in the end he asserts the belief that he took the road less traveled by.

18. Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

19. I took the one less traveled by,

He will say there were these two diverging roads and he took the less traveled
one

20. And that has made all the difference.

Taking the less traveled road really changed his life. (For good? For bad?
Neither good or bad, just different?)
"The Road Not Taken" Robert Frost
Key Points

1. Lots of Ambiguity used.

2. ABAAB rhyme scheme.
3. Sad, gloomy tone.
4. Common misconception- people often link this poem to individuality
when really it is ambiguous to what message the speaker is getting at.

Summary

The poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost tells of a man who
must pick between two roads. The speaker claims that he chose the road that
was less traveled, however he later realizes that both were identical in the fact
that few people had traveled on these two paths. It is ambiguous whether or
not the speaker picked the road less traveled and it is also unknown whether or
not it will serve him well or unwell.