A Critical Analysis of “The Road Not Taken”

In the poetry genre, there are many well-known works that society have come to love. Of those
many, “The Road Not Taken,” by Robert Frost, is one of the most famous. As a deep and
eloquent allegory for the struggle of choice in everyday life, Frost is stating that choices about
one’s future are challenging to make, and predictions toward an outcome are often mysterious.

Frost introduces two roads diverging in the woods, alluding to the point in life when a choice of
many must be made. He states his yearning to know the outcome of both roads and to have the
opportunity to learn all possible outcomes. Frost states that he looked down each road as far as
he could see. Both looked like proper roads to take, one being worn and “perhaps,” he says,
“having the better claim.” Both roads are described as having been worn about the same, and
neither showed signs of detritus, as is described by “no step had trodden black.”

Ultimately, Frost decides that he will taken the second road. He states that he “kept the first
[road] for another day.” But, as is the nature of roads and choices, Frost says, “knowing how
way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.” This alludes to the fact that choices
in life are often final. They do not allow for a return to circumstances before the choice was
made.

The last phrase of the poem carries a lament to “ages and ages hence,” showing the reader that
time has passed. Now, looking back, Frost sees the fortune of the road less traveled. He ends:

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”

Many interpret these lines as Frost’s endorsement of the value of an adventurous spirit.
However, a closer reading reveals a different intention: to poke a bit of fun at people who waste
precious time contemplating decisions that could have been made versus ones that were made.

He clearly states earlier in the poem that there is no road less traveled, as both roads look
relatively similar. Yet the speaker realizes that, despite being faced with two relatively equal
options in the moment, he will look back on his decision and assign potentially misguided
importance to the fact that he chose one road over the other. In hindsight, he will have chosen
“the one less traveled by.” Depending on the “difference” this decision made in the speaker’s
life, he will either look back on this decision fondly, patting himself on the back for making the
right choice, or he will look back with regret, chiding himself and pining after things that could
have been.

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