The Road Not Taken BY ROBERT FROST

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;

 

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.

Glossary

1.     Diverged – separated and took a different direction [suggests the choice]

2.     Yellow wood – Forest with decomposing leaves [Hint to autumn season]

3.     Long I stood – suggests the growing conflict

4.     Undergrowth – dense growth of plants and bushes [inability to see what lies ahead]

5.     Fair – as good and attractive as the other one

6.     Claim – better option

7.     Grassy and wanted wear – covered with grass and remained unused

8.     No step had trodden black – no foot had walked over and turned the yellow leaves to black

9.     Sigh – deep breath [ a sign of regret]

10.     Hence- from now [here, in future]

Critical Appreciation

Introduction:

       The American poet Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” (1916) is a narrative poem. It is about the problem of making a choice in the journey of life. Frost’s friend Edward Thomas, an English Welsh poet often regretted not taking an unknown path, which might have the best opportunities. Finding it quite romantic, Frost wrote this poem just to mention Thomas' inability to avoid regret after making a decision. Though the poem deals with the personal experience of the poet, it rises to the universal.

Stanza 1

          Once the poet travelled alone in a yellow wood (a forest filled with withered leaves in the autumn season). He arrived at a point where two roads diverge. He was unable to choose one road to travel. He regretted that he could not travel on both. He stood there for a long time. He looked down at one of the roads which turned with bushes. So, he couldn’t find what lies ahead.

Stanza 2

              Frost found the other road as a better option. Because it was grassy, less frequented, and as fair as the first one. Then he walked on the path for some distance and understood that both paths had been travelled equally. Thus, the poet compared and contemplated the choices he had.

Stanza 3

              On that morning both the roads were equally covered with leaves which had not been trampled black. Therefore, Frost kept the first road for another day. But he doubted if he would ever come back to travel the first road. Because he knew that one road led to another and it would be impossible to return. These lines implicitly satirised the human nature of regreting the choice made.

Stanza 4

              With a deep breath, the poet in future would say that his choice of the road less-travelled-by over the well-travelled made all the difference in his life. Though Frost did not mention about the difference, the choice in toughest situations made by us decides our future.

Thus, the poem and its title hint at the human’s sense of regret no matter whichever road is chosen.

Extended Metaphor

A metaphor is comparing two objects and establishing identity between their qualities. The poem suggests that the two roads are two alternative ways in life. The choice refers to the decisions we make in life.