"The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost

The Road Not Taken

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

This poem has many themes including the concept of

1.     Choices: The path is described as being split in two different directions giving the reader a foretelling that a choice has to be made.

2.     Exploration: The speaker of this poem is in the forest with no material object for navigation like a map, even though he does not have a map he does not go back rom where he came, instead he is willing to face head on anything that comes his way and face the consequences of his choices he makes. In a way he is exploring his inner self.

Tone:

The tone of this poem is passive and positive yet sad and disappointed.

Imagery:

Lines 8-11 talk about how grassy the road is and it describes that it is morning. It also says that he doesn’t know which road is the better choice. “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”

Symbolism:

The roads are the symbolism in this poem as it refers to roads we travel physically and roads we take emotionally throughout our course in life.

Figure of Speech:

The figure of speech in this poem is used in the last lines 19-20. Frost uses verbal irony to say the complete opposite of what he means when he says: “I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” It also has alliteration in the way he uses words like “wanted wear” and “way leads onto way”.

Setting:

The setting of the poem is in a yellow forest and the narrator is on foot. It is also described to be set in the morning.

How important is the role of metrics, such as rhyme and rhythm?

It is written in Iambic Tetrameter. Frost’s metrical system was made so it gives the poem both metrical form and freedom. The whole poem roughly sounds like music when he uses words like “wood”, “could”, “stood”, “grassy”, “passing” etc.

How does the form influence the overall effect of the poem?

The form is basically narrative and the chronological form written in this poem gives the reader a better way of understanding the situations and the emotions the author implemented for this poem.