ROAD NOT TAKEN

BY ROBERT FROST
can't see very far because the forest is dense and the road is not straight. He decides to take
the second road,
judging it to be just as good a choice as the first, since it was grassy and looked less worn than the
other
path. Although, after had walked on the second road, he realized that in reality the two roads must
have been more

or less equally worn-in. Reinforcing this statement, the speaker recalls that both roads were covered
in leaves,
which had not yet been turned black by foot traffic. The speaker exclaims that he had thought that
someday, he
would return and explore the first road which he left for another day, but, he immediately
contradicts himself with
the acknowledgement that, in life, one road tends to lead onward to another, so it's therefore
unlikely that one will
ever actually get a chance to return to that first road. The speaker then imagines himself in the
distant future,
recounting, with a sigh, the story of making the choice of which road to take. Speaking as though
looking back on
his or her life from the future, the speaker states that he or she was faced with a choice between
two roads and
chose to take the road that was less travelled, and the consequences of that decision have made all
the difference in
his or her life.
Conclusion: The path which we have chosen, decides our future, our destination.
About Poet :

Robert Lee Frost (March 26, 1874 – January 29, 1963) was an American
poet. His work was initially published in England before it was published in
the United States. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his
command of American colloquial speech.
Frost frequently wrote about settings from rural life in New England in the early
20th century, using them to examine complex social and philosophical themes.

AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS :

Frequently honoured during his lifetime, Frost is the only poet to receive four
Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry. He became one of America's rare "public
literary figures, almost an artistic institution". He was awarded the
Congressional Gold Medal in 1960 for his poetic works. On July 22, 1961, Frost
was named poet laureate of Vermont.
The Road Not Taken Poem
Introduction

 In the poem ‘The Road Not Taken’, the road symbolizes our life. The poet says
that the path that we don’t choose in our life is the road not taken. He
describes his feelings about that choice that he had left in the past. The path
which we have chosen, decides our future, our destination. The important
message that the poet wants to give is that the choice that we make has an
impact on our future and if we make a wrong choice, we regret it but cannot
go back on it. So, we must be wise while making choices.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
and sorry I could not travel both
and be one traveller, long I stood
and looked down one as far as I could
to where it bent in the undergrowth;

Word Meaning:
diverged: separated and took a different
direction
yellow wood: a forest with decomposing leaves
undergrowth: dense growth of plants and bushes means
the forest)
Explanation of the Stanza: Once the poet was walking down a road and then there was a diversion,
there were two different paths and he had to choose one out them. The poet says that as he was one
person, he could travel on one road only. He had to choose one out of these two roads Yellow wood means
a forest with leaves which are wearing out and they have turned yellow in colour – the season of autumn.
It represents a world which is full of people, where people have been living for many years. They represent
people who are older than the poet. The poet kept standing there and looked at the path very carefully as
far as he could see it. Before taking the path, he wanted to know how it was. Was it suitable for him or no.
He was able to see the path till from where it curved after which it was covered with trees and was hidden.
It happens in our life also when we have choices, we have alternatives, but we have to choose only one out
of them, we take time to think about the pros and cons, whether it is suitable for us or not and only then,
we take a decision on what path we should choose.
Poem Stanza 2
Then took the other, 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.

Word Meaning:
fair: As good as the other one,
claim: Better option
grassy: unused
wanted wear: had not been used
Explanation of the stanza 2:
The poet kept on looking at one path for a long time to check if it is the right path for him or not and them he
decided and started walking on another path because he felt that both paths were equally good. He says just as
fair, so, he felt that both paths were equally good and started walking on one of them. He adds that maybe he
felt that the path was better for him so he chooses it as it had grass on it which means that it was unused. Not
many people had walked on this path earlier that is why this path was grassy. ‘And wanted wear’ means that it
was not walked over by many people. After he walked on the path for some distance, he realized that both the
paths had been worm out the same way. Both the paths were similar and worn out. Even in our life, we take
any path or option but all of them have the same benefits, disadvantages, problems, challenges and we must
face them. We think that we are choosing a better option, but it is not that way.
Poem Stanza 3

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.

Word Meaning:
trodden means walked over.

Explanation of the Poem: The poet says that both the paths were similar that morning. Both had
leaves on them and no one had stepped on them as they were still green in colour. He decided that
that day he would take one path and keep the other path for another day, although he knew that
one way leads on to another way. He knew that he could not go back on the choice that he had
made. Similarly, even in our life once we choose an option, we must keep on moving ahead with
that option and we never get a chance to come back and take the other option that we had left
earlier.
STANZA 4

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 travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Word Meaning:
sigh: deep breath
hence: here, in the future
Explanation of the STANZA: He says that in the future, he will take a deep breath and say that once upon a
time, he had reached such a point in life that there were two options for him and he travelled on that road
which had been traveled upon by lesser number of people. That decision of his decided his future.
Similarly, in future, when you grow up, then you will say that once upon a time, when you were young, you
had two options. The choice that you made, made you what you became of it. This is a very strong message
for all the students – that you should be wise and be careful while making choices out of the options that you
have in your life because your future depends on the choice that you make today. You may have suggestions
and seek guidance but once, you choose your way then it becomes your decision and your responsibility. You
can not blame others for that.
 Analysis of Literary Devices in The Road Not Taken
The analysis of literary devices explains the hidden meanings of a literary text or a poem. The use of literary devices is
intended to bring richness and clarity to the text with different meanings. The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost is also
filled with important undertones with the following literary devices.
1. Metaphor: A metaphor is a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two non-similar things.
There are many metaphors in the poem, like
# The road in the poem is the metaphor for life,
# the fork on the road metaphorically represents the choices, we make to determine the course of our lives.
# yellow woods are the metaphor of making decisions during the hard times of a person’s life.
These metaphors used in this poem emphasize the importance of the different decisions we make in different situations and
their impacts on our lives.
2. Imagery: Imagery is used to make the readers feel things through their five senses. These images help readers actually to
perceive things they are reading.
# The poet has used images of the sense of sights, such as leaves and yellowwoods.
# The image of the road helps readers to visualize the road providing a navigation route to the traveler.
3. Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds such as
/d/ in “two roads diverging in a yellow
wood” and
/t/ sound in “though as far as the passing there.”
4. Personification: Robert Frost personified the road in the third line of the second stanza.
Here, it is stated “Because it was grassy and wanted wear” as if the road is human and that it wants to wear and tear.
5. Parallelism: Parallelism is the use of a source of words, phrases, or sentences that have similar grammatical forms.
Frost has used Parallelism in the poem such as;

6. ANAPHORA – when two or more consecutive lines begin with the same word or phrase..
“And sorry I could not travel both”
“And be only one traveler long I stood”
“And looked down once as far as I could”