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The Road Not Taken Summary & Themes
1.
2. 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 America. His work
frequently employed settings from rural
life in New England in the early
twentieth century, using them to
examine complex social and
philosophical themes. One of the most
popular and critically respected
American poets of the twentieth
century Frost was named Poet
laureate of Vermont.
"The Road Not Taken" is a poem published
in 1916 as the first poem in the
collection Mountain Interval. The poem may
be the most widely recognized of all poems
3. 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;1
Summary,
On the road of life, the speaker arrives at a point where
he must decide which of two equally appealing (or
equally intimidating) choices is the better one. He
examines one choice as best he can, but the future
prevents him from seeing where it leads
4. Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,2
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;3
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same
Summary
The speaker selects the road that appears
at first glance to be less worn and
therefore less traveled. This selection
suggests that he has an independent spirit
and does not wish to follow the crowd.
After a moment, he concludes that both
roads are about equally worn.
5. 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
Summary:
Leaves cover both roads equally. No one on this morning has yet taken either
road, for the leaves lie undisturbed. The speaker remains committed to his
decision to take the road he had previously selected, saying that he will save
the other road for another day. He observes, however, that he probably will
never pass this way again and thus will never have an opportunity to take the
other road.
6. I shall be telling this with a sigh4
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.
Summary:
In years to come, the speaker says, he will
be telling others about the choice he
made. While doing so, he will sigh either
with relief that he made the right choice
or with regret that he made the wrong
choice. Whether right or wrong, the
choice will have had a significant impact
on his life.
7. The Rhyme Scheme:
The rhyme scheme of the poem is as follows: (1) abaab, (2) cdccd, (3) efeef, (4)
ghggh. All of the end rhymes are masculine—that is, each consists of a single
syllable. (You may have noticed that the last word of the poem, difference, has
more than one syllable. However, only the last syllable completes the rhyme with
hence in line 22. Therefore, masculine rhyme occurs.)
8. Themes
Individualism
.......The speaker chooses to go his own way, taking the “road
less traveled” (line 19).
Caution
.......Before deciding to take the "road less traveled" (line 19), the
speaker takes time to consider the other road. He says, "[L]ong I
stood / And looked down one as far as I could" (lines 3-4).
Commitment
.......The speaker does not have second thoughts
after making his decision.
Accepting a Challenge
.......It may be that the road the speaker
chooses is less traveled because it
presents trials or perils. Such challenges
seem to appeal to the speaker.
.
