The Road Not Taken

The poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost is an American classic. This poem symbolizes the dreams, hopes, plans, and choices of the narrator but the story told is ambiguous and leaves the true meaning of the poem up for interpretation. Through the symbolism of the poem, the reader dives through many layers of understanding and even then, the true intent of the author is difficult to decipher.

This poem reflects many different symbols and metaphors for the narrator. To begin, the concept of the road or path that runs through the entire poem clearly represents the decisions or choices of the narrator. “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both,” speaks of a choice the traveler needs to make (Frost). In addition, the yellow wood gives the feeling of fall and could be a metaphor for the narrator’s age. Autumn usually represents the later years in life so there is a feeling that speaker is older and this is a very important decision to him. The next line combined with the previous one reads “and sorry I could not travel both and be one traveler (Frost).” This indicates that the narrator wishes he could be two travelers and take both paths and so he is conflicted by the decision he needs to make.

The symbolism in the poem also points to the unknown variables inherent in his decision. “Long I stood, and looked down one as far as I could to where it bent in the undergrowth,” he tells the reader. One possible meaning is that the speaker is reluctant to take the path and because of the bend, he cannot see the results of his decision to take this path at this time. He would not know where his choice would lead him until he actually reaches that bend in the path. In addition, the overgrowth of the forest could indicate that many facets of his life and decisions are unknown. He spends a great deal of time thinking about that first path and what lies down that road when suddenly he turns and “took the other, as just as fair” (Frost). This move seems impulsive considering the relative amount of time he spent reviewing the first option.

To the narrator, perhaps his second path seemed like a better choice because there was not a bend in the path and he felt that he had a clearer picture of what the result of taking this path would be. The author goes on to justify taking this path by saying, “and having perhaps the better claim because it was grassy and wanted wear” (Frost). He continues to justify his decision and contradict himself at the same time in the next line where it reads, “though as for that the passing there had worn them about the same and both that morning equally lay” (Frost). The speaker seems to be telling the reader that while initially he chose the path because it was grassy, in the end, both paths were pretty much the same choice. Perhaps he is justifying his impetuous choice by telling the reader that both choices were equally good or equally poor.

In the third stanza, the reader learns that it is morning in the woods and this could be a metaphor representing the beginning of the decision process. The speaker is at a fork in the road and a choice is needed. The traveler also tells the reader that there are leaves covering the ground on both paths and the leaves have not been disturbed or “trodden black” (Frost). This could also represent the ambiguity in the decision-making process. Again, in the third stanza, the narrator seems to be justifying his choice of paths when he states, “Oh, I kept the first for another day!” (Frost). In this line, he tells the reader that he will be back to take the first path at another time but then second-guesses himself and states, “Yet knowing how way leads onto way, I doubted if I should ever come back” (Frost). This could mean that because he is in the autumn of his life, he knows that this is a major decision that he will not have time to come back and try a different decision if the first one does not work out. He continues to express his regret at not choosing the first path with the line, “I shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence” (Frost). With this statement, he continues to express his conflict over his decision.

The last stanza of the poem provides another contradiction. The traveler famously states, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference” (Frost). Now the traveler tells the reader that he is the hero and a sudden nonconformist who took the road that no one else wanted to take – the one less traveled by. This is directly opposed to earlier lines that judged the two paths to be equal. At this point, the reader may wonder if he is regretting not taking the first path and trying to make himself feel better in the process. His final point and the final line of the poem, “and that has made all the difference” leaves the reader wondering still if the narrator considers the choice to be a good or poor choice later in life.

The “Road Not Taken” keeps the reader engaged with a variety of symbols, subtleties, and metaphors to resolve. This poem speaks to anyone who has had a choice to make and later wonders what the other path would have looked like. The autumn colors in the poem could represent narrator’s age and lead the reader to believe he is older and that this decision is important because he would not have time to go back and take the other path even if he wanted to. Another unresolved concept in the poem is how the traveler alternately justifies his decision by stating the paths were both equal and then counters that idea with the thought that he took the path less traveled, therefore not equal. The final mystery still unresolved is whether the narrator was satisfied with his decision or if he would choose the other path given the opportunity.

Work Cited

Frost, Robert. Mountain Interval. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1920; Bartleby.com, 1999. www.bartleby.com/119/. [Date of Printout].