The Road Not Taken By Robert Frost Analysis

Robert Frosts “The Road Not Taken” is more symbolic of a choice one must make in their life in attempt to foresee the outcome before reaching the end, than it is about choosing the right path in the woods.

In the poem it state, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both…” [Green Day (1, 2)] This piece of text displays how the narrator is faced with a hard decision and regrets not being able to take both paths. In the text it also states, “ … to where it bent in the undergrowth… it was grassy and wanted tear… I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference,” [Robert Frost (5, 8, 19, 20)] These lines from the text help to show how the narrator looks through all his options, and then takes the lesser taken option. This choice was likely made due to the narrator thinking that he/she might not like the choice that other people made, and will end up regretting it, so after taking the lesser chosen path, the narrator is pleased with his/her decision.

The most significant symbolism used is the roads. As the speaker describes the crossroad he is faced with, he is referring to something more metaphysical. Although the speaker is struggling with which path to take he is literally talking about which decision in his life is the best to take. The road stands as a metaphor for the future ahead of him; he can only see so far into it. As the speaker looks onto one path he chooses to take the other, it’s a split decision (Line 6, R. Frost). This a metaphor for instances in life when a choice is made where not much thought it placed in it. The season, autumn, in which poem refers to it embodies life (Line 1, R. Frost). Because it is autumn, leaves are changing colors. Therefore, things in the speaker’s life will or are going to change based on the path he takes. Lastly, the repetition of the first line “Two roads diverged in a wood…” used in the last stanza concludes the poem by enouncing the speaker made choices and it has changed his life yet he is content with

The first metaphor is represented in line one and two, "Two roads diverge in a yellow wood/ And sorry I could not travel both." This is compared to the realization that people don't always get the luxury of a repeat. People get one chance to do something. Much like the speaker only getting to take one path. The second metaphor can be found in the last two lines, line 19 and 20. The speaker says "I took the one last traveled by/ And that has made all the difference. This is a metaphor for realizing the choices we make can have a lasting effect on our lives. Deciding to take a certain path over another can say a lot about who someone is as a

In the first line of the poem, readers can picture the speaker standing at “two roads diverged in a yellow wood.” This line paints a clear picture of the poem’s setting. Further along in the first stanza, imagery is used when the speaker says, “and be one traveler, long I stood/And looked down one as far as I could/ To where it bent in the undergrowth” (3-5). Here, the readers can visualize the speaker standing at a path analyzing what it has to offer. Imagery is also illustrated when the speaker chooses the other path “because it was grassy and wanted wear” (8). The path is personified to illustrate how the speaker is tempted to travel it instead. In this stanza, the speaker makes his or her decision and begins a new experience. In the next stanza, the paths are referenced again when the speaker says, “In leaves no step had trodden black” (12). This line paints a picture of two paths that have never been travelled by anyone else before the speaker. Through the use of imagery, the two roads are given illustration, and the readers can gain insight on how the reader comes to make his or her

To begin, personification is used quite often. In line 8, stanza 2, the speaker speaks of the road wanting “wear”. The road is spoken about as if it is human. Roads cannot think. They do not have the ability to think. So the speaker decides to bring the road to life. He gives the road the chance to become human, although in reality, that is not possible. The road is also considered a metaphor for the future. In life, we can only see things that are so far. Line four, stanza one, “And looked down one as far as I could”. This metaphor basically says that whatever choice we make in life, there will be either a good or bad result, and we are only allowed to see so far into our future. Although the word nature is not actually written in the poem, it is described once the speaker says in the first stanza, first line, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood”. Therefore, nature is used as a metaphor. It is in a fall setting. This is the time where decisions are usually made. It is almost as if once the weather changes to become colder, everything stops. There are less vacations taken, less places to go, sports season, and for most, graduation time. Fall and winter seems to be the time where people do on evaluation of their lives. They sit back and think about decisions they should have made, but has yet to

Each line rhymes beautifully (in an ABACB pattern) to create a successfully lilting form that rolls off of the tongue during the recitation of this classic poem. Each line holds such fervor and demands that the reader pay attention to each and every line, so as to gain the full meaning of Frost’s lesson. While “The Road Not Taken” happens to be a considerably shorter poem, with only three stanzas, within the first few lines the reader has already been able to create a full picture of the roads the author is presented with. By using descriptive and powerful words such as “yellow wood” and “undergrowth”, and phrases such as “In leaves no step had trodden black”, there is an immense amount of imagery throughout this entire poem (Frost 1132). As with anything, the reader adds their own personal experiences to the base imagery provided for you in the lines of poetry. If you are facing a truly difficult decision in your lifetime the paths may conjure a picture of a decrepit and twisted path that almost deters the traveler from entering. Under other circumstances however, the paths may be a little more civilized, or in my case I have always conjured this fantasy-filled visage of the Oz yellow brick road leading down the path that I choose. No matter what image you happen to conjure, the point is that Robert Frost’s iconic writing style allows for

The use of paths and forks in the road to symbolize life choices has become a very common practice. This poem is not about actual roads, or paths, though. It is about figurative roads that people may approach throughout their lives. For every road, or path, a person chooses to take there is one that was not taken. Just as, for every decision a person makes there is a decision they did not choose.

The poem depicts a man was walking in a forest, down a path one autumn morning and arrived at a fork in the road. He studied the paths, looked intently down the first, then walks down the second even though there was no noticeable difference in the roads as shown by the verse "and both that morning equally lay" line 11. The sojourner saw that neither path had been frequented "in leaves no step had trodden black" line 12. As he went down one path he thought he would like to return and try the other path, but realizing it is improbable because he knows "way leads on to way" each choice leads to another new choice. He acknowledges that in the future he would remember with emotion "I shall be telling this with a sigh" remembering with regret of what was down that other path.

In the poem, there are two roads that are split. “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,” (Frost, 1). This is the first metaphor used—deciding, and it is used throughout the whole poem, which makes it an extended metaphor. This metaphor is used to exhibit two decisions or choice that must be made, whether this is just in general life choices or certain big events, the idea of this is at one point in a person’s life, a choice or road must be taken. In the case of this poem, Frost chooses to use this specific metaphor to possibly show a time in which he had to make an important decision in his life. The second metaphor is the idea of a forest in autumn “……in a yellow wood,” (Frost, 1) the word yellow wood seems to portray that it could be the fall season. Most of the time, fall is a time of decision making, for it is getting closer to the end of a year and the beginning of a new one. It could also represent a specific time frame in his life, whether he made the decision

In the first stanza it ,states that the author(traveler) has to make a choice on what road to take. The poem states “ both the roads diverged into a yellow wood.” He also states he is “sorry for I couldn't travel both.” He said he “looked down as far as I could, until it bent in the undergrowth.” The choices he has to make relates to everyday choices. An example of how it relates to an everyday thing is, someone in life has to choose the right group of people to hang out with, and whether to study or not. Choices are a big part of life everyone has to make choices, sometimes the best choice is not the best.

No matter who you are or what you do, you must make decisions every day in your lifetime, whether it be choosing what to eat that day or choosing which occupation you would like to do for the rest of your life. No matter how big or small the decision there is always more than one option available. For every choice that is chosen, there is one that you did not pick — the school you didn’t go to or the outfit you did not wear. Robert Frost has written about choices like these in his poem “The Road Not Taken”. The narrator in the poem comes to a fork in the road and needs to decide which road he will take and which road he will not take. A number of poetic devices work together to help develop an overall understanding and relatability to the poem. They also support the poem’s theme ¬¬— to choose your pathways in life and be content with them whether they seem popular or not. The devices used to create this effect and theme is imagery, symbolism, and connotative and denotative language.

In his poem “The Road not Taken,” he communicates his thoughts about human choices. Splitting of the road in the woods could be a symbol here. We may have traversed far enough in our lives but we need to make an assertive choice for the path we’ll tread on later. This leads us down one path and precludes us from walking on the other path. The speaker deeply wishes to tread on both roads simultaneously but realizes that he will never get back to his starting spot once he commences, for the roads are unique in nature. This is a symbol for a never-changing decision– once you are firm with your choice, you can never go back. There is auditory imagery when he sighs. The paths that diverge in the forest appear to be grassy, resplendent and hope-giving.

The first line, “two roads diverged in a yellow wood”, sets the scene for both the literal and metaphorical fork in the road that the traveller is facing and creates in my mind a clear and descriptive image. The poet says the woods are yellow, so I infer it is autumn. The metaphorical significance of the poem taking place in autumn could potentially represent the traveller making a choice during the ‘fall’ of his life, when he is growing old. In lines 4-5 of the first stanza, the traveller “looked down the one as far as” he could to see where it goes, but the undergrowth blocks his view. This is a metaphor for the future - we can only see consequences of decisions so far into the future without taking them. The undergrowth represents aspects of the future that are unclear

The poem illustrates an imagery of two roads, which symbolizes the two alternative choices the speaker faces in life. The speaker has to make an ultimatum on what he chooses to do with his life. He can either decide to take the road that most