The Road Not Taken

"The Road Not Taken"

by 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 side, 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 back.

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 travelled by,

And that has made all the difference

This poem is very beautiful for me. It tells about a "traveller", a person who looks for a greener pasture as he made his way in the yellow woods, wherein there are two roads in different directions.

Some lines have very meaningful significance. They are written in simple English but they have deeper meaning that will truely inspire the readers.

Two roads diverged - symbolizes two options in life. These may refer to our choices when we are going to decide what kind of life are we going to partake in. The roads in the poem are very much different from one another:

* One road is grassy, meaning it has the features of abundance, enough harvest and rich vegetation. The road that many would choose for it is rich in let's just say, the "daily needs of life" are provided.

* The other road is the opposite of the road above. It is lifeless, less grassy, less abundant and has poor vegetation.

A yellow wood - "autumn" season features trees with yellow leaves. This symbolize the few years of a person's life as the leaves continue to fall one by one, it resembles to our life which in every moment it decreases.

No step had trodden back - symbolizes our final decision/s, in which in every step or decision that we make, we cannot turn back on it or we cannot change it anymore since the consequences are already coming.

The road less traveled by - the road that the persona took. It is the one that is less grassy, less abundant and has poor vegetation. This is the "risky" road.

The poem actually tells us that whatever decision we make in our life, we cannot change it anymore. Even if we take the risky decision, we must always keep in mind that it is always in the matter of our process of how will we be able to go to the end of the road (goal). Process may change.