Frost\'s the Road Not Taken

Frost's The Road Not Taken

By titling his poem "The Road Not Taken," poet Robert Frost draws the reader's attention to the realms of mystery and the unknown. On the surface, it is a delightful and lyrical tribute to individuality. The narrator "took the road less traveled by," because as he states, "it was grassy and wanted wear," (lines 19; 8). However, "The Road Not Taken" is a deceptively simple poem. Although the narrator of the poem took the road less traveled, he remains curious about the road not taken, the path that was slightly more worn and therefore easier to travel by. "That has made all the difference," he concludes, but the reader does not know why (line 20). Perhaps in taking the road less traveled the narrator has met with brambles and burrs that have made his trek through life more difficult. On the other hand, the tone of Frost's poem is cheerful and hopeful, suggesting that all roads may ultimately lead to the same place. "The Road Not Taken" demonstrates that the journey may be more important than the destination. Not once in the poem does the narrator allude to the nature of his goal or to the place that his path led. Rather, he simply longs to know what it would have been like to have made a different choice when he was at that fork in the road. Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" encapsulates the sense of wistfulness, of the seductive nature of missed opportunities.

Literally, "The Road Not Taken" is a poem describing a juncture on a wooded path on which "two roads diverged," (line 1). The woods are described as "yellow," meaning the season could be spring, summer, or autumn but doubtfully winter. Because the narrator later states that "I shall be telling this with a sigh / Somewhere ages and ages hence," the reader can assume that the events taking place in the poem were relatively recent in the narrator's memory (lines 16-17). He is not on his death bed wishing he had made different decisions in life. He is simply wondering what would have happened if he took the road not taken. In addition to being described as "yellow," the woods are covered with significant undergrowth and therefore the season is most likely late summer (line 5). Furthermore, the time of day is morning (line 11).

The speaker's mood by the end of the poem is wistful; he is curious about the road not taken, but not regretful. He says he was "sorry I could not travel both / And be one traveler," meaning that he comes to terms with the laws of physics and science (lines 2-3). Human beings cannot be two places at once. At the same time, he is "telling this with a sigh" because he does wish that he could have experienced both paths fully. Using the word "sigh" as well as the word "doubted" indicates that the speaker's mood borders on being melancholic and regretful (line 15). The only line in which the poet includes an exclamation point reads "I kept the first for another day!" (line 13). The narrator had hoped that he would have been able to walk a short while on the one path and then later on return back the same way and then take road not taken. But as he admits, "way leads on to way," (line 14). He was unable to return back to pick up the other path in the same way that it is impossible to turn back time.

The Road Not Taken" can apply to almost any point in anyone's life when a person is faced with a decision. Because the literal scene and setting cover up the poet's underlying intentions, the metaphor of "The Road Not Taken" can apply to nearly anything. For example, the narrator might have chosen to be with one romantic partner over another, thinking that he would be with her or him for only a short while. In this case, the road not taken would be the other person. Or, the road not taken could refer to a business opportunity, or simply a chance to board a different bus than the one he was used to taking to work. The reason why "The Road Not Taken" remains a compelling and enduring poem is because its message is universal and applicable to any human experience.