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, 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 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.
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 traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Analysis, meaning and summary of Robert Frost's poem The Road Not Taken

550 Comments

  1. Dyanne Lineger says:

    These words confirm my belief that “There are no wrong decisions in life – only different choices”. In honouring the spirit of Robert Frost’s poem a entirely new perspective of the world became available to me.

  2. erica says:

    it`s very nice poem

  3. Tyler Larson says:

    The man is not only refering to decisions made in life but a choice as to where the decision will take you in life. Such as do I do something the easy way for the same results but only to have the result of your decision taken or lost because you took the past of least resistence. Just my 2pennies.

  4. Bug Bus says:

    Robert frost is sooooooo muchy beter than Edger Allan Poe so what now!!! His face is all swished up and he is dark and sinister, unlike Frost

  5. Jose Archer says:

    Hello from the USA

  6. savanna douglas says:

    lauren allen is being a meany head right now she doesnt like edgar allan poe i is cryin^_^ lol =( i love his amazing love poems i am going to read one now byebye

  7. savanna douglas says:

    i really like this poem in our advanced english class my teacher mrs.rikard wanted us to do a bilography for a poem so we chose robert frost i wanted to chose edgar allen poe but lauren allen doesnt like him but i do because his poems are alot darker so yeah adrianne gomez says hi to everyone!!!!!!!!!

  8. taylor doyle says:

    i really love this poem it is so beatiful and the most wonderful poem ive ever read in my life

  9. silver says:

    this poem stanks like doodoo

  10. kevin wu says:

    I’m Just a Kid and i really like this poem. It’s a little bit deep for me but… a Great Poem!!!

  11. Himanshu kanwar says:

    In life we have many decision to make, ofcourse our decisions affect our futre. This poem depicts usually when someone is faced with making a decision they tend to take the easier path so to speake, those who take the more austere path typically have great sence of accomplishment. In conclusion this poem does a prodigious job at personifying and adding sightful imagery to making decisions in real life.

  12. Mahmoud Mestarihi says:

    A person during his life needs to take some decisions: simple or decisive ones. As shown in this poem, the traveler takes a decision; maybe some factors or conditions forces him/her to do so. Sometimes, a person takes a decision in spite of his self dissatisfaction.

  13. M.Li says:

    Well, seems people’s life is full of choices which might cause confusion. That’s why he said”A momentary stay against confusion”. Maybe poetry is his way of “stay”. But what does “momentary” mean? Like in this poem, finally, no matter what you think, you will choose one of roads and confusion of this phase could over.

  14. haha says:

    OK, whoever said this is about Bin Laden – Frost wrote this in 1916! Wrong century, bud. The poem itself was not supposed to be as quipped as it is – it was an elegy to a friend of Frost’s whom he walked with, and who always griped about the paths that they might have walked on instead. When the poem was published, however, people though it was about personal choice and didn’t understand the references. Even the friend didn’t see who Frost based it off of. But now you know . . .

  15. Fluff Sutton says:

    I think this poem is about osama binladen and terrorists and stuff… im not sure tho…
    The roads represent the teleban and shit…

  16. kaylin B says:

    Beautifully written poem

  17. ruprasik says:

    Robert FROST really giving some information form his poem i found some lesson from his poem if you dont know where the way go then the way can lead you where it go really i like. Im new reader of this side im from MOUNT COUNTRY NEPAL ILOVE POEM

  18. Austin Dims says:

    Robert Frost explains how he follows the path which is less traveled and creates his own future. Using both imagery and abstract ideas, Frost emphasizes on how he only has myself to rely on to succeed in his dreams. Friends were not a major priority to him, his main priorities were only his parents and his wife, Elinor Miriam White.

  19. pedro says:

    like this poem was like about this vato nd stuff. he couldnt make up his mind and stuff ya no homes?

  20. manny says:

    In life we have many decision to make, and ofcourse our decisions affect our future. in this poem Robert Frost uses imagery and places two roads in front of a traveler, showing that in life we will have to make choices.In this poem one of the choices was easier than the other and thats what happens in life some times it looks so easy just to take the easy way but in the end the harder way pays off two

Leave a Reply to haha Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Do you have any comments, criticism, paraphrasis or analysis of this poem that you feel would assist other visitors in understanding the meaning or the theme of this poem by Robert Frost better? If accepted, your analysis will be added to this page of American Poems. Together we can build a wealth of information, but it will take some discipline and determination.