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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, as just as fair,
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. From The Poetry of Robert Frost by Robert Frost, edited by Edward Connery Lathem.
The image of stepped-on leaves turning black represents the notion that the road less traveled is preferable. Taking the final couplet into consideration as well, the poem is commonly read as a testament to the unconventionally lived life.
Again, however, Frost refuses to allow the title to have a single meaning: “The Road Not Taken” also evokes “the road less traveled,” the road most people did not take. The poem moves from a fantasy of staving off choice to a statement of division.
Although commonly interpreted as a celebration of rugged individualism, the poem actually contains multiple different meanings. The speaker in the poem, faced with a choice between two roads, takes the road "less traveled," a decision which he or she supposes "made all the difference."
"The Road Not Taken" is a narrative poem by Robert Frost, first published in the August 1915 issue of the Atlantic Monthly, and later published as the first poem in the 1916 poetry collection, Mountain Interval.
A majority of the time, this poem is quoted and used with an interpretation that is not exactly “correct”. The popular belief is that Frost meant for this poem to be about hope, success, and defying the odds by choosing a path well, “less traveled by.”.
The Road Not Taken. 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;
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.
Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”. Read the iconic poem by Robert Frost alongside a video animated by TED-Ed, and discover additional reading materials, related poems, and educator resources to help you engage more deeply with the poem or teach it in the classroom. Poets.org.
