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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,
Robert Frost's 'The Road Not Taken' explores life's choices, opportunities, and the ensuing lingering regret of untaken paths.
"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.
Written in 1915 in England, "The Road Not Taken" is one of Robert Frost's—and the world's—most well-known poems. Although commonly interpreted as a celebration of rugged individualism, the poem actually contains multiple different meanings.
The Road Not Taken. Load audio player. Robert Frost. 1874 –. 1963. 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.
Robert Frost wrote “ The Road Not Taken ” as a joke for a friend, the poet Edward Thomas. When they went walking together, Thomas was chronically indecisive about which road they ought to take and—in retrospect—often lamented that they should, in fact, have taken the other one.
“The Road Not Taken” has become well known for its perceived encouragement to take the “[road] less traveled by.” In other words, many people interpret this poem as a call to blaze new trails and break away from the status quo.
Such has been the case for Robert Frost’s widely beloved poem from 1915, “The Road Not Taken.” Regularly recited at important rites of passage, the poem has repeatedly been misinterpreted as a celebration of the courage required to take the path “less traveled” (line 19).
“The Road Not Taken: The Poem Everyone Loves and Everyone Gets Wrong”: In this essay, David Orr discusses the history of Frost’s poem and a common misinterpretation of its meaning. More Essays About Robert Frost: Read more essays by poets—including Carol Frost and John Hollander—engaging with Frost’s work.
The Road Not Taken. By Robert Frost. Share. 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;
