Jeremy Keeshin

“The Road Not Taken” Analysis

In his poem, “The Road Not Taken,” Robert Frost discusses the musings of a
traveler deciding between two choices, while perusing the effects and consequences of
making the wiser but more difficult decision. Frost seems to be using the roads as a
metaphor for choices, and saying that although he would like to choose both, he must
choose one. “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood/ and sorry I could not travel both” (1-
2). Then he subsequently says that he long analyzes the after effects of his decision by
“looking down one as far as I could” (4).
The narrator eventually comes to the conclusion that both are about the equal.
“Though as for that the passing there/ had worn them really about the same” (9-10). Then
the narrator picks one route to take and figures that since he has traveled to far he should
never turn back. “Yet knowing how way leads on to way/ I doubted if I should ever come
back” (14-15). This suggests that in life, after we have made our decision we should
move forward and not regress. We then go on to see that the traveler makes the harder
decision and it has effected his life ever since. “I took the one less traveled by/ and that
has made all the difference” (19-20). “The Road Not Taken” and “the one less traveled”
(19) are both signifying the same idea. The title and this phrase suggest the harder
decision to make or maybe the less popular one. When the whole poem is put together it
means we must go with our decision and live our life without feeling pessimistic about
our past and feeling bright about our future. “Oh, I kept the first for another day!” (13).
This significance in this line is not so much in the wording as it is in the punctuation. It
says that we should be enthusiastic about our decision and continue on with it.