The Road Not Taken Analysis

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
- ROBERT FROST
ABOUT THE POET
Robert Lee Frost (March 26,
1874 – January 29, 1963) was an
American poet. His work was
initially published in England
before it was published in
America. Frost was honoured
frequently during his
lifetime and is the only
poet to receive four
Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry . On
named July Poet Laureate
22, 1961, of
Frost was
Vermont . Frost was nominated
for the Nobel Prize in
Literature 31 times.
Poem’s Title
• ‘The Road’ is a symbol of the choice

made by us in life. Many a times we
regret the choices we make but what is
done once cannot be undone.
• The word ‘road’ not only means ‘way’ , it
also means ‘journey’ or a ‘stage of
journey’.
Here ‘road’ does not signify any ordinary
road, but functions as a metaphor of a
SUMMARY
• In the poem - ‘The Road Not Taken’, the road

symbolizes our life. The poet says that the path that
we do not choose in our life is ‘the road not taken’.
He describes his feelings about that choice that he
had left in the past. The path which we have chosen,
decides our future, our destination. The important
message that the poet wants to give is that the
choice that we make has an impact on our future and
if we make a wrong choice, we regret it but cannot go
back on it. Therefore, we must be wise while making
choices.
Brainstorming Activity
• Sometimes the choices we make have far
reaching consequences. Think about any four
choices you make on daily basis, and the
importance of these choices.
1. 2.
3. 4.
Complete the web chart showing choices and decisions
you may have to make in the next few years and the
factors that affect these choices.
DETERMINING FACTORS
INTERESTS
FRIENDS PARENT
S
CHOICES
INTROSPECT
Have you made choices that are acceptable and
less risky ?
– Yes
– No
Are you going to choose a career of your
choice?
– Yes
– No
Do you think decisions matter a lot with future
perspective?
– Yes
– No
First Stanza
Two roads diverged
in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could
not travel both
And be one
traveller, long I
stood
And looked down one
as far as I could
To where it bent in
the undergrowth;
Gist of Stanza 1
The poet was standing at a junction where
the road forked into two. It was a forest
full of yellow leaves signifying the autumn
season. As the poet could not travel both
the roads, he stood there for a long time,
deciding which road to take. He was in a
dilemma. He looked down one road as far
as he could and to where it bent and
disappeared in the wild bushes.
Second Stanza
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,
Gist of Stanza 2
After viewing both the roads, the poet decided

to take the second road because it was grassy
and had not been travelled by many. The poet
was adventurous and wanted to travel the road
less popular.
However, in the second half of the stanza, he
tells us that as far as the passing of travelers
was concerned, both the roads had actually
been worn in the same manner.
Stanza 3
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.
Gist of Stanza 3
Both the roads lay in the same condition in front

of the poet that morning. No leaf had been
crushed black as no one had passed through either
of the roads that morning and both of them were
covered with leaves. The poet decided to return
to the first route some other day though he knew
that journeys have a way in which one road leads
to another and had the doubts if he would ever
be able to travel on the first road.
Stanza 4
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
travelled by,
And that has made all the
difference.
Stanza 4
The poet was not sure about the success of his choice. He
thought he might regret his decision of travelling the
second road and he might reflect upon it later with a sigh.
It’s very difficult to pass judgement at the spur of
moment. After many years perhaps he will be saying with a
sigh about his choice where two roads diverged in the wood
and he selected the one which was less travelled by and
his choice has made all the difference.
Multiple choice
questions based on
the Poem
The poet stood at the
intersection of?
 A wood painted yellow
 An autumn forest
 Trees with infected flowers
 Woods which is filled with red leaves

The poet regrets that
 He could not travel on both the
roads simultaneously
 He has become old
 The roads are covered with thick

undergrowth
 The paths are not clearly

visible
The poet finally chooses the road
 Which has been less travelled by
 Which looks more attractive
 Which very few have trod on
 Which is less grassy

Pick out the lines which says that
the two roads looked similar
that morning
 ‘oh, I kept the first for another day.’
 ‘yet knowing how way leads on to way’
 ‘I doubted I should ever come back’
 ‘ both that morning equally lay in leaves no step

had trodden black.’
The road in the poem stands for
 A long tedious journey
 Challenges
 Choices in life
 Forward movement
Exercise for practice
• What is the message/ theme of the poem ‘The
Road not Taken’?
• How does one way lead to another? Is it
easier to come back to the path we have left
for another day?
• Describe the significance of good decisions. In
what manner do they support life?

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THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

• ‘The Road’ is a symbol of the choice

• In the poem - ‘The Road Not Taken’, the road

After viewing both the roads, the poet decided

Both the roads lay in the same condition in front

 Trees with infected flowers

 Woods which is filled with red leaves

 He has become old

 The roads are covered with thick

 The paths are not clearly

 Which looks more attractive

 Which very few have trod on

 Which is less grassy

 ‘yet knowing how way leads on to way’

 ‘I doubted I should ever come back’

 ‘ both that morning equally lay in leaves no step

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