Complete Text of "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; 5

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, 10

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. 15

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. 20

 

Summery of poem

 

The Road Not Taken is a well- Known poem of Robert Frost. One day the poet was walking alone. Suddenly he stood at point where two road diverged. He was confused which path he would go. He was in a fix. The poet stays sometimes there and thinks that as he is alone it is impossible for him to travel both roads. The poet enjoyed the surrounding place sometimes. According to the poet, One road is grassy where human beings do not move normally. Another road is busy where human beings move easily. The poet chose first one, which is grassy. Robert Frost as a nature poet wants to enjoy the nature and take the adventure of nature. He thinks that his selected one is better than the other as it was little used.
But after going a sort distance he found that there was not much difference between two roads. There was really not much difference between the two roads, both roads lay in leaves. Both roads were about same condition. But the poet was confused that one day his selected road would be decayed like another road.
One critic considers this poem to be the work of spiritual matter. Some critics think that though the poet is naturalist, he cannot take whimsical decision. According to them, the poet lost the scope of long enjoyment. The poet thinks that his decision is correct. Fate has encouraged him to do the work. According to him, this road is the symbol of heaven and spiritual wefare. The poem is philosophical. Perhaps the poet has differeciated between the material world (That is full of pain) and the spiritual world (That is full of pleasure). The poet is prepared to choose the spiritual one.