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, 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,

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.

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.

Poem Analysis

Subject of the Poem  The paraphrase is that there are two choices, take the one that everyone walks down, or the road less taken.  This entire poem is a metaphor for the decisions one is faced with in life.  This poem addresses a social phenomenon  Narrator is the author whom is speaking towards society

Diction  The use of descriptive words are evident in this poem.  “bent in the undergrowth”  “grassy and wanted wear”  “in leaves, no step has trodden black”  “-sigh”  Connotations: the “roads” that are referred to, are decisions that one must make during their life time.  Use of euphonies rather than cacophonies

Tone  Tone throughout is contemplative,  It starts out remorseful. Proven through the line “and sorry I could not travel both.”  By the third stanza, there is less remorse with the narrator deciding that both paths are fairly equal  At the end it returns to a regretful tone, though containing optimism

Rhythmical Devices  Rhyme scheme: ABAAB  Closed poem  Iambic tetrameter

Literary Devices  Assonance: “ two roads diverged in a yellow wood” “because it was grassy and wanted wear” Personification: “because it was grassy and wanted wear” Metaphor: the whole poem is one elaborate metaphor, comparing paths to life and crossroads to the choices one must make, that could ultimately lead on to more choices Title: “The Road Not Taken”, relates to the poem but is misleading because the title does not represent that there is always a possibility of how things could have been different if taken a different road.

Values  Connects to readers, it is broad enough to relate to everyone’ life choices that lead into the person one becomes from those decisions  It is intensely felt by the reader because is it a lyric poem, it is giving its intense emotion within the readers, this poem is directed out of the authors life but isn’t specific to it. Therefore being personalized with thought but relatable on any level  This poem sharpens the reader’s awareness on one’s life choices and how it will shape them into who they are.

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