The Road I Should Have Taken

A detailed Summary of The Road I Should Have Taken


Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

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.

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.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--

And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" has long been hailed as a testimony to individuality and an inspiration to take chances. Instead of conforming to society's rituals, the speaker chose to be different-to take the road "less traveled by."

However, many readers and critics alike have neglected to consider the perils of choosing a path that is seldom tread upon. The consequences of selecting a road


For instance, the first half of the poem offers limited insight to the speaker's actions, yet readers, either because of apathy or foolishness, accept the inane reasoning of the speaker. Basically, the speaker came to a division in a road and chose the one less traveled because "it was grassy and wanted wear." It is unfathomable how people could equate the degree of a trail's verdancy with having "the better claim" on account of it being entirely irrational. In the entire spectrum of factors that influence decisions grass has never held even the lowest prestige.

So why, after having the story of Little Red Riding Hood drilled into our brains, can't we see the speaker's decision to take the "road less traveled by" as blatantly senseless? It remains a mystery as to how readers derive a euphoric ambiance from a poem that is rather vague. We must not entirely blame Robert Frost for the reader's indiscretions while analyzing his poem. After all, "The Road Not Taken" is one the most ambiguous poems ever composed, thus presenting readers with a considerable amount of open interpretation.

The most positive outcome I can conjure is that he escaped the ugly wrath of the wolf and lived to tell about it.

that is noticeable more unkempt and perhaps even hazardous could be devastating; it is a miracle in its self that the speaker is still alive or even sane enough to recall his precarious adventure through the uncharted territory. Does no one r

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Approximate Word count = 983
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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