The Road Not Taken

A detailed Summary of The Road Not Taken

Often in life, we are left to wonder what might have happened, what could have been, and how things would have turned out, if only. There are times when we are sure that those other choices might have led to unfound greatness but there are also moments when we feel as though we were indeed better off not having traveled down such unsure paths. Nevertheless, that which we chose not to do is what constantly includes part of our life's mystery; it is the ultimate example of the unknown and perhaps the one that we spend the most time pondering.

In Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken," the poet explores this very realm of uncertainty with a poetic curiosity that makes us indeed wonder what could have been. Frost's subject is more specifically narrowed down to a choice: the poet is faced with two roads, two ideas, and two possibilities of action. It is very possible that the road not taken will be the one longed for thereafter. The poem examines the choice between these two roads, and the results of the choice which the poet makes.

The poem is patterned in four stanzas having an identical rime scheme (abaab). The metaphor is in form two: the literal term is named and the figurative term implied. The "road" is the literal term, a

nd "travel" is the figurative because it implies decision making. The symbolic meaning of two roads becomes clear in the fourth stanza, when the reader realizes that the "road" symbolizes a path in life, and a choice between the two roads symbolize life decisions. Yet what makes this work so much more than just a dreamy analysis of what could have been is Frost's poetic tact. In the first stanza, he outlines the scene: There are two paths in a wood and he stands at the crossroads, sorry that he cannot be two people at the same time, and take both directions. He looks down one road until it bends and disappears. Here, we get a glimpse of choice and how all of us are faced with certain options in life but we regretfully can only choose one, one life and one choice, the road we choose defines our destiny and the outcome of an entire existence.

It is the last stanza that gives some expression to the common feeling described in the first paragraph of this essay. It is the feeling that, regardless of which choice one makes. He will always maintain at least some remote suspicion that the other road, too, could have been taken, and that there is always the thought that one lacks a knowledge that he could have gained, if only they had been able to discover what lay at the end of the other road. And so the speaker concludes by stating that he chose the untraveled road, and that this choice has had a great significance in his life.

In the second stanza, Frost explains to us that he decided to take the other road, under the a

Some common words found in the essay are:
Frost's Road, Robert Frost, , choice makes, choice poet, literal term, life choice, choice roads,

Approximate Word count = 1034
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English