The Road not Taken : Analysis

The poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost is a famous piece of literature wrote in 1913. The poem tells the tale of a traveller of life looking for the road less taken. The poem is comprised of 20 lines containing rhyming verse. The poem depicts a traveller of life confronted by a crucial decision. This poem can be deconstructed based on rhyming sounds and content to form 5 stanza.

In the poem, we can see a compelling rhythm form in the verses that slides on the tongue. This rhythm is dictated by the rhyming end of each verse. For example, the pace is set in stanza one by the rhyme:

‘would, could and stood’.

“ 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”.

The rhyme at the end of each verse makes the poem engaging and easy on your mouth. When reading the poem, the rhyme at the end of each verse puts the reader in the habit of emphasising the last word which is often the most important. This helps the reader retain key points while reading aloud. This also helps convey the key message in this passage.

“I took the one less traveled by, and it made all the difference.”

The rhyming verse trains your brain to emphasise the last word. ‘Difference’. The message of this passage is to be unique and venture for the unknown, because that is what makes a difference in the world.

This rhythm along with the subject of each verse lets us form stanzas from line 1-5, 6-8, 9-12, 13-15 and 16-20.

From this we can see how the author used the number of verses and lines dedicated to a subject of the poem, to determine its importance.

For example: stanza one has 5 lines dedicated to the traveler making a choice about which path to take. But on the contrary, the author uses only 4 lines to describe the overused/taken path. This indicates that the worn path is not ideal or as important in regards of the choice the traveler has to make. Structural and rhythmic clues like this give the reader the message that to make a difference in society, the worn and overused path to success is not the answer.

The poem “The Road Not Taken” focuses on the choices of life.

Lines 1-5 describe a traveller, standing in front of a diverging road. This passage describes how life is a game of choices. This traveller of life is faces with an important choice. Two pathways that will mould his future are before him without warning. And he/she has to decide for him/her self which path calls their name.

Lines 6-8 describe the sight of a luscious green path, that wished to be taken. The path was bare, no one had yet dared to take it, it ‘wanted wear’. This path is the choice less often made. The choice that looks appealing but is far too risky for the convention.

Lines 9-12 describe the first describe the first path that bent in the undergrowth. This path was the choice more often taken; the leaves trodden black. This path is the incarnation of the standard conventional life journey, this path takes you the safe way in life. Get an education, find a descent paying job, have kids etc. The stable life, but the same life that gives you stability makes you anonymous. Blending with the rest of society. Never making a difference. Knowing this, the wise traveller decides to abandon the convention and take the road less travelled by. This is what that stanza is trying to convey.

Lines 13-15 the traveller ages later in life. The same scenario arises and the traveller chooses the choice less made. And he saves no regret.

This poem effectively uses an extended metaphor to demonstrate how choices in life can be compared to a traveller faced with two paths. This lets the poet use symbolism via the extended metaphor to create a deeper meaning. Each path symbolises a different life changing choice that can not be undone. The wear of the paths symbolises the amount of people exposed to that path/side of life. This extended metaphor also gives the literal meaning of the poem (to travel on paths less travelled by) a metaphorical meaning. That meaning is what defines the poem into greatness. To make a difference in the world, you must make choices not made by others, you must take risks and you must break the convention. That is how we make a difference, we take the path not taken.

In life we must make choices. And this poem describes the Impact of these choices in a beautifully worded masterpiece that uses extended metaphor, a defying subject and immaculate structure to make a poem that makes you question. Are you making the effort to stand out and travel the road not taken?

Written by Gabriel Morris