The famous opening lines of "The Road Not Taken" introduce

readers to the choice the speaker faces, which will become the main
focus of the poem: two roads diverge, and the speaker, unable to
travel both, must choose between them. It's important to notice
that, right from the start in line 2, the speaker reveals a sense of
sorrow at having to choose between the two roads: he or she is
"sorry" that choosing one road means missing out on the other. The
speaker's struggle sets up one of the poem's main themes—the role
of choice and uncertainty in life. It also reveals something important
about the speaker's attitude towards the role of choice in life: his or
her sense of regret that one is often forced  to choose, and that
choosing one thing means not choosing another.
The speaker's regret lingers through the rest of the poem, so that,
even after he or she has made a decision, it is difficult not to wonder
about what would have been had he or she chosen the other road.
One of the core ironies of the poem is that it doesn't actually matter
which road the speaker chooses, since both roads would leave him
or her with a feeling of regret about what he or she might have
missed out on. The poem's title also speaks to this dilemma directly,
not only signaling that the focus of the poem is the road not  taken,
but even implying that there will always  be a road not taken, and
with it an unshakable feeling of regret over what one might have
missed. Frost himself even indicated at one point that he may have
modeled the speaker in this poem after an acquaintance of his
named Edward Thomas, whom he described as "a person who,
whichever road he went, would be sorry he didn't go the other."
In light of the choice presented in the poem's first lines, the most
obvious guiding question for the poem may at first seem to be,
"Which road will the speaker choose?" But if one keeps in mind that
the speaker will be stuck with a feeling of regret no matter which
road he or she chooses, the guiding question then becomes, "How
will the speaker deal  with his or her feeling of regret at having been
forced, by the demands of life, to choose one road rather than the
other?"
 What is the meaning in the poem "The Road Not Taken"?

In "The Road Not Taken," the meaning of the poem is about a person having to
choose between two roads. "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood" and the speaker
is torn between which road is the best...
2 Educator Answers
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
 If the roads in "The Road Not Taken" could talk, what would they say? Write what
each road "says" to convince the reader to choose it.

This is a great assignment! Your task is to think about how each road would attempt
to attract people to choose it as the best path for continuing their travels. The first
road would probably focus...
4 Educator Answers
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

Compare the two roads with each other. Include at least three pieces of information
from the poem.

The roads look somewhat different from one another: when the traveler tries to look
down the first one, he sees that it "ben[ds] in the undergrowth" (or curves away into
the brush up ahead); the...
1 Educator Answer
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

In Frost's "The Road Not Taken," how does the fork in the road relate to the poem's
theme?

In Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken," the central theme of the poem is making
choices, and how those choices affect the rest of our lives. The "fork" in the road is
introduced in the poem's first...
3 Educator Answers
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

Was the poet happy with his decision in "The Road Not Taken"? Explain your
answer with reference to the poem.

We know that the speaker of the poem—though the speaker is not necessarily the
poet—wishes that he could come back some other time and try the road he is
unable to try today, but "knowing how way...
1 Educator Answer
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

Did the speaker in the poem really take the road less travelled? If so, then why? Is it
likely that the speaker will come back someday and take the other road?
 The speaker does not take the road less traveled because there is no road less
traveled; there is only the road not taken. The speaker of the poem says that the
two roads are "worn...about the...
1 Educator Answer
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

Why does the poet stand for a long time in "The Road Not Taken"?

Unfortunately, the poem's speaker does not tell readers exactly why he stood for a
long time, nor does he state exactly how long he contemplated the two roads. It is a
safe conclusion that the...
1 Educator Answer
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

What are the poetic devices of the poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost?

There are multiple poetic devices used in Robert Frost's poem The Road Not
Taken. In the first line, the poet used assonance. Assonance is the repetition of a
vowel sound within a line of poetry....
4 Educator Answers
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

Did the poet choose the road quickly?

In the first stanza of "The Road Not Taken" by American poet Robert Frost, the
speaker tells us "long I stood," at a fork in the road while he decides which of two
divergent roads he'll follow. The...
1 Educator Answer
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

The second stanza appears to be intentionally ambiguous. Explain why this is the
case.

There is certainly an ambiguity in the second stanza of "The Road Not Taken," one
which appears to undercut the notion of taking the road "less traveled by." The poet
says that the road he took had...
1 Educator Answer
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
 Does the speaker's choice in "The Road Not Taken" influence his behavior in life?
Why?

In Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken,” the narrator comes to a fork in the
road, and chooses to take a “road less traveled by.” This poem is a metaphor for
myriad choices a person might come...
1 Educator Answer
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

Use context to determine the meaning of the word "trodden" as it is used in "The
Road Not Taken." Write your definition of “trodden” here and state the clue(s) from
the text you used to determine your answer. Then, use a dictionary and the
surrounding context of the poem to check your inferred meaning.

The word "trodden" appears in the third stanza, in the twelfth line of the poem. The
speaker of the poem has been describing the appearance of the two roads from
which he has to choose. One goes...
1 Educator Answer
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

What is the main idea in each stanza of "The Road Not Taken"?

In the poem "The Road Not Taken," the road represents our life. The author states
that the path that we do not select in our life is the one not taken. Main idea in
stanza 1: The poet was traveling...
1 Educator Answer
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

Which word from the poem has a positive connotation?

The final word of the poem, "difference," is the only one that has a positive
connotation while remaining denotatively neutral. Throughout the poem, Frost
makes it clear that there is really no...
1 Educator Answer
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

In stanza 4, the narrator says one day in the future he will be telling this moment
with a sigh. Do you think the narrator feels positively or negative about his decision?
Why?
 I'm not sure it's as simple as declaring the speaker's feelings to be positive or
negative. He has indicated throughout the poem that, though the two roads look
aesthetically different, they are...
1 Educator Answer
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

What is the meaning of the phrase "the passing there" in "The Road Not Taken"?

The stanza in which "passing there" occurs reads as follows: 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...
1 Educator Answer
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

What literary theory can be used to analyze Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken"?

The beauty of literary theory is that it can be applied to any work. Major literary
movements include New Criticism (which involves reading a work as a self-
contained unit), New Historicism (which...
3 Educator Answers
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

In his poem "The Road Not Taken," why did Robert Frost choose "The Road Not
Taken" instead of "The Road Taken"?

Frost called the poem “The Road Not Taken” because the poem focuses on the
road not taken, rather than the road taken. At the end of the poem, the speaker
says when two roads diverged in a wood...
3 Educator Answers
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

What is the mood in Rorbert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken?"

The narrator admits that he will recount the story of the fork in the path with a
certain wistful nostalgia, perhaps in wondering where life would have taken him had
he made other choices (taken...
1 Educator Answer
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
 Why did the poet get more fascinated with the second road than the first one in "The
Road Not Taken"?

The poem's speaker is walking in the woods when he comes to a fork in the road.
He looks each way, thinking for a long time about which path he should take.
Finally, he picks the one that was...
1 Educator Answer
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

Explain the symbolism of "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost. What is the moral
of this poem?

I'd suggest that the symbolism of the two forest paths is ultimately about choice.
Within the poem, a traveler is described as walking through a wood when the road
diverges into two paths, each of...
1 Educator Answer
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

Robert Frost is often called a New England poet. How is this reflected in the poem
"The Road Not Taken"?

Common characteristics of New England poets and their poetry abound in "The
Road Not Taken." Many of the poets from this area loved the natural world and
made use of the beauty of the area in...
2 Educator Answers
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

Quote three words to show that the speaker did not rush their decision when they
chose the road in "The Road Not Taken."

It does seem that the speaker takes their time in choosing which of the two roads
they want to take. In fact, the speaker wishes that they could try them both, but they
know that this is not really...
1 Educator Answer
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

Why is "The Road Not Taken" called "America's Most Mis-Read Poem"?
 Robert Frost’s rather straight-forward “The Road Not Taken” is notable for many
things, including its tendency to be misread. A poem often read as an assertive
statement on the virtues of...
2 Educator Answers
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

What is the meaning of the repetition of "I" in the last stanza in the poem "The Road
Not Taken"?

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. Frost himself is...
2 Educator Answers
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

"The Road Not Taken" revolves around a serious conflict. What is it?

The conflict in this poem appears to be the conflict between the easy and the
difficult choice, represented metaphorically by the speaker's choice between two
roads to take. The difficult choice is...
1 Educator Answer
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

What is the main message of the poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost?

A good question. Robert Frost himself complained that his much-anthologized and
much-loved poem had been too deeply interrogated by critics and readers alike: he
said that he wrote it originally...
1 Educator Answer
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

Can we examine Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" in light of Freud's Oedipus
complex theory?

This is an interesting question, but I think the story of Oedipus as told in Sophocles'
Oedipus the King would be a more apt comparison than Freud's Oedipus Complex.
Freud's theory was inspired by...
2 Educator Answers
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
 What is the sensory imagery of "The Road Not Taken"?

Like many of his poems, "The Road Not Taken" shows Frost's strong connection
with nature and natural beauty. He takes time to explain that the forest is "yellow,"
meaning that it is Fall, and that...
2 Educator Answers
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

What are the modernist features in Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken"?
Why does the poem belong to the modernist period?

Although "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost was written during the same time
period as the modernist poems of Pound and Eliot, Frost himself was not a
modernist, being more closely allied to the...
2 Educator Answers
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

Please describe the two roads in the poem The Road Not Taken  by Robert Frost.

The speaker in The Road Not Taken has reached a fork or crossroads in his life
and, extending the metaphor, represents it as an actual road or path that forks in
two directions. He is surrounded by...
2 Educator Answers
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

What poem is similar to "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost?  

"The Road Not Taken," one of Robert Frost's most famous poems, is sometimes
compared to another of his famous and well-loved poems, "Stopping by Woods on a
Snowy Evening." Both of these poems...
2 Educator Answers
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, And that has
made all the difference." Explain the meaning and significance of the quotation by
Robert Frost.

In the poem "The Road Not Taken," the speaker has a decision to make. Two roads
diverged and the speaker must decide which road to take. He uses reasoning to
help him make his choice. Both roads...
 2 Educator Answers
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

Why does the poet look down the road as far as he can see in "The Road Not
Taken"?

This well-loved poem by Robert Frost uses a narrator's journey to represent

decisions in life. As he walks in a "yellow wood," the narrator comes to a fork in his
path and must decide which path to...
1 Educator Answer
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

What did the poet wish to do in the future in "The Road Not Taken"?

This reference comes in the third stanza, with the lines: Oh, I kept the first for
another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come
back. The narrator had already...
2 Educator Answers
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

If the roads in the poem The Road Not Taken could talk, what would they say?
Write what each road "says" to convince the reader to choose it. Begin, "If you
choose me . . ."

This is an assignment from a teacher who wants you to examine the poem closely
and clarify what Frost means by this metaphor. It would be inappropriate for some
professor to do the analysis for...
2 Educator Answers
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

What is the meaning of the final stanza in "The Road Not Taken"?

The last stanza of Robert Frost's famous poem reads as follows: 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...
3 Educator Answers
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

Who is the speaker in The Road Not Taken? What is he remembering?

 In Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken," the speaker is not identified by
gender or age because the speaker could be anyone. Essentially, the poem is
about how it is human nature to want our...
1 Educator Answer
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

How is the characterization of the speaker related to the setting in the poem "The
Road Not Taken?"  

Frost provides the answer to your question about setting in the poem’s opening line:
“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood.” The setting is the woods, in this case with
paths strewn with yellow...
2 Educator Answers
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

What "momentous decision" was made by Robert Frost in 1912 as it relates to his
poem The Road Not Taken?   What "momentous decision" was made by Robert
Frost in 1912?

The Road Not Taken was written by Robert Frost in 1916 as his career as a bona
fide poet was establishing itself. The poem is about making life-altering decisions
but it is widely held that Frost...
2 Educator Answers
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

Interpret the poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost.

The poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost falls into the category of masterful
writing. This beautiful lyric poem provides a reader with two layers of meaning:
literal and figurative...
1 Educator Answer
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

In "The Road Not Taken", what do you think the narrator means by the statement
"And that has made all the difference"?

Implied in the poem is the author's recognition that the path 'less travelled by' was
the best one to have taken. Instead of following the crowd, at some point in life he
chose to strike out on his...
 1 Educator Answer
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

Robert Frost used rhyme in "The Road Not Taken." Do the rhyming words follow a
predictable pattern? Use the thinking skill of explaining.

Each stanza of "The Road Not Taken" follows this rhyme scheme: abaab. The
poem is a metaphor about choices in life. The speaker notes that both roads looked
"really about the same," even though he...
1 Educator Answer
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

In the poem, 'The Road Not Taken', how does Robert Frost use poetic techniques to
explore the concept of discovery?

Once one has made a full reading of the poem, it is clear that the primary poetic
technique employed throughout the poem is the extended metaphor. An extended
metaphor is an analogy that runs...
1 Educator Answer
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

In this poem "The Road Not Taken," by Robert Frost, how does it symbolize or
reveal a meaning or aspect of freedom and/or responsibility. Any help will be
appreciated! Thank you in advance.

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost reveals the complex nature of even a
seemingly simple decision. The narrator is conflicted as he thinks about which road
to take and, even after some deliberation...
1 Educator Answer
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

How is the poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost important for teens today?

"The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost is a poem about making choices. Teens
today are confronted with many different choices, some about ethics and some
about lifestyle. One point the poem makes is...
1 Educator Answer
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
 Comment critically on "Oh, I kept the first for another day!" Do you think the poet will
ever return to the road on another day?

The parting of the ways that the poet is faced with symbolizes a choice, but what
the poet fails to realize at the time is that once a decision is made one way or the
other, it will be irrevocable....
1 Educator Answer
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

I am finding it difficult to understand the poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert
Frost.  Hence, I request you to help me out in understanding it.  

This poem is about choices. The road is symbolic of choice. The verbs are in the
past tense, so the poet is looking back on the choice he made. The poet was
walking in the woods and came to two...
2 Educator Answers
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

How are the two roads a symbol of life? The poem ends "and that has made the
difference." What was the difference? Comment.

There are often times in our lives that we come across choices to make. We have to
go one way or another. That is what the two roads are referring to. The path could
be any facet of life. The...
2 Educator Answers
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

Why do you think the poet called the poem "The Road Not Taken" and not "The
Road Taken"?

Frost spends almost an equal amount of time talking about both of the roads that he
discovers diverging "in a yellow wood." He describes the appeal of each, observing
that "both that morning...