Peter Tankard

October 20, 2020

English 111

The Road Not Taken

In the poem The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost it is evident that there is a universal meaning

hidden among the poem. In the poem a man comes to a fork in the road and has to decide which one to

take. The idea of both these paths being right next to each other is that it shows people have two choices

in life. They can either take a path that has been taken before by many other people or they can branch out

and take the less popular one​. Robert Frost demonstrates this idea through symbolism.

In the poem a man stumbles across a fork in the road and has to decide which road to take. The

first road he looks at has a ton of weeds and plants that have not been bothered and he could see to where

it was ​“bent in overgrowth”​. This shows that people do not go on this road and it is the road less traveled

upon which is why it is not maintained. The other road he has the option to take is taken care of. The road

is ​“grassy and wanted wear​”. This shows that many people go on this path and that it is the road most

travel on.​ Robert Frost is comparing these two roads to people’s life choices​. For example when the road

that is less traveled that has undergrowth all over it is talked about it is a symbol. The symbol is that the

road stands for a person’s life path and that the road less traveled upon is really a decision made by a

person who takes the less popular routes in life and does not follow the crowds. The opposite is true for

the other road. The other road has no undergrowth and has short welcoming grass. The reason there is no

undergrowth is because it is a popular road and many people take it so it stays maintained and

consistently clean. This road is a symbol and means that whoever takes this path in life follows the crowd

and likes consistency.

The man in the poem would eventually take one of these paths and he tells us that he made the

wrong choice. ​He takes the one “less traveled” road which is the one which is all overgrown. In the poem

he hints that he took the wrong road. We know this because he tells us with a “sigh” that he took the less

traveled road and that it “has made all the difference”.​ The sigh tells us that he dreaded it and generally
means that he was wrong. That small line also shows us that the road less traveled is a bad road to take in

life.

Robert Frost uses symbolism to show us the two life paths we can take in his poem, ​The road

not taken. The first road is overgrown and symbolizes a unique and different lifestyle. The second Road

is clean and maintained and symbolizes a life of consistency. In the poem Robert Frost shows us that the

correct path is the road that symbolizes consistency and following rather than leading. ​Robert Frost also

shows the idea that the road less traveled upon is bad. This poem is essential in American Literature and

is one of the most popular poems Robert Frost would ever write.