The Road Not Taken

Two Roads

The Road Not Taken

by Robert Frost

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
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.

And both that morning equally lay
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.

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.

Oftentimes in our lives we were confronted with two roads ahead of us, but did we really make the wise decisions?

Photo taken in Taganito, in Claver, Surigao del Norte.

4 Comments

Wilson Justo June 14, 2008 Reply

This poem reminds me of my Humanities II subject in UP during college days. I remember I reported this in front of the class and my interpretation was very shallow and literal only to find out that our teacher has a very interesting and a deeper interpretation!

Great shot Jo!

deuts June 14, 2008 Reply

Hey Mr. Wilson, maybe it’s better if you share some interpretation of that poem….:D

Wilson Justo June 15, 2008 Reply

I will try but I think I won’t remember everything.

I said that the two roads are like heaven and hell. It’s easier to pass through the road to hell and there are more obstacles to take the heaven’s route. But our teacher said that it does not necessarily suggest that one of the roads is bad and the other is good. They’re like two opposing decisions we sometimes face in our lives that one decision maybe difficult to make and the other is easy to take but the consequences of the decisions are quite different and uncertain. Once you take the other decision, it’s hard or costly (which may cost even a siginificant amount of your life) or even impossible to go back and take the other road not taken.

He gave an example about choosing a career. Some careers are difficult to pursue but maybe rewarding in the future. Others are easy but not satisfying once you finish it. If you decide to change your career in the future it maybe costly go back and start a new path all over again.

deuts June 15, 2008 Reply

In the third stanza:

And both that morning equally lay
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.

Both roads appear that there’s no turning back. And in the fourth stanza, the author chose the road less travelled by, and indeed, it made the difference.

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