The Road Not Taken- Robert Frost: Annotated

“The Road Not Taken”- Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,[1]
And sorry I could not travel both[2]
And be one traveler, long I stood[3]
And looked down one as far as I could[4]
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,[5]
And having perhaps the better claim,[6]
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;[7]
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.[8]
Oh, I kept the first for another day![9]
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.[10]

I shall be telling this with a sigh[11]
Somewhere ages and ages hence:[12]
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

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[1] Why is the word “yellow” used to describe the wood? The author must be referring to fall.
[2] He could only use one path, and he would never know what the other would hold. This is referring to a two choice decision, such as “soup or salad?” which happens often in life.
[3] People go through thousands of potential outcomes when making a decision; though it may seem like a long time in the mind’s eye, in reality it is only an instant.
[4] Here the author is referring to his contemplation of options; the “looking” is actually just the mental process of decision making.
[5] He has reviewed his options, and made his choice.
[6]The author is reassuring himself he made the right decision.
[7] Supporting evidence for decision.
[8] The author could tell that the path had not been walked upon, because none of the leaves were rustled.
[9] He hopes one day he will have a chance to make the other choice.
[10] He knows he will never face the exact same opportunity again.
[11] The author is now full of regret.
[12] Somewhere far away someone made the other choice.

This poem is expressing a person’s thought process whilst making a decision. Whether noteworthy or not, every decision takes quite a bit of thinking; even if we don’t realize it. After making a decision, especially a two-part one such as depicted in this poem, a person may have second-thoughts, or more than likely than that: regrets.