the road not taken
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 shall 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 road less traveled by
and that has made all the difference.
Frost's poem, "The Road Not Taken" expresses my exact sentiments about attending school here.
I once memorized this poem for a speech in high school and, even though I didn't quite understand it back then, I've always thought that it contained a dual meaning.
Back then, I believed that this poem encourages people to take the "road not taken," and promises that choosing this road will lead to wonderful outcomes.
Now, I truly understand and appreciate its air of uncertainty.
"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"
When Frost first looked down the two roads, he thought that one path was less taken than the other. But as he took steps down that path, he realized that both paths were about the same.
"oh, i kept the first for another day,
yet knowing how way leads on to way,
i doubted if i shall ever come back"
Frost starts to express a bit of regret here. He knows that his path is not necessarily "less taken," so he want to take the first path too. Unfortunately, he's kind of stuck on his second path.. and he knows that he can't go 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 road less traveled by,
and that has made all the difference"
What kind of sigh is this? A sigh of accomplishment and happiness? Or a sigh of regret and longing?
What kind of "difference"? A good difference? Or a bad one?
He doesn't know - he can't see that far into the future, he can't see past the bend in the road. All he only knows that his choice is significant - that he will be sighing and thinking about it somewhere down the road of life. He doesn't know whether it will be a sigh of accomplishment, or a sigh of regret. He doesn't know whether it will be a good difference or a bad one.
And neither do I.
Do you know this poem? What do you think it means?
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