This article or section does not cite its references or sources. You can help Wikipedia by introducing appropriate citations. The Road Not Taken is a poem, published in 1916, by Robert Frost in his collection, Mountain Interval. Summary This poem tells the story of the poet who is travelling on a road in a wood when he comes upon a fork in the road and, even though he would like to travel both, he has to make a choice. He contemplates where both roads will take him. While one road is well trodden and safe, the other road is grassy and has not yet gone through the rigours of time. As he says, it ha[s] the better claim. He also remarks on the fact that on that morning, neither road had been travelled upon. He took the road less trodden, keeping the first road for another day. But he realizes that he may probably not have a chance to go back on his choice, because one choice leads to another and the world moves too fast for one to look back. Later on, when he is recounting his tale, he says that his choice has made all the difference and led him to where he was that day. Explanation and misinterpretations Popular explanation of this poem is that it is a call for the reader to forge his or her own way in life and not follow the path that others have already taken. However, it is also possible to read it as an ironic statement against such notions [1]. Frost is said to have written the poem as a sly joke on his friend Edward Thomas, and to have warned audiences, "You have to be careful of that one; it's a tricky poem—very tricky."(see notes at: [2]). Frost and Thomas were two of the Dymock Poets who met and wrote together in the village of Dymock, Gloucestershire, England during a brief period leading up to World War I. The woods around Dymock, where the two poets walked were carpeted with wild daffodils (hence the "yellow wood") each spring. Thomas was keen to show his American friend the local views and flora, but had a habit of regretting the routes he had chosen for their walks. Frost is quoted as saying that Thomas failed to recognize himself as the subject of the poem as the irony had been handled with too much subtlety. Although this poem is often cited as a source for inspiration and encouraging individuality it contains key contradictions and ambiguities. For example, lines 9-10 state, "[t]hough as for that the passing there/Had worn them really about the same". So, even though it is often read and taught that the speaker chooses "the one less traveled by," the speaker of the poem contradicts himself by saying the roads were ultimately the same. This is further illuminated in line 11's declaration that, "And both that morning equally lay" (emphasis added). The misreading that the speaker takes "the one less traveled by" is the first of two popular misinterpretations. According to Frost, the key to the poem is found in line 16, "I shall be telling this with a sigh". Also, the ambiguity of the closing lines, "I took the one less traveled by, /And that has made all the difference." A close reading of this highly anthologized poem must admit that the speaker leaves the reader wondering whether the speaker means his choice has made a good or bad difference in the speaker's life. Also, why is the speaker telling it with a sigh? One might, looking at the title ("The Road Not Taken"), come to the conclusion that he sighs because in retrospect, he wishes he had taken the other road, thinking his life may have been better somehow. Still, others interpret the title as an emphasis that he is taking the less travelled path. It is the "Road Not Taken" by most other people, and he is the exception. Some believe readers must acknowledge that though the poem closes in ambiguity, it is clear the initial choice of the road taken has made all the difference, for because of that choice, "way leads on to way". Still, others suggest that the line "And that has made all the difference" is meant to be one of jest or sarcasm. Thus the traveler (ie, Frost) is trying to tell the reader that the most important issue is simply to choose and therefore not become lost trying to decide whether to take this or that road. The important issue, then, is to make the decision and then follow through. Another take on the poem is that although the speaker reluctantly takes the less travelled road, it was in fact the better choice. The speaker was unable to understand that the other road, though appearing to be the same as the other, was actually the better choice altogether and that following his gut instinct was a wiser choice. Most times the right decision is clouded with uncertainty. There are some who suggest that the poem is, in fact, about how when we tell stories we lie and add meaning to them [3]. If we are to read Frost as a modernist [4] or a realist, then this would make sense, as the application of symbolism to this choice in the woods would be a romantic gesture. External links Text of the poem Audio - hear the poem Search Term: "The_Road_Not_Taken" Categories: Articles lacking sources | Poems of Robert Frost | 1916 poems