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

 

After reading this poem, we can find out that the underling ideology of the text is the narrator’s inability to be assured in his decisions showing evident doubt and insecurity among voluminous decisions.  In short, the narrator wished to take the road less traveled but he was conflicted with the repercussions of his ultimate decision. So how can we see this? Lets look for example some of the words that have multiple meanings. Diverged is a word used twice in this poem, the definition can mean: to differ in opinion, move into different directions, it is even used as a mathematical term. Another word that really stands out is the last word in the poem, difference. Difference could mean a disagreement or a state of being dissimilar. Looking at difference helps us define something by what it is not. Other words that contribute to the overall binary opposition are; stood, bent, sigh, hence and different all accumulate a great deal of meanings that ultimately become a chain of signifiers.

 

Filled with double meaning and ambiguity, the Frost poem that I once took so lightheartedly leaves me with a sense of wonderment and a little confusion. If taking the “road less traveled” is supposed to make us stand out then why in reality should it give us so much anxiety and feelings of regret?