by Kartika Sofyan

Created on: March 05, 2010   Last Updated: March 12, 2012

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost is considered to be a very tricky poem, to cite the word used by Frost himself. It pointed out what life is about; choices. Being written in 1920, many have connected this masterpiece to the war that had ended only two years before.

By the opening line, “The roads diverged in a yellow wood”, the speaker took readers with him to his journey in the forest setting. It was where he came to face a fork in the road. The roads resembled paths or choices in life. The symbolism of “yellow” could be mean joy and warmth, but otherwise; cowardliness.  One path brought joy, and the other challenged the traveler for bravery.

“And sorry I could not travel both”, he had to make a choice. And by admitting that he was sorry, implied that he wished he could travel both. He wanted to, if he could. It took a while for him to make a decision, because he had no one to ask for an advice, "And be one traveler, long I stood". He examined both paths carefully, not intended to make mistake. But because the first road was so unclear, “it bent in the undergrowth”. The path was unpredictable. And even with a careful look, it was hard to calculate what he would face if he took this path. One could not possibly have a clear look of a passage bent in the undergrowth. The undergrowth was covering his vision from seeing the road and gave obstacles to the traveler. Therefore, the first choice was a hard one to take.

Then he tried to examine the other path just as careful as he did with the first one. “And perhaps with a better claim”, he felt that he came close of making a decision; for he might take this road. “Grassy and wanted wear” portrayed the nature of the second path; it was visually preferable. “Grassy” indicated that although it was also unclear, it was not as obstructed as the first road, which made this road more accessible than the first one. At that point, it was also “wanted wear”. Aside from the fact that it was preferable to access, it appeared to be demanding . The second road had the effect for the traveler to feel obliged. It could be morally type of choice: a duty of something.  But then he said “though”, which gave an opposite meaning; irony. The better-looking grassy road is not better then the first which bent in the undergrowth.  The road being less difficult had turned just about the same with the first road, probably

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