The Road Not Taken
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Summary
The persona of the poem stands in the woods where there is a forked road. He is considering which route to take. Both roads are worn and overlaid with leaves, which are not trodden. The persona decides to take one promising himself that he will take the other some other day. He is not, however, confident that he has the opportunity to make it. He says that he will someday in the future recreate the scene though with a slight twist. He says he will take the road less taken. There are four stanzas in the poem, which follows the rhyme scheme abaab, which is regular throughout the poem.
Subject matter
The poem is a dilemma. The persona is at task to take one road from another. Both roads seem to be equally traveled. It presents a situation where the persona is unable to make decisions. When he takes one, he considers what he will lose on the other. He considers taking one of the roads with a desire to take the other some other day. It is not certain whether the persona will have the opportunity to take this other road. Most probably, the poem represents life crisis (SparkNotes). One is presented with so many choices in life, and yet one can only take one and not the other.
The man is faced with freewill, that is, freedom to make choices. If you make one, then you will have to live with the consequences of it. Sometimes these choices may not work according to our expectations, and there may be no opportunity to take the other decision that was left when the one was taken. Ahead of the forked road are uncertainties and one may not know what they will miss out ahead. There is no chance for taking both roads since the person is only one and therefore, can take only one road.
The poem could be of a religious nature, referring to the situation spoken of by Jesus Christ about the choices people have concerning eternal life. In His message, there are two roads, one that is broad and the other, which is narrow. The narrow one is less taken while many make the wide one. The wider road leads to destruction while the narrow one leads to life. The choice one makes determines what one gets in at the end of the road (Matthew7:13).
Devices used in the poem
The poem is symbolic in nature. The forked road represents the many choices people have to make in life. That presents a crisis of life. The road is a metaphor of these options. The footprints represent the many who have gone before. The implication is that the persona is not the only one who has gone this way and is not the only one who has faced this situation. Many before him have taken either of the roads. However, those who have gone ahead have left no clue what lies ahead in each of the roads. The untrodden leaves could be implying this fact. The worn state of the roads is symbolic of the fact that many have taken the road. In this sense, a person has to take the road by himself without the assistance of any other (SparkNotes).
The poem is both symbolic and literal. One will come across ways that are forked in a literal sense. Still, one will have to come across situations that present two or more choices to be made. A person is free to make the choices on their own without the assistance of any people. This freedom of choice makes everyone accountable for the decisions made in life and deserving of the consequences of their decisions in life.
Target audience
This poem could be addressing every person in life since everyone has to make choices in life. This poem could be dealing with the youth since the fact that the road is worn means many have taken this road. The fact that the persona considers reconstructing this scene could imply that he intends most to advise probably younger generations in future using this example.
The poem could also be of a religious nature. It could suggest the choices people make in life in regards to faith. In this sense, the poem could be addressing the choices, especially the Christians have to make in life regarding faith. The poem could allude to the message preached by Jesus Christ regarding the choices in life. One has the choice to hell or heaven. In this regard, the persona’s intention to recreate the situation to represent the road not taken could refer to many who choose the broad way which Jesus talked about (Matthew7:13). The road that is taken by many is broad but it leads to destruction while the one that is taken by few, though narrow leads to life. In all these roads, the choice remains in the hands of the person who come to the fork.