Beehive Poem The Road Not Taken - CBSE Revision Notes 1
CBSE Class 09 English Communicative
Revision Notes
CHAPTER 02
The Road Not Taken
-Robert Frost
Revision Notes
CHAPTER 02
The Road Not Taken
-Robert Frost
The poem ‘The Road Not Taken’ by Robert Frost is a personal account by the poet where he describes choices in life in comparison to his personal experience while traveling.
The poem is set in a yellow autumn forest at a junction where the two roads diverged. While traveling alone through the woods, the poet comes across this junction where he had to decide which path he needs to take for himself. The poet indicates that on the road of life one comes across equally appealing choices but one must choose the better option for himself or herself. The poet shows his regret as he was unable to travel on both the paths.
He stayed there for long and examined both the paths thoroughly. He eyes one till the far end where it meets the undergrowth but was unable to see where it would lead him. He then saw the other road which was rather grassy and not worn out as much. The poet was in a dilemma but he resolves it by choosing the 'grassy one' as it was less frequented by travellers and 'wanted wear'. This shows that the poet was not the one who blindly followed the masses. He concludes that both the paths have an equally strong claim and were worn out about the same.
But he decided to take the second path, which he had found appealing earlier. He pacifies himself by saying that he will travel the first road some other day and has just saved it for future. Later on , he realizes that just like in life where one situation or stage leads to the other, the same way these woodland paths would also lead from one to the other. He realizes that he will never travel that path again and thus, would not be able to take the first path.
In years to come, the poet says, he will be telling others about the choice he made. While doing so, he will sigh in either relief or regret for having made the right or the wrong choice. Either way, the poet is assertive that the choice will make a significant impact on his life. Thus, the poet asserts on the basic problems of human life. There are different alternatives, and a man has to decide only one of the options. The two roads here are symbolic of the ambiguity one faces while making a decision in life. Thus, decisions are like steps which we take, we can only look back and ruminate on the consequences . We can not go back and start all over again.
