Theme of the Poem “Road Not Taken.”

Answer

Analyze the theme of the poem “The Road Not Taken.” [NU: 2020]

Robert Frost’s (1874-1963) poem “The Road Not Taken” (1915) deals with the theme of human choices in life. It tells the story of a traveler who stands at a point where two roads divide. He has to choose one road. This choice becomes a symbol of life’s decisions.

The Difficulty of Choice: At the beginning, the speaker sees two roads in a yellow wood. He feels sad that he cannot travel both roads.

“And sorry I could not travel both.”

This shows that we cannot take all options in life. Every choice involves a lost opportunity. The speaker looks down one road as far as he can see. He tries to decide which road has better rewards for him. But he cannot know for sure. This represents the difficulty we face in making important choices.

The Confusion: The speaker finally chooses the second path. He thinks this road is less traveled and “grassy”. So, he thinks this road will bring a better outcome. But soon he realizes that both roads are about the same. Both roads have equally untrodden leaves. This shows confusion. In real life, we also become confused about our decisions.

Life’s Uncertainty: The speaker knows he can never return to the first road. He imagines himself telling someone about his choice in the future. He will say with a sigh that his choice changed his life completely. He says:

“I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.”

It shows that our decisions shape our lives significantly. But it is uncertain what we will get with every decision.

To sum up, the theme of the poem is the difficulty of making choices and life’s uncertainty. Once we choose, we cannot go back. Our decisions shape our lives significantly.