A Summary Of the Road Not Taken By Robert Frost

The first stanza The narrator was traveling in a wood when he came across a fork in the road. He was full of regret at not being able to travel both roads. He stood for a long time looking at one of the diverged trails. He gazed along the path as far as he could till the point where the path bent amongst the shrubs and bushes. The second stanza After contemplating on that road for a long time, the narrator decided to take the other path which to him was equally worth following. He preferred the second trail since it seemed to him that it was full of grass and appeared to be less trodden than the other road. However, in the next two lines he remarks that, in essence, both the roads were equally worn out. The third stanza On that morning, however, both the paths were covered with leaves which had not been stepped upon by anyone.The narrator decided that he would follow the first road some other time. But deep in his heart he doubted if he should ever come back that way because he knew that one road would inevitably lead to another and so on. The fourth stanza The narrator remarks that sometime in future, he would be reminiscing about this incident and about the choice that he made. He also realizes that his decision to follow the road which he thought was less traveled would have had a huge impact on his life.

Other aspects of the poem along with some of the poetic tools and devices used by the poet. Imagery: The poet uses some beautiful imagery in this poem. Some instances of imagery in this poem are as follows: # In line 1 the poet brings out the image of a fork in the road (Two roads diverged). Apart from that he conjures up a vivid image by referring to the woods as yellow.#In lines 3 and 4 he creates a striking image of a traveler deep in contemplation. #In line 5 the poet describes how the road took a turn amongst the undergrowth. #In line 8, the poet describes one of the roads as grassy. # In lines 11 and 12, he provides another beautiful image by describing the two diverging roads filled with leaves upon which no one had walked. # in line 14, he creates another alluring image with the phrase how way leads on to way. Personification: In line 6, the poet describes the road as just and fair. In line 8, the poet states that one of the diverging roads wanted wear' thus attributing desire or want, to the road. Line by line summary of the poem The narrator while traveling in a wood came across a divergence in the road (line 1). He felt sorry that he could not take both the trails since he was just one person. So he stood at the fork for a long time (lines 2 and 3). The narrator gazed along one of the roads as far as his eye could see till the point where the road bent amongst the shrubs and bushes.( lines 4 and 5) In line 6, the narrator states that he finally took the other road which seemed to be equally just and fair. Moreover, to the narrator, it appeared that the second road had a greater claim to be followed (line 7) since it was full of grass and to the narrator it seemed that the road required to be walked upon (was grassy and wanted wear, line 8). However, in lines 9 and 10, the narrator states that, in effect, both the roads were almost equally worn out (worn them really about the same). The narrator states that, on that particular morning, both the roads were equally covered in leaves. He further adds that no one had moved over those leaves (no steps had trodden black) The narrator declares that he decided to follow the first road in some future date (line 13). In line 14, the narrator states how one path ultimately leads to another and so on (how way leads on to way). So he doubted whether he would ever be able to return back to follow the other trail (line 15) In lines 16 and 17, the narrator seems to be quite convinced that sometime in future, he would be narrating this incident with a feeling of regret. He would be saying that when he came across a bifurcation in the road, he decided to follow the one that seemed less traversed upon (line 19). The choice would have defined his life (that has made all the difference, line 20).