Can anyone help me in paraphrasing the poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost?

Question

I need help paraphrasing it, line by line would be great.


"The Road Not Taken"
by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

Answer 1

Kevin,

Seriously, STOP ANSWERING HOMEWORK QUESTIONS! You do Poetry the ultimate disservice when you do this. If you want to give him the tools to figure it out, that's fine, but I'm really tired of seeing a Poetry "editor" create another non-reader of poetry. This kid will never develop an appreciation of poetry if he doesn't learn how to handle this very easy first step.

Stop it please.

Answer 2

There were two roads pointing in different directions in a yellow (autumn) wood, and I would have liked to have gone down both, but I had to choose. So I stood for a long time looking down one of them as far as I could see until it disappeared into some thick foliage, then took the other one. This was just as attractive a road and perhaps it was a better choice, as it was grassy and not yet worn down by passing feet, although there were signs that people had gone down both roads. I could tell by the leaves, however, that nobody had yet gone down either road that day. I saved up the first road for some other time, although deep down I doubted whether my travels would ever bring me back that way. I think that some day I shall look back and wonder whether I was right to choose the less travelled road when I did, as life was never to be the same again as a result.

Answer 3

good grief..."nothing worth doing was ever easy", "no pain no gain", "if it was easy, everyone would do it", "the road to riches is not paved"...they all say the same thing, that if you really want adventure and want to be yourself doing your own thing, you need to take a path less taken. The other path may have guarantees, but it's the risk that often makes the success all the sweeter.

That's what the poem is saying.

Answer 4

paraphasing the road not taken

Answer 5

If you understand the poem, why not just do it yourself.

Answer 6

"I didn't do what most people did. Cool, huh?"

Sorry, we don't do homework beyond silly stuff like that.