What does the poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost mean?

Question: What does the poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost mean!?

Here is the poem:

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
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!.
--------------------------------------!.!.!.
I'm having a hard time figuring out the meaning behind it!. Please help!! Thanks!Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

There are times in life when we have to make choices and we can never
go back to that time and change our choice!.

So we make the best choice - and then make the best of that choice!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

it means!. that even though everyone was taken the easy road!. or being alike!. (jumping on the wagon) he took the road less taken!. he didnt follow everyone!. such as he didnt give in to pressure!.
for example somking!. everyone whos cool does it!. (not really) but instead of smoking!. he avoids it!.~! hope this helps a little!.!Www@QuestionHome@Com

He didnt conform and follow the path of others in the past!.!.!.!.that would be my basic interpretation!.!.!.

"once one takes a certain road, there's no turning back, although one might change paths later on, they still can't change the past!. It shows that choice is very important, and is a thing to be considered"Www@QuestionHome@Com

I think it means that the road that was less worn was never taken perhaps because it was risky or made the traveller lose way!.!.!.the first road was worn because thats what everyone take since its known to be safe!.!.taking the seemingly safe road had made all the difference in the world to himWww@QuestionHome@Com

In life, he didn't follow the crowd!. He did his own thing!. He behaved in a different way and believed in different things than the people around him!.

That's the allegory of "the one less traveled by!."Www@QuestionHome@Com

The guy had two choices in life, and he took the difficult one that he had to work for instead of the easy one!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I think it means!.!.!.you have to pick "what the best road" will be in your life and forgetting about the other path!.

sparknotes!.com might have another example(s) of what it means!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

It means to me that the road less travelled offers opportunities for self knowledge in challenging obstacles that few others have tackled!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I think it basically means life has two paths and you shouldn't always take the one most traveled, which is the one everyone else takes!. Like be your own person!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

It means dont do what everyone else does, Do what you feel is right!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I had to do this poem in class a few months ago!. That's funny, because we had to answer the same question!. I got 100% on my paper, so this answer should really help!.

I wrote:

The road not taken by Robert Frost is about choosing paths, and taking direction!. It is about making decisions in life and having to choose between two separate paths laid out for us, one easier than the other, the other more exciting and unknown!. In this poem, it uses the obvious setting of a person hiking in the woods finding two different paths to take!. One has been used more often, the other has not!. In the phrase, "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference", it is talking about making choices in life, and the difference that choice makes in the long run!. Even though the person in the poem wishes to take the other road again, after a choice or decision is made, it is difficult to choose both without a mixed outcome!. The idea of taking the path already taken is easier and calls for less excitement because you already know where it leads!. The other path has rarely been taken, giving you freedom in choice and adventure!. Instead of choosing the safe way, choosing the path never taken is freedom of choice; not following others or giving into pressure!.

I really hope this helps you!Www@QuestionHome@Com

I think from the answers you have received you will have figured out that Frost was not on a physical journey and the diverging roads were not actual roads!. You will understand now from these answers that the journey is likely spiritual or perhaps vocational!. He chose a direction not suited to the majority of people and possibly not considered economically fruitful!. Poetry was his choice!. Choosing a literary life is both spiritual and vocational and can be satisfying but tends to set a person apart from the mainstream!. It can be lonely and isolating and in the case of many leads to a kind of reward that can never be appreciated!. Poetry lives on with an immortality that the poet himself does not possess!. He will never know he is being considered way into the furthest of generations!. !. No instant gratification for the writer except for the ephemeral accolades of a publication and a cheque!. !.

When you are deciding about what you think of the meaning of Frosts poem "The Road Not Taken" think also about his title!. There is a strangeness in the choice of title!. The Road Not Taken is not the one he took!. He gave the common, most popular road top billing yet resisted the pull!.!. Reading Frosts poetry you may find that he really had no choice!.!.!. he was a poet!. Is that ever a choice!?Www@QuestionHome@Com