In Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost, the author talks about a traveler who comes across two roads and must choose one to continue on. The interpretation and message of this poem is that the poem is a metaphor and the path that the traveler is taking his life, and the fork in the road is a difficult decision in his life where either path he takes seems to be the same. After the decision, it may seem that the choice was correct or maybe incorrect, but you will only truly know afterwards, years after. At the end of the road, the overall effect of this decision will be truly significant whether it was positive or negative.

In the first paragraph, it says how the traveler came across two roads that diverged, and he wanted to travel both paths yet he couldn’t (Lines 1-2). This represents life and describes the coming upon a difficult choice. Next, it talks about how he/she attempted to see as far as they could through the undergrowth but could not tell the difference. This could symbolize trying to see into the future and possible consequences of each decision, but not being able to see a significant difference to either one (Lines 3-5). In the next paragraph, the traveler talks about choosing the path that was just as fair, and “having perhaps the better claim.” This could represent believing or rationalizing that one path was better than the other. In the next line however, he/she contradicts his or herself by first stating that the chosen road was better than the alternative, then saying that it was probably the same. This most likely shows how the person believed that one choice was better than the other just to choose one and not be stuck on the decision, then realizing that they are actually the same.

The third paragraph talks about walking in “leaves no step had trodden black,” which could represent walking a new road and trying something they have never done before, and it says how the traveler kept the road for another day, but changes his mind and doubts whether he or she should come back at all. This probably means that he/she rationalized that he/she would take the other choice the next time they meet a decision like the previous one, yet they realized that by continuing on this path, it would be unlikely to meet the same problem again. Finally, the last paragraph talks about how the traveler said that sometime ages down the road, with a sigh, he/she will believe that the road they chose was the less popular and the most impactful one they chose. This sigh could symbolize positive or negative, and the same with the choice making all the difference, but the interpretation is that, in the beginning, it seemed that both decision were pretty much equal, when in reality, the one he/she chose through belief and the less popular one was the one that had the greatest impact of their lives, and “that has made all the difference.”