THE ROAD NOT TAKEN SUMMARY

        The Road Not Taken

By the title of the poem, The Road Not Taken, the poet means that the path that we don’t choose in our life is the road not taken. The poet says that the choices we make in our life decide our future, destination. He further says that we must be very careful while making our choices as they have a great impact on our future, and if we make a wrong choice, we have to regret but can’t go back on it. So we must be wise while making choices.

The poet says that while walking down the road, he reaches a junction where the road gets divided into two. He finds that the leaves of the trees and plants have turned pale, which clearly states that the season is autumn. As a traveller, it is not possible for him to travel both the roads. So he stands there thinking which road he should move on. He looked down the one road as far as he can trying to it see how it is and where it goes. He can’t d find out anything as the road remains covered with yellow leaves.

The message is that there comes a time in everyone’s life when we have to choose the right path. We have options, but we have to choose only one. In this process, we start pondering over the maximum benefit that we will have on following the path.

The poet feels that both the roads are equally good. Later he decides to check the other road because he finds it to be grassy and less travelled. He starts walking on the road thinking it to be a better road for him. After walking for some time, the poet finds that both the paths are equally same. There is hardly any difference between them. Through this poem, the poet wants to convey that whatever we want to achieve is not an easy task. problems are everywhere; and so we must face it bravely.

The poet reminds the initial point of his Journey where both the paths appear similar to him as they remain covered with leaves, and no one has walked on the roads. So he decides to take the other path that day and follow the first another day. He decides so, yet he knows how one way leads on to another way and then another. Therefore, he doubts if he will ever be able to come back. Similarly, in our life, when we make a choice, we have to go ahead with the same choice facing all the problems that come our way unless we achieve our goal.

The poet says that he will take a deep breath and tell everyone that once he reached such a point in life where he had to make one choice. There were two options for him, and he had to select one. He decided to go on the path that was not travelled by a large number of people. The choice, which he had decided to go through, has changed his entire life.

Through the poem, the poet wants to convey a strong message that people should be very careful while deciding their right path as it will either enhance his prosperity or destroy his career.