Explanation of the poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost
Stanza 1:
“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;”
Explanation:
The poet comes across a point in a forest where two roads go in different directions. The forest is yellow, showing it’s autumn. The poet feels sad because he is only one person and can’t travel both paths. He stands there for a long time, trying to look far down one road to see where it leads, but he can only see up to where it curves and disappears into the bushes.
👉 Poet ek yellow wood (पतझड़ के जंगल) mein do roads (रास्तों) ke बीच खड़ा hota है। Wo दुखी होता है क्योंकि wo एक साथ dono रास्तों par नहीं जा सकता। Wo kaafi देर tak खड़ा रहकर ek raaste ko observe karta है, lekin wo raasta aage जाकर jhaadiyon (undergrowth) में मुड़ जाता है।
Stanza 2:
“Then took the other, 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.”
Explanation:
He chooses the second road, thinking it might be better because it looks grassy and less used. But later he realizes that both roads were actually worn out equally — people had walked on both of them almost the same.
👉 Fir poet doosra raasta choose karta hai jo dekhne mein equally fair (बराबर) lagta है। Use lagta hai ki yeh raasta better ho सकता है kyunki wo grassy (घास वाला) tha aur zyada log us par nahi चले थे। Lekin phir wo maanta hai ki dono roads par takriban barabar log चले थे, kyunki dono ek जैसे ही worn (घिसे) lage।
Stanza 3:
“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.”
Explanation:
That morning, both roads were covered in leaves and no one had walked on them yet. He decides to keep the first road for another day, but he also knows that one decision leads to another, and it’s unlikely he’ll get a chance to come back and try the other road.
👉 Poet dekhta hai ki dono roads uss subah barabar tarah patton se ढके हुए थे aur kisi ne unpar kadam nahi rakha tha (untouched)। Wo sochta hai ki pehla raasta wo kisi aur din par लेगा। Lekin use lagta hai ki life mein ek decision doosre tak le jaata है, isliye shayad wo kabhi uss pehle raaste par लौट नहीं पाएगा।
Stanza 4:
“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 travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
Explanation:
In the future, the poet will tell this story with a sigh (either of regret or satisfaction). He’ll say that he came across two roads and he chose the one less traveled. This choice changed his life completely — it made “all the difference.”
👉 Poet kehta hai ki future mein wo is moment ko yaad karke sigh (गहरी सांस) ke saath batayega – ki usne wo raasta choose kiya tha jo कम लोगों ने लिया था. Aur isi choice ne uski life mein “all the difference” ला दिया – yani uska life alag direction mein चला gaya.
Main Idea of the Poem:
This poem is about choices in life. Sometimes we face decisions where we have to choose one path and leave the other. Once we choose, we can’t go back easily. Our choices shape our future, and even small decisions can make a big difference in our life.