1. Mercedes Thornton
Ms. Kenney
English Comp II
3 April 2015
Breaking with conformity: Robert Frost “The Road Not Taken”
Society is full of conformities: fashion, news, music, etiquette, sports, and etc. It is the
operational system for most social human beings but there are many who strive to break free of
the normal pattern. There are those who would rather take the road not taken; a path unbeaten
and containing unexpected consequences. Each stanza contains important insight to the
narrator’s decision making, from his inspection of each road to his reflection of his choice. In the
most normal of circumstances, the unexpected actions and thoughts of the narrator in Robert
Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” carries important information that leads to the conclusion that the
theme of this poem is making unorthodox choices.
To begin, the first stanza is revealing the steps to making the narrator’s decision of which
road to take. The narrator approaches a point during his travels where he must pause and decide,
“Two roads diverged into a yellow wood” (Frost. 1916). The yellow color may represent a lack
of time to make a choice as the leaves are falling and winter is soon approaching with snow that
would cover the ground or perhaps his way. The split path represents a choice that must be made
for which he does contemplate thoroughly. Facing the road ahead alone, the narrator has no
liability but his own to think for. In lines four and five, he looks down the first road for a lengthy
amount of time and inspects it for as far as the eye can see. As the first path bends into the
undergrowth, the consequences at the end of the road if the narrator were to take it are clear.

2. This first path is the one most taken, it is beaten and many have come to know what lies
ahead. Normally, this would be the simple choice for anyone to make but this is not true for the
narrator. Deciding this path would only simply accept the lack of adventure; it would be easy
traveling for the path is well worn. This is a much more complicated decision that arriving at two
paths. The decision is a definition of this person as a non-conformist, the color and sound rather
than a black and white movie. Hence, the consequences of the narrator taking this path would be
abandoning himself at the entry to the yellow wood.
Next, the second stanza reveals the true intentions of the narrator. As soon as he spies the
grassy undergrowth of this second path he is succumbed to his inner voice, this path is the one
often ignored by the common passerby and it is the path that he wishes to take:
“Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.” (Frost 1916)
Foot traffic through this area is frequent as the poem suggests the passing is worn as much as the
first path. Travelers often conform to pursuing the first path. Greener pastures lie ahead for the
narrator, for the attraction of the unknown is too great and he will eventually decide without
regret to follow this unbeaten path. His attraction to this other path is much more evident as he
says it may have more claim than the first. This drastic change of opinion is just another key
point supporting that this poem is about unorthodox choices.
Another stanza supporting the theme of this poem is the third. In this stanza, the narrator
reveals that it is evident from the leaves on both paths that he is the first to travel this way this
day. It seems as if this is the feather that tipped the scales completely into the favor of the second
path. Giddy perfectly describes the tone excitement radiating from the text at this point in the

3. poem. Being the first of the day andhttps://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/1/ perhaps the
first to travel this path suddenly fuels life into the complacent narrator from just a line ago: “Oh,
I kept the first for another day!” (Frost 1916). Not being a follower easily becomes a moth to the
flame for this author. Purposely, he chooses different from those in the past and perhaps will
bring new travelers down the path he has now began to tread.
Finally, the final stanza reveals the reflection of the narrator on his choice. Clearly, he
does not and will not ever regret it. In the first line: “I shall be telling this story with a sigh”
(Frost 1916), reveals that in all honestly this decision was good. An epiphany becomes the
narrator I suppose as he mentions that taking the road less traveled by made the difference.
Thereby tying the entire poem together, uniting it under the theme preceding this line. This poem
is strictly about unorthodox decisions which in turn can be translated as opposing conformity for
the narrator firmly decides to do what others do not. Taking the most adventurous and
unpredictable path in life changes one’s perspective and allows new opportunities to learn,
whether they be good or bad. These ideas confirm the theme of the story for anyone who reads it.
Through yellow woods and grassy overgrowths, the narrator as led us down a path that
concludes with the theme of this poem: unorthodox choices. Actions and thoughts that the poet
instilled in the narrator allow the reader to see that the beaten path is not always the one worth
taking but instead the boring one. Though it may be safe and provide comfort, the first path is
one’s predictable choice and the least exciting. Robert Frost opened a door with this poem “The
Road Not Taken” and led many down a new exciting road. Perhaps the readers of this poem and
this analysis will take the advice of Frost that he so cleverly hid among the words of a few light
hearted stanzas.

4. Works Cited
Frost, Robert. "The Road Not Taken." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, 1 Jan. 2015. Web.
2 Apr. 2015.
SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Frost’s Early Poems.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC.
2002. Web. 31 Mar. 2015.
"In Text Citations: The Basics." Purdue OWL: APA Formatting and Style Guide. Purdue
University. Web. 4 Apr. 2015.