Question

Read Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”. What two themes are expressed in the poem?

Answer 1

Answer:

Indecision and the desire for to be unique

Explanation:

Indecision

In reality, the persona of the poem has a choice to make between two paths in the woods.  Both have been worn and he would like to take both but he can only walk one.  Therefore, he decided to take the one that was less traveled.  Metaphorically, though, the narrator has to choose between two options, one will be easy to take and will make his life easier. However, the other one, which has been chosen less often, will perhaps be the better moral choice.  This poem could be related to the idea of "staying on the straight and narrow".  While sometimes it may be easier to take a path in life that is smoother, the narrator says that the path that is less traveled is the better one.  Taking that path made a difference in his life.

The desire for to be unique

The speaker claims to have chosen the "road less traveled," but at the outset of the poem, he acknowledges that both paths are "worn about the same." This suggests that the speaker's choice wasn't as brave or unique as he wants others to believe, calling into question whether it is our actual choices or the way in which we think about them that truly affects our lives.