Metaphors In The Road Not Taken

When faced with two decisions, we tend to take the route that we are most comfortable with. In the poem, “The Road Not Taken”, Robert Frost uses an extended metaphor to show us that some of these choices have permanent consequences.

In the first stanza, Frost compares two life choices to two different metaphorical paths found while wandering through the woods. Both paths are desirable to the character, but he can only take one. In the fourth line, Frost writes, “And looked down one as far as I could.” Here, Frost is trying to show us that we can only see so far into the future. When making decisions, we are only able to see how the choices we make will affect us in the near future. In line five, Frost continues on saying, “To where it bent in the undergrowth.” The undergrowth is comparable to our entire life. Through this line he is showing us that even though we can’t see it now, the choices we make will affect us somewhere down the road

Frost writes, “And both that morning equally lay / In leaves no step had trodden black” (11-12). These lines contradict what Frost was saying in the beginning of his poem as well. Again showing two different paths that are equally desirable to the character. Then, in the third line things change a little bit. It says, “Oh, I kept the first for another day” (13). The character makes a decision that will affect his life permanently. This is backed up in lines 16 and 17 when Frost says, “I shall be telling this with a sigh / Somewhere ages and ages hence.” Frost uses a metaphor here to show us how a choice can affect someone 's whole life.

In a whole, Robert Frost’s, “The Road Not Taken” was an extended metaphor that showed us the power of making decisions. Through four powerful stanzas, we are shown these two mysterious paths that are comparable to the unpredictable outcomes of our choices. But sometimes choosing the road less travelled can make all the