The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost: Memorandum

Stanza 1

1. Two roads diverged[1] in a yellow wood,

Line explanation: The speaker is describing a fork in the road. The 'yellow wood' suggests it is autumn season.

2. And sorry I could not travel both
3. And be one traveler, long I stood

Line explanation: The speaker wants take both roads at once, but realizing that it is impossible, he decides to choose one.

4. And looked down one as far as I could
5. To where it bent in the undergrowth[2];

Line explanation: He is thinking hard about his choice. He stares at the one road, to see where it goes but he cannot see past the first bend because it bends in to the undergrowth.

Summary of Stanza 1:

On the road of life, the speaker arrives at a point where he must decide which of two equally attractive (or equally frightening) choices is the better one. He examines one choice as best he can, but the future (undergrowth) prevents him from seeing where it leads.

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Stanza 2

6. Then took the other, as just as fair[3],
7. And having perhaps the better claim[4]
8. Because it was grassy and wanted wear[5],

Line explanation: He looks at the other road and thinks it would be better because it hasn’t been walked on/used very much.

9. Though as for that the passing there
10. Had worn them really about the same,

Line explanation: He changes his mind and says that both roads look the same.
Summary of Stanza 2:
The speaker selects the road that appears at first to be less worn and therefore less traveled. This suggests that he has an independent spirit and does not want to follow the crowd. But the speaker cannot make up his mind because after a moment, he says that both roads are equally worn.
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Stanza 3
11. And both that morning equally lay
12. In leaves no step had trodden[6] black.

Line explanation: On the morning when the speaker arrives at the road, both the paths have been covered by leaves. The leaves haven’t been walk on by any other travelers, suggesting that the speaker is the first to walk there.

13. Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Line explanation: The speaker then decides to take the second path and that he will come back to take the first another time.

14. Yet knowing how way leads on to way
15. I doubted if I should ever come back.

Line explanation: His hopes to come back and try the other path may be foolish because one path leads to another and another. So, he doesn’t know if he would ever be able to come back.

Summary of Stanza 3:
Leaves cover both roads equally. No one on this morning has taken either road, because the leaves are undisturbed and not stepped on. The speaker sticks to his decision to take the second road and says that he will save the other road for another day. But he realizes that he will never be able to come back.

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Stanza 4

16. I shall be telling this with a sigh[7]
17. Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Line explanation: The speaker jump forward in time and says that he will be talking about his decision in years to come. This suggests that the decision he made was an important one. The 'sigh' can be a sigh of relief or of regret.

18. Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
19. I took the one less traveled by,
20. And that has made all the difference.

Line explanation: The speaker comes to a conclusion about the decision he had to make, the decision he eventually made and the effect it had on his life. ‘A difference' could either mean success or failure.

Summary of Stanza 4:
In years to come, the speaker says, he will be telling others about the choice he made. While telling the story he will sigh either with relief that he made the right choice or with regret that he made the wrong choice. Whether right or wrong, the choice will have had an important impact on his life.
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Theme

The Road Not Taken is more than a poem about someone trying to decide which road he's going to take on a stroll through the woods. It's actually a poem about the journey of life. The two roads diverged in a yellow wood symbolize a person's life, and the narrator's choice about which road to take represents the different decisions we sometimes have to make and how those decisions will affect the future.
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[1] Diverged: Split or separation of/in a road.
[2] Undergrowth: A dense growth of shrubs and other plants, usually in a forest.
[3] Fair: Treating something equally; when two thing are equal
[4] Claim: State that something is the case; request or demand something
[5] Wear: To become damaged because of over use
[6] Trodden: to step or walk especially to press or crush
[7] Sign: Letting out a long, deep breath expressing sadness, relief, tiredness.