logo

38 pages 1 hour read

The Road Not Taken

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1916

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Further Reading & Resources

Related Poems

"Roads" by Edward Thomas (1916)

Seen as a necessary, sobering response to Frost’s wry and ironic poem by the young poet to whom Frost directed his poem, this poem, earnest and dramatic in its delivery, uses Frost’s controlling metaphor of life’s crossroad choices to explore the tragic and haunted decision by so many in their generation to serve in the army and fight overseas, never to return, the very fate that awaited Thomas himself when, driven by what he perceived to be Frost’s taunting, he decided to join the army. He died three months later during a German artillery attack.

"Invictus" by William Ernest Henley (1888)

A bold and dramatic declaration of the power of the individual to make courageous decisions and to follow, uncomplicated by second-guessing, the difficult path that the heart and the soul demand. This often-quoted example of High Victorian wisdom poetry is exactly the poem that more than a century of Frost’s readers have wanted “The Road Not Taken” to be. Absent of metaphor or irony, the poem boldly celebrates those who go their own way. This poem provides an example of the literary context, since this was exactly the didactic homily poetry that Frost rejected.

blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
Unlock IconUnlock all 38 pages of this Study Guide

Plus, gain access to 8,650+ more expert-written Study Guides.

Including features:

+ Mobile App
+ Printable PDF
+ Literary AI Tools