Form and Meter
This poem has a pretty complicated form. We'll start with the (relatively) simple stuff. The poem consists of four stanzas with five lines each. These are called quintains. And in each quintain, th...
Speaker
Our speaker is a very conflicted guy. He doesn't tell us too much about himself, but we know that he is facing a big decision; the road he's walking on, and the life he's leading, is splitting into...
Setting
Our setting is in a forest, but it's not "lovely dark and deep" like the woods in one of Frost's other famous poems, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening." Instead, these woods are just yellow, an...
Sound Check
The rhythm of this poem makes us feel like we are walking through the woods with the speaker. We can hear his footsteps in the steady rhythm and rhyme, with the occasional diversion to look at the...
What's Up With the Title?
The title of this poem may be the key to its interpretation. The title is not, as it is often mistaken to be, "The Road Less Traveled," but is "The Road Not Taken." If the title were "The Road Less...
Calling Card
Frost likes to leave the meaning of his poems up to the reader. He guides us in the right direction with hints and suggestions, but in the end, he uses a lot of words and phrases that probably mean...
Tough-O-Meter
The difficulty of this poem fits its subject: you're not hiking up a mountain, but taking a lovely walk in the woods. The language is pretty straightforward and easy to follow, with little bumps bu...
Brain Snacks
Sex Rating
No steaminess here. This walk in the woods is about as innocent as it gets.