The literal meaning of this poem by Robert Frost is pretty obvious. A traveler comes to a fork in the road and needs to decide which way to go to continue his journey. After much mental debate, the traveler picks the road "less traveled by."
             The figurative meaning is not too hidden either. The poem describes the tough choices people stand for when traveling the road of life. The words "sorry" and "sigh" make the tone of poem somewhat gloomy. The traveler regrets leaves the possibilities of the road not chosen behind. He realizes he probably won't pass this way again. As with many of Frost's other poems, "The Road Less Taken" can be read from two sides. On the surface a poem about a walk in the woods, this work takes on much greater significance with the line 'somewhere ages and ages hence'; you do not often remember taking the left fork of a path in the woods ages and ages hence, unless it proves to be a life-altering decision. The poem hinges on the interpretation of one word: 'sigh,' in line sixteen. The type of sigh that you see the author taking is central to how you view the poem. If you see a cheerful old man reminiscing on days gone by, sighing as he remembers the good old days, the poem will have a positive spin. If you see a grizzled geezer, grumbling as he signs about lost opportunities in days gone by, the poem can be terribly depressing. The poem will also be colored by how you feel about taking 'the road less traveled by'. It's either adventurous and brazen, or foolhardy and arrogant. Again we see Frost at his best when he provides the questions, and not the answers. The reader's interpretation will be colored by his or her own experiences. The Road Not Taken" is an ironic commentary on the autonomy of choice in a world governed by instincts, unpredictable contingencies, and limited possibilities. It parodies and demurs from the biblical idea that God is the "way" that can and shoul
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