The Road Not Taken Poem Summary and Notes | CBSE Class 9 English Beehive

Summary of The Road Not Taken

Chapter 1 of the CBSE Class 9 English book ‘Beehive’ has a poem named The Road Not Taken. The poem is written by the American poet Robert Frost. He writes about common, ordinary experiences in a simple but insightful way. Here, we have provided a detailed description of the poem, along with a summary. Students can go through the CBSE Class 9 English Beehive notes to get an insight into the poem and understand it in a better way. The summary will provide a brief overview of the poem.

CBSE Class 9 English Beehive The Road Not Taken Poem Summary

The Road Not Taken is a well-known poem about making choices in our lives. The choices we make shape us. In the poem, the road symbolizes our life, and the path that we don’t choose is “the road not taken”. The poet describes his life experience and says that long ago, he had two choices to make. He had chosen one and moved ahead with it. Now, if he wants to make another choice, he can’t do so. The message the poet wants to convey is that the choices we make significantly impact our future. If we make the wrong choice, then we can’t go back and correct it. We will have no option other than regretting it. So, we should be wise while making decisions or choices in our life.

CBSE Class 9 English Beehive The Road Not Taken Poem Explanation Notes

Below, students can have a look at the poem and its explanation in detail.

The Road Not Taken Poem and Explanation

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveller, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence;

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —

I took the one less travelled by,

And that has made all the difference.

By ROBERT FROST

The poet was walking down the road when he found a diversion where two roads diverged in different directions. The poet felt sorry that he could not travel on both roads. He had to make one decision and choose a single path. At the junction, the poet stood for a long time and tried to look at the roads as far as he could. He wanted to see the roads in full and wanted to know about both paths. But, he could not see anything beyond the diversion as the roads were curved and covered with trees. In the stanza, the yellow wood refers to the forest with leaves which were shed on the road and had turned yellow. This indicates that it was the autumn season. Through this stanza, the poet wants to convey that in everyone’s life, there comes a time when we have to make choices. We have alternatives, but we have to choose only one. At that time, we see the pros and cons of the situation and take the time to decide which path to take. Similarly, the poet is also taking time before making any decision.

After pondering on it for a long time, the poet decided to take the other road. He felt that both roads were equally good. He started walking on the road which had grass on it and felt that it was a better road for him. The grassy road means that the road was not used, and the wanted wear means that only a few people have walked through it. After walking some distance on the road, the poet felt that both paths were almost the same. There was hardly any difference between them. Through this, the poet conveys that, in our life, whatever decisions we take or choices we make, each choice has some advantages and some disadvantages. Problems are everywhere, so we must be ready to face them.

The poet says that both paths seemed to be similar that morning. Leaves were shed on both roads, and they were still green. It means that no one had walked on the roads. He decided to take one path that day and the other path on another day. However, he knows that one way leads to another way. He could not go back and take the other path once he moved ahead with one. Similarly, in our life, when we make one decision, we can’t go back. We have to move ahead with the same choice and face the consequences which come our way.

The poet says that in the future, he will take a deep breath and say that once upon a time, he reached a point in life where he had to make one choice. There were two options for him, and he had to opt for one. At that time, he decided to take that road which was less travelled by people. It means that he took a decision which rare people take. And that decision has changed his entire life. Through the poem, the poet sends a powerful message that people should decide wisely in their life because the decision they take will have an impact on the rest of their life.