All the Difference

The Road Not Taken
~ Robert Frost ~

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as 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 traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

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The popular interpretation of Frost's poem is that it is about individualism. It is commonly interpreted as inspiration for marching to your own drummer. However, critics have interpreted it as a work of irony, and this is the view that seems to make most sense to me, especially if you've read what Frost himself said about the poem. Also, the title, "The Road Not Taken" seems to be a big clue to me that this is a poem about looking back as much as it is about looking forward. In hindsight, after having made his choice, he waxes eloquent about the path he took, and he chooses to remember it romantically. Of course the path we choose makes all the difference. So choose carefully, on purpose, because there is no going back.