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 undergrown.

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 even 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

版本1：未被选择的路

森林叶黄，林中岔道各奔一方
我一人独行，无限惆怅
不能把两条路同时造访
良久伫立，我朝第一条路眺望
路转处惟见林深草长

我再把另一条路探望
一样美丽，一样坦荡
但或许更令人向往
虽然两条路都曾有行人过往
但这条路芳草萋萋，更少人踏荒

那天早晨落叶满道上
落叶上尚无脚踩的痕伤
阿，且将第一条路留待他日寻访
明知道路穷处又是路
重游此地怕是痴想

那以后岁月流逝，日久天长
有一天长叹一声我要诉讲
林中两条岔道彷徨
我选择了行人更少的一条路

版本2：未选之路

林黄路歧指两方
心怨未可踏其双
游子孤独久伫立
极目赏一又何妨
但见从草铺盖长

回首其二亦可待
可期景美路坦荡
芳草萋萋愿人访
路成客自借过往
踏踩印压无他样

彼日晨早行迹无
乱叶铺地痕无伤
姑且留一他日访
路回路转路路长
故地重游心痴想

一声叹息听吾讲
时光流逝飞一样
林黄路歧去何向
吾径择其荒者往
差别缘起在此方

版本3：未踏之径

曲出两径，
殊难兼行，
游子静立，
极目而凝：
径末深处，
隐于野林。

吾踏别途，
应是两全，
林深草菁，
欲没其间，
恰似相同，
覆路足印。

无人径深，
落叶铺静，
始择它途，
亦难穷尽。
疑此之后，
回首惊惊。

此去经年，
诉说太息，
两径分林，
人罕路稀，
吾迈一支，
与昨异矣。

Everyone is a traveler, choosing the roads to follow on the map of their continuous journey, life. There is never a straight path that leaves one with but a sole direction in which to head. Regardless of the original message that Robert Frost had intended to convey, his poem, "The Road Not Taken", has left its readers with many different interpretations. It is one's past, present and the attitude with which he looks upon his future that determines the shade of the light that he will see the poem in. In any case however, this poem clearly demonstrates Frost's belief that it is the road that one chooses that makes him the man who he is. "And sorry I could not travel both..." It is always difficult to make a decision because it is impossible not to wonder about the opportunity cost, what will be missed out on. There is a strong sense of regret before the choice is even made and it lies in the knowledge that in one lifetime, it is impossible to travel down every path. In an attempt to make a decision, the traveler "looks down one as far as I could". The road that will be chosen leads to the unknown, as does any choice in life. As much he may strain his eyes to see as far the road stretches, eventually it surpasses his vision and he can never see where it is going to lead. It is the way that he chooses here that sets him off on his journey and decides where he is going. "Then took the other, just as fair, and having perhaps the better claim." What made it have the better claim is that "it was grassland wanted wear." It was something that was obviously not for everyone because it seemed that the majority of people took the other path therefore he calls it "the road less traveled by". The fact that the traveler took this path over the more popular, secure one indicates the type of personality he has, one that does not want to necessarily follow the crowd but do more of what has never been done, what is new and different. "And both that morning equally lay in leaves no step had trodden black." The leaves had covered the ground and since the time they had fallen no one had yet to pass by on this road. Perhaps Frost does this because each time a person comes to the point where they have to make a choice, it is new to them, somewhere they have never been and they tend to feel as though no one else had ever been there either. "I kept the first for another day!" The desire to travel down both paths is expressed and is not unusual, but "knowing how way leads on to way", the speaker of this poem realizes that the decision is not just a temporary one and he "doubted if I should ever come back." This is his common sense speaking and acknowledging that what he chooses now will affect every other choice he makes afterward. Once you have performed an act or spoken a word that crystallizes who you are, there is no turning back and it cannot be undone. Once again at the end of the poem the regret hangs over the traveler like a heavy cloud about to burst. He realizes that at the end of his life, "somewhere ages and ages hence", he will have regrets about having never gone back and traveling down the roads he did not take. Yet he remains proud of his decision and he recognizes that it was this path that he chose that made him turn out the way and he did and live his life the way in which he lived. "I took the road less traveled by and that had made all the difference." To this man, what was most important, what really made the difference, is that he did what he wanted, even if it meant taking the road less traveled. If he hadn't, he wouldn't be the same man he is now. There are many equally valid meanings to this poem and Robert Frost may have intended this. He may have been trying to achieve a universal understanding. In other words, there is no judgment, no specificity, no moral. There is simply a narrator who makes a decision in his life that had changed the direction of his life from what it may have otherwise been. It allows all readers from all different experiences to relate to the poem.