The Road Not Taken            《未选择的路》

   By Robert Frost                            罗伯特·弗罗斯特

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood               黄色的树林里分出两条路

　　And sorry I could not travel both                 可惜我不能同时去涉足

　　And be one traveler, long I stood                 我在那路口久久伫立

　　And looked down one as far as I could             向着一条路极目望去

To where it bent in the undergrowth              直到它消失在丛林深处

　　Then took the other, as just as fair               但我却选了另外一条路

　　And having perhaps the better claim              它荒草萋萋，十分幽寂

　　Because it was grassy and wanted wear;           显得更诱人、更美丽

　　Though as for that the passing there             虽然在这两条小路上

Had worn them really about the same             都很少留下旅人的足迹

　　And both that morning equally lay                虽然那天清晨落叶满地

　　In leaves no step had trodden black              两条路都未经脚印污染

　　Oh, I kept the first for another day!             第一条路等改日再见！

　　Yet knowing how way leads on to way,             但我知道路径延绵无尽头

I doubted if I should even come back.            恐怕我难以再回返

　　I shall be telling this with a sigh                 也许多少年后在某个地方

　　Somewhere ages and ages hence:                我将轻声叹息把往事回顾

　　Two roads diverged in a wood, and I---           一片树林里分出两条路

　　I took the one less traveled by,                 而我选了人迹更少的一条

　　And that has made all the difference            从此决定了我一生的道路

The Road Not Taken is a poem consisting of four stanzas of iambic tetrameter. And there are four stressed syllables per line, varying on this iambic tetrameter base. In every stanza, the rhyme scheme is abaab.

As to its type, I think it’s not just a narrative poem. It describes the protagonist walking in the woods and arriving at a fork in the road. It’s also a lyric poem, since it reflects the meditation of a single speaker. In the last two stanzas, the poet expresses his feeling of the choice he has made. What’s more, I think it’s also an ironic poem. The last stanza “I shall be telling this with a sigh / Somewhere ages and ages hence” shows that the poem ends in an almost regretful tone as the traveler looks back at his decision and states that taking the road less traveled by had caused his life to turn out the way it had.

It is not difficult to understand the meaning of this poem. From the first stanza, we know it is autumn since the wood is yellow, and there are fallen leaves blanketing the two roads. And there are two roads. The second stanza shows the confusion of having to choose between two almost identical paths in life. The third stanza describes that both roads were equally not walked on that morning. He decided to save traveling on the First Road for another day. But he suspects that he'll never follow through on that decision. In the last stanza, the poet regrets that taking the less traveled road really changed his life.

In this poem, the writer uses metaphor to tell the reader that the road he or she chooses might be the right or wrong one, but it will make all the difference in their lives. Two roads represent two different directions in life, when we choose one, the other is missed, and our lives will be totally different. Robert Frost contends that every decision we make, no matter how insignificant it may seem, will have an impact on our life.

This poem is full of beauty and philosophy. I hope all of us will enjoy it!