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.Robert Frost.
I thought of this much anthologised and loved poem as I walked in the woods today.
Frost wrote this poem in 1915 and sent it to his great friend the English poet Edward Thomas. The American and the English man were walking in the woods in Gloucestershire, as they often did. They were talking about the war that was engulfing Europe and wondering which path to take, both literally and metaphorically. A game keeper challenged them with a gun and an altercation ensued that continued at the game keeper’s cottage and saw both poets threatened. Frost laughed it off and used the event to inspire this poem, which he sent to Thomas. Thomas saw the poem as a gibe about his indecision about if he should enlist as soldier or not. This poem was apparently instrumental in his final fatal decision to sign up .
Thomas signed up and was sent to France. Two months later he was dead, killed in the terrible slaughter of Arras.
“The Road not Taken” by Robert Frost is a great favorite of mine and so is “Adlestrop”
by Edward Thomas, but ( “telling this with a sigh” ) one poet lived a long and productive life and the other died young. Hopefully not all of our choices have such profound consequences.
A beautiful poem, and an interesting back story, Cathy, which I didn’t know, so thank you. Your photo is a perfect accompaniment. I wonder if Thomas’ decision weighed heavily upon Frost’s shoulders later, after he was killed.
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I think it did. He had plenty of time to consider it though, unlike Thomas!
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Such an interesting back story. It’s very sad, but I always find these so interesting, how one event can change things forever. Thank you for sharing. xxx
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Stops you just reading the poem as an uplifting bit of puff the careers teacher might have liked, though doesn’t it?!
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It definitely does! But all the history just makes it so much more interesting. xxx
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Lovely piece, and like others I didn’t know about the backstory. You’re so right about the choices forced on entire generations. I remember missing conscription in Australia (for the Vietnam war) by a scant year, and wondering what I would have done (and how lucky I was). And of course, what would Thomas have written had he survived or joined Frost on the other path.
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One of the great literary unknown stories. Unlike Owens he didn’t have time to change before he was killed.
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Lovely post, and poem. xx
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Glad you enjoyed it! x
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thank you Cathy. I love this poem-but never knew the background.
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I hope it hasn’t spoiled it!
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not at all! I love knowing the background-thank you!
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Sometimes we do not know which road is less traveled when we have to make that choice.
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Or who is encouraging us to choose!
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