The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost (HD) 

This was my Dad’s favorite poem, and Robert Frost was his favorite poet. My Dad was an amazing poet too. He passed away in February last year and Covid prevented a memorial service. Today in 3 hours, our family will finally honor him. He truly did choose the road less traveled by and that made all the difference to his family, friends, and the community. We love you and miss you Dad. To the moon and back

The often overlooked element-that the roads were both about equal, and equally unknown-is what gives this poem it’s depth and beauty. In life we only get to walk one road. Whichever we’ve chosen, the other is always unknown (can’t rewind time, even if you can make a different choice in the future). In that way, the agency we have is not in whether we choose the “fairer” road or the road less traveled-our choice is in the narrative we tell ourselves about our lives. We have a choice of whether to look back with regret or pride-and therefore, to build ourselves up, or talk ourselves down.

One of my mum's favourite poems along with Wordsworth's Daffodils. She always told me as a boy that while the short road was easier it was the long road, with all its trials and hardship, that bore a better future for anyone - who walked that path.

Finally, actually read by somebody who understands how the poem is supposed to flow

This poem was one set for the English Literature exam in the early sixties. I cannot remember anything of it and probably the school setting wrecked it for me. Now, sixty years later I think it is wonderful.

I read this school a year ago and it didn't mean much to me. When I stumbled upon it again on my own, I realized how powerful the poem is. It has also come to my understanding that there is a notion that this poem is often misunderstood, but poetry is sometimes ambiguous in its nature. Nonetheless, Robert Frost is one of my favorite poets... and I'm glad schools use this poem, however using this poem in formal learning setting really ruined some of its value for me.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long stood And look 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.

Eventually, this poem will find you and it will make all the difference

I listen to this daily. I dont care how it was written but more how i recieved it.

Whoever put this together did a wonderful job. Perfect reading. The background music and visuals are dead on the money.

He's not literally talking about a physical path, he's speaking of himself, the two paths are a metaphor, his personal life path, all of us have the free will to choose our own path towards our personal destiny in life. He speaks of equal similarities between the two paths, he chose the one maybe not considered to be the mainstream, therefore he was growing and searching, discovering and encompassing his true unique personal self, he did not choose the common path, therefore, taking a stand for his own true conviction and not being a follower in this life, he chose his own path, his own way of doing things, in the end, that's what made all the difference, he found his true destiny, by being true to himself. So there was no need to ever return and go back and walk the other path.

Love Frost for his unique thoughts ...which makes me better each day......Thankyou for sharing..

My teacher began showing us these poems and he showed us this one in class so we can visualize it better. After the poem, I told him, "This one has something to it." He told me, "Yeah, I feel the same. In all my years of teaching high school students poems, I can never get over this one. It's just powerful." And I agree. It's so good. This poem is one of those that can make me cry if I think about it a lot.

This was childhood school english class poem still remember 32 now never forgotten

In Memory of Bruce Free, who introduced me to the poetry of Robert Frost.

Anyone else feel it hit hard when it reads ‘I doubted if I should ever come back’ ?

Very beautiful poem, I am Russian speaking poet, already began writing in English, and I see how many good poets in American and English literature are there. I would like to combine both worlds and make some new and important. Robert Frost is my favorite poet in English

"THE ROAD TAKEN" The road I took in that yellow wood Cleaved the thicket as far as it could, I should have taken the other track, The same-worn path a half-mile back. It pains me now how long I stood Weighing the options, bad and good; Musing, as way leads on to way, On choices glad and lackaday, On by and by and a distant sigh For deeming roads less traveled by.

This poem is the story of my life

Even after 8 years .. I havent found anyone else recite like you. Sir.

Aaaaaah ...simply beautiful.

I read it in 9th standard in 2015, I understood, This became my favorite poem, This gave me lesson of life, Then one day my teacher explained it, Ruining all what it really mean, After then thinking myself wrong I got really disappointed not because of me not understanding it but because what it really "mean". And today I'm here again realizing that I was right and she was wrong, I'm feeling really pleased.

I LEFT THE FARM FOR NURSING SCHOOL IN THE BIG CITY...IAM RETIRED NOW...BACK ON THE FARM AND LOVE THE DIRT ROADS...THE BIRDS SINGING...BEAUTIFUL TREES AND RIVER....MY HUSBAND PASSED AWAY...I WISH HE WAS HERE!!!.

I wouldn't hurt anybody to go pick up a book of Robert Frost poetry, or any other poets work, and read it through,, thinking about the imagery and what the poet is trying to say through them. Robert Frost himself died today in 1963, so that's why I'm here today, posting this on my FB page!

This is so beautiful and I'm here from South Korean group Stray Kids ~ this video is calming and just watching the beautiful landscapes is even more calming ~

A friend of mine showed me this poem after my first initiation to finally become who I am. It moves me. It moves more then one can imagine. Barely a day passes on without thinking about it; without reading it; without crying a tear. No, tear of sorrow no, but a tear of joy, of an old heard moved by gentle words discribing a path laying before me.

I gave this poem to my grandchildren as they graduated high school......its meaning is everything to me.

Thank you sir

I have always loved this poem. I still do and I experience the same thoughts each time I hear it.

This is one of my Papa’s favorite poems. He gave me a book of poetry by Robert Frost when I was a teenager. Now I’m 38 and he is in hospice. I’m going to read this at his service. So very beautiful and moving and deeply personal to me.

This is my #1 poem. Just love it...

Man, I cried in the end. Thank you sir for this composition.

THE BEST RECITE OF "ROAD NOT TAKEN" I EVER HEARD!!!! THANKS A LOT............. LUV YOU

My FAVORITE poem! I've never seen this before!! Thank you so much for sharing this!! ♥️

BEAUTIFUL VIDEO AND BEAUTIFUL TRUE WORDS

Wonderful.

One of the truly great poems in the English language. 👍

what i get from this poem is the decisions that we sometimes make and as for Frost it was equally that difficult.

That is probably the most beautiful poem I have ever seen because of how soft it is

I miss my father... Haven't heard from him since 1998. I'll read this poem at his funeral because it's the only memory I have of him.

..And I took the less travelled by ..and that has made all the difference...

My favorite one. It has so much meaning to me at this point of my life.

That makes the different. The less travelled by. Wonderful projection.

A beautiful rendition of an amazing poem - one of my favourite pieces of Robert Frost's work

It's very touching, Robert frost is one of my favorite poets. If the world would listening to this, If people wouldn't be scared of changing. I don't judge those, but I took the road I less traveled by. (And that's has made all the difference)

I like the way it is read..with more pause....Great Job........Hits you a little harder this way....

The road you take is your road. Be present on that road every day. Accept the road as it goes by. Your road is your life!!!!

Every day I listen to it! So beautiful!

It gives me chills every time.

I have never heard any poem in this voice! This is very interesting and full of suspence!

This iconic poem by mr. Frost, guided me in my Decision's pertaining to Life, when as a teenager I felt no one answer's i got from people i could trust, this poem always steered me down the best path!

Thanks for sharing 💜

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

This poem made me remember Dead Poet’s Society

I read this in school. My forever favorite poem.

Thank you so much for sharing .. ,my thoughts written in verses...keeps me bring back to the road of hope in my life...Thank you dear Frost..

deciding on my job and the future of my life right now...

I never thought this poem was so deep

Beautiful

Thank you for such a beautiful presentation. FELS CLASSES.

there's always one thing on my mind when I read this poem: how can you take the road less taken if they are equel to each other

Beautiful poem by Robert frost 😍

This is the definitive way to enjoy this beautiful poem.

One of my favourite poems!! No words for it

I love this poem, I listen to it everyday

im here because of Stray Kids. this poem has such meaning ahh😭❤️

Love listening to more recitations...

tune is very relaxed , i love the tune 💕

Nice inflection and pauses, helps one understand the poem better.

This poem made me teary eyed. I don't know why. I can't really express how I feel. But I know I feel greater, I feel good. :)

One of my Favorite poems and so Beautiful and moving about what road we take in life..Do we follow others or do we choose the road not traveled by others?? Not hard to understand as far as I'm concerned! Even President John F Kennedy has Mr. Frost at his Inauguration..He did not recite this poem but another. But the point is, that even President Kennedy was moved by Robert Frosts poetry!!! Thank you for posting this with the beautiful season of Autumn🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂!!!❤

These verses are right from your soul in search of perfection... dear Frost....Thank you for this deep woods of thought for those embroiled in the modern world..

So beautiful....

The video provides a great backdrop to this intricate introspection. Frost is said to have based his "yellow wood" on his memories of his time in England- specifically when he and other poets descended on, and settled briefly in, the small Gloucestershire village of Dymock. A century on, Dymock remains surrounded by woods which in spring glow yellow with an abdundance of wild daffodils. I have spent many happy hours walking my dogs there wondering which if any of the diverging paths Frost did. or didn't take!

Beautiful voice on a beautiful poem!

I understood this at 13 years old and kept this in my heart till this day.

i just miss my mom................

Great musical tone and video to go along with this

From Dominican Republic I love this poet and his poems as well. Now this one is a peace of art as it shows the dilemma of life when it comes to choose a path.

A poem, always near to my heart, even when I am not thinking of it specifically. With great thanks for your having lived to write it, my dear Mt. Frost.

i like this video beautiful background music and voice

In India you get to read this poem in 9th standard English book..

This was the poem I was learning for my Christmas test. I now know it of by heart. Thank you for this video.

Choices available in life are illusory . It's all about choices we make in life..If our choice turns out to be good,we pat our back..if,on the other hand, our choice turns out to be bad, we sulk..we regret for not having made the other choice available.. for not having taken the other road. Choice can be only one: you either take this road or take the other road. Once a choice is made.. impulsive or judicious whatever.. we should be responsible for it no matter what. Although we do get entrapped in the illusion ..the imaginary beauty of 'the road not taken', there is no room for regret for 'the road not taken' in the sweepstakes of life. You either feel 'fulfilled' or feel 'dejected': either way, you end up 'sigh'ing. Life is only this once..there is no second chance..no re-take.. Thanks a lot for the upload. Robert Frost, one of my favourite poets since Class-IX, has helped me through his poetry in navigating through life as I grew old..older..n older.His iconic "And miles to go before I sleep And miles to go before I sleep.." has been a constant reminder of our duties..our responsibilities during the journey..

I heard it before I knew stray kids but know that I know them is like WHAAAAT "YELLOW WOOD" I love this ❤️❤️❤️❤️

This was really beautiful. I could listen to it everyday. You made my day

I lost my dad at fifteen - my best friend - he also loved Robert Frost especially “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening.” I miss you Daddy - hope to see you again someday in Heaven.💕

Heartbreakingly beautiful.

Frost wrote the poem as a joke for a friend, the poet Edward Thomas. When out walking together, Thomas was usually indecisive about which road to take, and often lamented in hindsight that they should have gone the other way. This from The Poetry Foundation website: "The poem masquerades as a meditation about choice, but the critic William Pritchard suggests that the speaker is admitting that “choosing one rather than the other was a matter of impulse, impossible to speak about any more clearly than to say that the road taken had ‘perhaps the better claim.’” In many ways, the poem becomes about how-through retroactive narrative-the poet turns something as irrational as an “impulse” into a triumphant, intentional decision. Decisions are nobler than whims, and this reframing is comforting, too, for the way it suggests that a life unfolds through conscious design. However, as the poem reveals, that design arises out of constructed narratives, not dramatic actions. "When Frost sent the poem to Thomas, Thomas initially failed to realize that the poem was (mockingly) about him. Instead, he believed it was a serious reflection on the need for decisive action. (He would not be alone in that assessment.) "Frost was disappointed that the joke fell flat and wrote back, insisting that the sigh at the end of the poem was “a mock sigh, hypo-critical for the fun of the thing.” The joke rankled; Thomas was hurt by this characterization of what he saw as a personal weakness-his indecisiveness, which partly sprang from his paralyzing depression. Thomas presciently warned Frost that most readers would not understand the poem’s playfulness and wrote, “I doubt if you can get anybody to see the fun of the thing without showing them & advising them which kind of laugh they are to turn on.” Edward Thomas was right, and the critic David Orr has hailed “The Road Not Taken” as a poem that “at least in its first few decades … came close to being reader-proof.” "The last stanza-stripped of the poem’s earlier insistence that the roads are “really about the same”-has been hailed as a clarion call to venture off the beaten path and blaze a new trail. Frost’s lines have often been read as a celebration of individualism, an illustration of Emerson’s claim that “Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist.” In the film Dead Poets Society, the iconoclastic teacher Mr. Keating, played by Robin Williams, takes his students into a courtyard, instructs them to stroll around, and then observes how their individual gaits quickly subside into conformity. He passionately tells them, “Robert Frost said, ‘Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-/ I took the one less traveled by / And that has made all the difference.’” "Far from being an ode to the glories of individualism, however, the last stanza is a riddling, ironic meditation on how we turn bewilderment and impulsiveness into a narrative: 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. Again, the language is stylized, archaic, and reminiscent of fairytales. Frost claims he will be telling the story “somewhere ages and ages hence,” a reversal of the fairytale beginning, “Long, long ago in a faraway land.” Through its progression, the poem suggests that our power to shape events comes not from choices made in the material world-in an autumn stand of birches-but from the mind’s ability to mold the past into a particular story. The roads were about the same, and the speaker’s decision was based on a vague impulse. The act of assigning meanings-more than the inherent significance of events themselves-defines our experience of the past. "The fairytale-like language also accentuates the way the poem slowly launches into a conjuring trick. Frost liked to warn listeners (and readers) that “you have to be careful of that one; it’s a tricky poem-very tricky.” Part of its trick is that it enacts what it has previously claimed is impossible: the traveling of two roads at once. "The poem’s ending refuses to convey a particular emotional meaning; it playfully evades categorizations even as it describes divisions created by choices. Its triumph is that it does travel two emotional trajectories while cohering as a single statement. We cannot tell, ultimately, whether the speaker is pleased with his choice; a sigh can be either contented or regretful. The speaker claims that his decision has made “all the difference,” but the word difference itself conveys no sense of whether this choice made the speaker’s life better or worse-he could, perhaps, be envisioning an alternate version of life, one full of the imagined pleasures the other road would have offered. "Indeed, when Frost and Thomas went walking together, Thomas would often choose one fork in the road because he was convinced it would lead them to something, perhaps a patch of rare wild flowers or a particular bird’s nest. When the road failed to yield the hoped-for rarities, Thomas would rue his choice, convinced the other road would have doubtless led to something better. In a letter, Frost goaded Thomas, saying, “No matter which road you take, you’ll always sigh, and wish you’d taken another.” "And, indeed, the title of the poem hovers over it like a ghost: “The Road Not Taken.” According to the title, this poem is about absence. It is about what the poem never mentions: the choice the speaker did not make, which still haunts him. Again, however, Frost refuses to allow the title to have a single meaning: “The Road Not Taken” also evokes “the road less traveled,” the road most people did not take. "The poem moves from a fantasy of staving off choice to a statement of division. The reader cannot discern whether the “difference” evoked in the last line is glorious or disappointing-or neither. What is clear is that the act of choosing creates division and thwarts dreams of simultaneity. All the “difference” that has arisen-the loss of unity-has come from the simple fact that choice is always and inescapably inevitable. The repetition of I-as well as heightening the rhetorical drama-mirrors this idea of division. The self has been split. At the same time, the repetition of I recalls the idea of traveling two roads as one traveler: one I stands on each side of the line break-on each side of the verse’s turn-just as earlier when the speaker imagined being a single traveler walking down both roads at once. "The poem also wryly undercuts the idea that division is inevitable: the language of the last stanza evokes two simultaneous emotional stances. The poem suggests that-through language and artifice-we can “trick” our way out of abiding by the law that all decisions create differences. We can be one linguistic traveler traveling two roads at once, experiencing two meanings. In a letter, Frost claimed, “My poems … are all set to trip the reader head foremost into the boundless.” The meaning of this poem has certainly tripped up many readers-from Edward Thomas to the iconic English teacher in Dead Poets Society. But the poem does not trip readers simply to tease them-instead it aims to launch them into the boundless, to launch them past spurious distinctions and into a vision of unbounded simultaneity."

“I ended up checking out both roads.” - Vito Rex

this made me think alot, it makes me wanna change. and i know thats very weird, but i never try and better myself. this video inspires me. i watch it everyday when i wake up, it helps me get through my shitty days.

My granddaughter wants to be a journalist,,, I've encouraged her to read beautiful poetry like this and open her mind , ,,I'm old and stupid, no education, left school at 14 because we needed the income... I feel so sorry for young people...

Very nice poem

I'm here because I have to recite this word for word perfectly for an English test tomorrow. Tears. I'm going to fail but at least it's a good poem.

The Wknd really blew me away with this one! It reminds me of the 80s and he done amazing!

This poem is really deep, especially where the poet says: "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - | I took the one less traveled by, | and that has made all the difference. " I think it is an exhortation to be independent, determined and courageous in our choices. The origin of each change is the choice of the unknown (the road less traveled) and not of certainty (the first road).

very beautiful!!!

This is so beautifully read it really moved me in so many ways, emotionally Powerful beyond words. Brilliant version of a great classic Thank You for sharing

I love this poem. It really speaks to me on a deep DEEP level. The videography helped me understand the meaning behind the poem. Especially the scene with the water flowing out, just as if it was someones future kids.

Each time I feel refreshed .in hearing this verses...!.WOW..!! May your beautiful soul be Blessed forever...dear, dear Frost...!