Question

Explain the following stanza: “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.”

Answer 1

The speaker again describes both paths positively, saying that both were unsoiled (not “trodden black”) by footsteps. Because both were perhaps of equal value, he acknowledges that he thought it would be nice to come back to the first path at some time (“I kept the first for another day!”). On the other hand, he realizes that, realistically speaking, he probably won’t have a chance to return to the first path. He says “way leads on to way,” meaning that choosing the one path will be followed by other choices and other paths, and he will never happen to come back this way to the first path.

In sum, the speaker mentions that he might regret picking just one of the paths, but he is also resigned about the choice. He could regret not picking that path, but he doesn’t really express regret.

Step-by-step explanation:

Answer 2

one likes a path they have chosen, but they doubt whether returning is OK.