Question

Metaphors

The Road Not Taken
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 l-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
m
1. What is the primary metaphor at work in the
poem?
m
2. Rewrite the metaphor that you identified as a
simile.
3. Choose a line from the poem and discuss how it
can be interpreted metaphorically.

Answer 1

1. The primary metaphor at work in the poem is that the two roads represent the choices and decisions we make in life. The fork in the road is a symbol for the turning points in our lives where we must choose between two different paths or options.

2. The primary metaphor in the poem cannot be rewritten as a simile since it is already a metaphor. A simile is a comparison of two unlike things using "like" or "as," whereas a metaphor is a direct comparison of two unlike things.

3. The line "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood" can be interpreted metaphorically as a representation of the many different choices and paths that are available to us in life. The "yellow wood" can be seen as a symbol of autumn or the passing of time, suggesting that the speaker is at a crossroads in their life and must make a decision about which path to take. The "diverged roads" represent the different choices or options that are available to the speaker, each leading to a different destination. The line "And sorry I could not travel both" further emphasizes the difficulty of the decision-making process, suggesting that the speaker wishes they could choose both paths, but must ultimately choose only one.