Analysis of Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken"

When I first read the poem by Robert Frost, “The Road Not Taken”, I was immediately relieved at how easy I found it was to read and understand. Other poems read for this class up to this point I thought were boring or difficult to grasp the concept. What’s great about this poem is that readers can relate to it, of course, the meaning we see behind it really depends on our own individual experiences. It’s been argued whether or not this poem is meant to be happy or sad, like glass half empty or half full, but I think it’s all relative to life, how we handle difficult decisions and how those decisions impact our future. The poem is written in four stanzas with a ABAAB format which could make it difficult to read if not for the lyrical aspect of it. I don’t think the actual form of the poem, the number of lines or syllables, really means anything. However, I do think the fact that it’s so easily read compliments the subject of the poem: the decision. 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;

It starts us off with these two paths in the woods. The first line alone provides great imagery. The use of the color “yellow” lends the idea that these aren’t scary woods, but perhaps happy woods? I think of Bob Ross dipping his paintbrush in yellows and making “happy little trees” on his canvas. In the rest of this first stanza the traveler stands there a while trying to see down each path before choosing one or the other. Anyone who thinks before they act has had to do this before. When presented with two options we evaluate them both to see which has a more beneficial outcome. While both could be promising, we can choose only one path. 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