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.
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Comments
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frosty!
this poem..i have heard may times in my life..mostly in school.... so deep if only you think on what he says -
The Best
Robert frost is probably my favorite poet, and this is my favorite poem ever -
From guest marq monroe (contact)
I've also collected some quotes regularly all on my own here too, and love that collection that youj've so equally gracefully employed to our own benefits too out here, with equal grace, and compelling beauty too there, guys! I've so enjoyed ,merely all that marvelous wonderment that you've definitely so gratefully managed to collect! -
The poem is beautiful and this is a great subject but how can we ever know whether we made the right decision? I don't suppose we'll ever get the chance to go back and relive, unless there are parallel universes. Frost doesn't really get into that.
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I love this poem of Frost's. One, because it's one of the few I can understand; and two, because I can relate to it so much. So many choices...
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High School
From guest Billi (contact)
I am graduating high school this semester. I have to present a speech to my entire class. When I in 8th grade a teacher made me memorize this poem and i hated every minute of it. While i was sitting thinking about my high school graduation i remembered this poem and thought about the many decisions i have had to make. I want to thank my 8th grade teacher for making me memorize it. :) -
Robert Frost "Road Less Taken"
From guest Keej (contact)
I work with ESL students in a high risk middle school(drop-outs, gangs, poverty). I teach English as a Second Language. I have a couple of reading classes that range from 10 to 15 students. As part of learning about American culture, I put together a collection of classic American poetry. Many of my students loved this poem because it was a representation of how their young lives had taken many turns. For many students, they did not have the choice to follow the path of familiarity, so, to explore feelings of fear, consequence, and choice, this piece has given us that freedom to explore very real, important concepts. Robert Frost has given us a tool for understanding human behavior. -
It doesn't matter which road one takes, the end result may still be the same. But how is one to know which is better? Sometimes we learn more from others experiences. Sometimes it's better to not take the high road and see what's out there.
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Road god?
From guest Esoteric (contact)
The is personafied when the he says " And wanted wanted wear" Obiously Roads don't want, so it's personfied. The question is who is it? After studing it I am guessing God. When he says "I shall be telling this with a sigh" is it a sigh of relieve, regret, happiness, anger, sad? -
This Explains Me!
From guest Breanna MorningStar-Tso (contact)
I am someone who made a choice at a young age to walk the way of life that I do. It has made me who I am today and brought many good things into my life including my husband. He was the one who showed this poeam to me. -
it can relate to everyone.we all face the choice that can make or break us. we chose to be our own person or be like everyone else
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confused
I have to say that although I really like the format, and use of rhythm and rhyme, I don't really completely understand the moral of the tale. -
From guest debilynn (contact)
It's not about taking a road "less traveled." It's about regretting a decision you've made, one you can't go back on. The speaker "kept the first for another day" and he's upset about it. well written it makes one think about life -
From guest Jerry (contact)
"One stanza of 'The Road Not Taken' was written while I was sitting on a sofa in the middle of England: Was found three or four years later, and I couldn't bear not to finish it. I wasn't thinking about myself there, but about a friend who had gone off to war, a person who, whichever road he went, would be sorry he didn't go the other. He was hard on himself that way." Robert Frost 23 Aug. 1953 -
This is I
From guest Delilah (contact)
This poem is my favorite because I have taken the road less traveled and it has made all the difference. I couldn't imagine what my life would be like if I haden't taken the other path instead of the one my friends went on. -
jus thoughtsss
From guest Baby Angel * _ (contact)
i think that this poem is actualyyy riteee becuz everyone wants to get out the easy way instead of thinkin the hard wayy rite? yeaa i think that this peom indicates thatt u shud alwasy tryy and take ricks becuz u can never kno wut u will end of havingg wen u take the hard way adn the results are always good -
SOMETIMES WE DARE NOT GO THE UNTRAVELED ROADWAY BECAUSE OF GETTING LOST,BUT IN LIFE SOMETIMES THE LESS TRAVELED ROAD LEADS TO A BETTER LIFE
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REALLY ENJOYED
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Simply the best
From guest Matt (contact)
My Favourite poem ex equo with "O Captain, My Captain" by W. Whitman. Don't know why, It just is... -
My Favorite..
Everytime I read this.. I fall for it more and more.. truly a masterpiece in every respect. -
Beautiful
My favorite author, my favorite poem. It's on my list to ask when I get to heaven what it really means. As for me, his art was there when no one else was.
~C -
I never liked this poem in middle school and high school, where I had to read it and was told by my teachers that one shouldn't conform (all the while I was being made to conform). Then I got to college, was told to read it again and read it carefully. It's not about taking a road "less traveled." It's about regretting a decision you've made, one you can't go back on. The speaker "kept the first [road] for another day" and he's upset about it. Both roads are practically the same in the poem ("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."), both leading to someplace, some destination or outcome. When the speaker identifies the path he took as "the one less traveled by" he probably means the outcome was one few find. Usually when you choose your path in life, you are happy with your choice. Unfortunately, he's not.
My interpretation, anyway.
-K -
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First of all.. no where in the poem does it say or imply that he regrets his decision. And the path he took doesn't mean the outcome few find. Like you said both paths were pretty much the same he chose his path and that lead to the rest of his life. His sigh is merely of content. He is thinking of what could have been but is quite happy with how his life turned out.
In my opinion you are reading too much into the poem, probably relating it to your life in someway. -
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Then why emphasize "the first" road in the title: "The Road Not Taken"? Why should it be so important as to get the title?
And did Frost tell you that his sigh was "[merely] of content"? People sigh for different reasons. Can the speaker really go back and take the first road that he "left for another day" if pretty much all readers of this poem interpret this choosing of roads as a life decision? Is the speaker content about losing the chance to travel the first road as well?
I don't think I'm "reading too much into" it. I'm just looking at it from a different perspective than you. I suppose his feelings over his choice are open. He never states whether he is or is not happy about the road he chose. He just states it "has made all the difference."
-K -
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First the title could also mean the road that no one else took but the one he chose to take.
No he can't go back, hence "I doubted if i should ever come back". There was only one other road, I don't know why you said "as well". He completely understands that he can't go back in time and make a different decision, which is why ages and ages hence he is content with his decision. The road he took made all the difference, which means the decision he chose, made him the person he is today, and that's all that matters.
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I am glad you have found some of the beauty and meaning within this fine poem.
No poem is automatically great to all readers. Some like this one take time to grow on you. Similarily different people interpret the same poem in different (but acceptable) ways and only the poet will know which is the one s/he intended.
Jim
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amazing of course
I love it -
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.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Wow-very strong meaning behind this piece
wonderful description! -
honestly, I'm just kind of sick of this poem. It's good, sure, but I still believe it's highly overrated. I've read much better. Not saying Robert Frost isn't great, he's a great poet, but I think people need to read more of his other work, rather than focusing on just this one poem.
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this poem was in my text
it is more beautiful than 
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a thought provoking poem and the message never seems outdated ... even when we read it after many years, with a comparatively matured perspective...
like the way, he has written it with an air of non chalance and touch of humour... as in
'sorry I could not travel both the roads'
and also in... 'oh I kept the first for another day'
seems like he has the enthusiasm to travel both the roads...
and be one traveller, long I stood...
reflects he couldnt make a clear decision... as the choices seemed the same... except one road has been avoided or less travelled...
his curiosity and adventure spirit wins... as he takes on the road less travelled...
it doesnt neccessarily mean ... its good or bad decision... but the courage to seek adventure or attempt unconventionality...
he should have written this, as a youth perspective or attitude... as of making decisions without much fear for the consequences
otherwise with maturity and age... people would try to be conventional and not take the risk of a making a choice which is both unknown and avoided...
so seems like the poet 'contemplates' like a very matured person... thats why his long hesitation in making the choice...
but he 'decides' like a young man with guts of instincts and impulsiveness...
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
these lines reflect his uncertainity or tainted enthusiasm of the choice...
... and after making a steadfast decision... he doubts whether he would rectify his decision even if its a bad choice...
and so he will be telling about it after many years ... when he has explored the unknown path completely ... and the way it made a difference...
the poetry itself is about adventurous attempt...
so the outcome maybe positive or negative... and so the message should be taken with a sense of discernment...
to question and think against the conventionlity and not go along the herd.. could be the basic message...
if his consquences had been negative... it prods us to think with reasonability... that the adventure spirit should go in hand in hand with enough maturity, especialy when making important decisions in life... and the courage to withstand failures and accept consequences...
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awesome poem i use to read this all the time when i was a little girl!!!
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I read that Frost wrote this poem about Edward Thomas because he was always complaining about the path he had taken in life. Also that Frost would warn that this was a “tricky” poem. This makes me wonder if it is a happy difference that was made.
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Eveyone loves this poem...including me. A lot of different people have a lot of different opinions as to what Frost meant. They all have their interesting points, and who's to say what he really meant or felt. As for me....I would have taken the Yellow Brick Road....
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great
we had this poem in our text and we even had a play on this ! this is one poem i can't forget !! -
I think that by taking the one less traveled enabled the traveler to see beauty not seen in the more traveled road. He found time to rest and meditate on all of The beauty around him. Perhaps he listened to song birds, and felt the warm sun on his face
I think this is a poem that everyone should read and consider all the possibilites that are ahead on a road less traveled. It's the same with the poem Let me sit by the side of the road and be a friend to man. -
Great, but misunderstood
When I read this i dont think that i get the same message that most people get about having the courage to go against the social norm.
to me this poem is more about a retrospective account of the impacts that any one choice can make on a persons life. Not necessarily for good or bad, though Frost doesnt seem to happy about the results from the path taken, but an extrapolation on the inevitability of fate and a fatalistic look at how one can never know where a particular path may lead and all one can do is do what seems best at the time and hope. -
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Who can say with certainty what a poet meant with any particular poem.
You have got something from the poem which others may have not got so be happy.
Jim S
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To me i think this has to be the best poem frost has written. he just comes out says that taking the less traveled road "has made all the difference" i think this difference is a good one. i think he would be recommending it. this is one of my favorite poems of all time.
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another great one by Mr. Frost
I have always loved this poem. I think it's very important in life to follow your own path and not just go the easy route everyone else has already been. I feel that he was giving us all a little bit of his wisdom, telling us to risk it, to go for it even if it is harder. Perhaps he was even speaking of love - taking that difficult chance and it has made all the difference in his life. You could even apply this to taking a new job, or going to college - anything difficult is usually worthwhile. -
This has always been my favorite poem of all time!! I'm glad I was able to find it on this site.
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yupp a Meesage Content Poem forthe Young lads, who had to Decide theitr Destiny when they are at the Croos roads, a great piece of work
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Let's see, "the road not taken." He took the one less traveled by, he concludes, precisely because the one MORE TRAVELED BY (by non-artists, perhaps?) in the one he DIDN'T take.
"I looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other"
The Name of the poem is "The Road Not Taken" because he looked down it and decided to take the "one less travelled by."
Edited on Jan 20, 10:18 because ''. -
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actually the poem clearly states he looks down both paths and finds them pretty much equal.
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You can't ruin a good poem with one opinion.
Edited on Jan 20, 9:52 because ''. -
I really hate to ruin the poem for everybody, but Frost is not making a statement on going against the social grain. Keep in mind that the poem is "The Road Not Taken" though it is described in the poem as 'less traveled by'. There's a reason the road is not taken, though Frost has taken it. Frost had a rather depressing life, so the idea that going against the grain, or down the unpopular path was a good thing for him doesn't really hold up. Frost took the "one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." However, it is not a difference he would celebrate.
Sorry if you no longer enjoy this poem. -
yes, I do think that is in the message, as I suppose any artist must feel, and yet, isn't it interesting to hear it from someone like Frost who was well-loved as a poet even in his own lifetime and must have strolled a great deal through the social grain.
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"Against the social grain tread I!"
~the dead poet
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I always found this one puzzling because of this:
"Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same"
and how he goes on to say that they both were covered equally in leaves untrodden that day. It doesn't seem to be that he took one less traveled at all really, until he says so at the end. I used to think this was related to the biblical scriptures about wide is the way to evil and narrow to good (passing through the eye of a needle) and so on, but now I really just think this is a much simpler and less judgemental observation on Frost's part about following a route that leads you somewhere that made your life something it wouldn't have been otherwise. -
This is my personal favorite poem. I had to recite this poem in my English class in the eighth grade. I of course got an At! I really love this poem. Sometimes it's ok to be different. That is what Robert Frost is trying to explain here. Don't take the path that everyone else has taken. Sometimes you have to be courageous and creative and take another path to go about things. Just because you have gone about things differently does not mean that you are going to be lost!
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think this is about making decisions and that the way to go isnt always the one that looks the easiest as it will in the end get you no where. and by the end of the poem he's glad about the root he has taken. wonderful. this is my favourite poem atm were studying it in out english A level.
fabulous.
such a wonderful peice woop. -
This is such a fantastic poem. I had to memorize this one in my middle school days and I thought it to be very peaceful towards the description of the woods.
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we had to memorize this in 9th grade. i love it though.
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probably the most known poem by Frost. I often wonder if he meant the road he took made the difference in a good way, or a bad it really doesn't say. He just says that it made all the difference. Often people presume about what he meant. I would like to ask him.
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I can recite this poem a hundred times and never get tired of it! This poem descibes so much about life that you just can't help but want to read it or hear it. One of my favorites by him.
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This poem has been my theme for years, and I always think of it when I have to decide between going the way everyone goes or doing things the way few do them anymore.
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definitely about lifes choices...as for the roads both being equally tread....i can see sidewalksolipsis point....im not sure if i agree though...
wonderful poem, another of my favorites... -
we are faced with different choices in life, some more difficult than others. he was faced with "two roads". Not knowing which one would take him where. He contemplated which "road" or descision would be more beneficial. he took one road that made all the difference; which leaves you to think, was it a good or bad difference. and then, after making such an in depth choice, you are always left wondering, what if i had taken the other road?
he traved down "the road not taken" is this a statement trying to show dont follow the crowd?
or does it symbolize our journey to becoming an adult? -
I don't think he necessarily regrets his choice, but rather is pondering how he decided to take the road that would make him more of an individual. He will look back on it wistfully, but it will have changed his life.
Yes, I think individualism is a major theme here. -
I am studying this poem in school. I feel that this peson is relieved at having done something that few would do. By traveling a certain trail he changed his life by god only knows how many ways and now he feels not regret but reliefe. Or maybe does he feel like he missed out. Was the grass greener on the other side?
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This is one of the most misread poems of the English language? Why? Because Frost was right! We can't handle the truth of life's matters and instead confabulate a reality. The speaker here didn't take the one less travelled by, for it says above that both roads were equally worn (on closer inspection). He just wants life to have been that purposeful and wants to pass that pseudoknowledge onto another generation--thus perpetuating the lie of a deliberate, power-weilding life. Brilliant poem, though, but this is not one for churchwives to plaster over calendars and magnets. Really a depressing poem.
Edited on May 15, 10:25 p.m. because ''. -
For me it's about making decisions and having great doubts if they were right. The whole poem describes a progress. The progress to become an adult. And at the end to find his/her own way. But at the end you not really know if the sigh is a regretful or a relieved sigh?
Edited on Apr 22 because ''. -
i absolutely love this poem... we had to memorize in our seventh grade year at our school.... i have always liked this! this is absolutely wonderful.... genius.... genius
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i LOVE this poem.it is so awesome
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I love this poem so much, my chorus teacher made it a song, and since then it has been my favorite poem. It is beautiful
Kate
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He travelled down the 'road less taken'.
I find a comfort and solitude in this piece, also a philosophical stance.
It rhymes quite nicely and speaks of a conundrum. I like when he said that he'd save the toher road for another day but knowing 'life' he'd never be back. Sort of solemn in that view.
A sad piece I find but as well peaceful and selected. A memory.
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Perhaps one of the best ever! My favourite
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To a certain degree we all regret the road we didn't take becasue of its mystery. It could have been the best thing we've done in our lives. Or it could have been the worst. Because of all the missed opportunities it seems tragic, but we only have one life, and we can only walk one road. And it makes all the difference.
~Anastasia -
I've read that Frost wrote this in exaggerated melancholy. He regrets the road he didn't take, though they were the same, and though it was only a walk through the woods. He's poking fun at a poet friend of his with a sort of ridiculous "sigh" who would regret the flowers he didn't see rather than enjoy the flowers he did. Frost was very witty and not very farmerish
Edited on Jun 10, 11:03 p.m. because ''. -
I remember when I was really little, my grandmother gave me a book of Robert Frost poetry. At the time, I didn't understand metaphors - I took everything in the book quite literally. Even then, I loved this poem, it meant something to me. And thats saying something, because I didn't appreciate most of that book much until later on. I now think Robert Frost is amazing because of his nature metaphors. This piece, when first read, can seem almost cheerful...but after you think about it, and understand this its actually quite haunting. I often wonder, before and after making decisions (or choosing paths), how will this affect me down the road? And will I ever be able to undo what I've done? The sad thing about this poem is that it states, and quite truthfully, "way leads on to way" and you can almost never go back. A personal favorite...but its a lot of people's favorite, isn't it? Rightfully so.
A/E/S -
great poem! has always been one of my favorites since i had to memorize it in the 6th grade. i still remember all of the words and i'm a junior in high school! awesome poet with an awesome poem.
~~Marlana -
This has always been my favorite poem, I even wrote a parody of this poem, where I go back in time and meet him. It was written for a "Who will it be" contest by leannewales.
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This poem touches my soul.
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amazing
This poem is absolutely amazing. I live my life by some of the hidden messages inside this poem. Hopefully we all can take roads that are less traveled by as comared to our social groups. -
Exceptional!
I chose Robert Frost because his poem provoke such a great amount of thought...therefore, I came across many poems that I didn't even realize he had written. In this poem I found that being able to choose was an adventure in itself. Being a leader and taking the rod less taken show a great amount of strength and courage, rather than being a follower and seeing things that have already been seen, walking in footsteps that have already imprinted their presence. Where as, taking the road less taken, allowed him experiences that were unknown, adventurous and possibly even discouraging. But, we dont ever know the outcome---this giuves the reader their own sense of what may or could have happened. Even lets the reader question themself....what would they/you/I do differently, if at all.
Always,^j^Honesty
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fantastic
I love this poem as well, but it's often misinterpreted. Usually the first impression is that this is about choosing the hardest way, the most challenging and prestigous, but most people ignore the sentence "Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same". Hmm interesting.. did he really mean that it was less taken? or less taken recently? -
don't touch it!
This is my Favorite poem ever. -
don't touch it!
Robert Frost is one of my favorite poets of all time and this is one of the reasons why. -
neutral
This poem is not suppost to be viewed as postive. Frost expresses his regret and dissapointment in taking the road he chose. This is why the poem is titled 'the road not taken' as opposed to the one taken, because Frost wishes he had made a different decision. -
don't touch it!
everyone has the ability to interperet poems as they see fit, but i believe that this poem is comforting and gentle, while still being straight and honest.
we all have a path to follow... how do we find it? -
don't touch it!
Masterpiece. Good example of himself, making a decision. This poem has deep meaning. ~CWM -
I think some of the best lines are
yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back -
i've always loved this one
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This is one of my favorite poems that shows how many view what they can do. Many will take the well-worn path, but few ultimately will take the other way, and it is unlikely that we'll be able to come back and take the other way.
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I have just found this great site, on reading your poem at first I didn't know where it was going, but then near the end the great lines came together and gave me insight into my life!!!
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absolutely brilliant. possibly one of the greatest and most beloved works of poetry of the last 3 centuries. i just wanted to read it again for old time's sake.
this should be read by everyone about once a week so they can understand that conformity and the easy road aren't always the best. bravo! -
I think that this poem is very good. I think it means that instead of following everyone else's lead in life. He chooses the path that only a select few go on. This poem is incredible what do you all think?
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A true depth into the human angst of decision!
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