“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”

— Robert Frost

Source: Poem "The Road Not Taken"
Context: 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 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.

Last update Nov. 13, 2023. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." by Robert Frost?

Robert Frost 265

American poet 1874–1963

Related quotes

“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 The Road Not Taken

1910s
Source: "The Road Not Taken", st. 4 (1916)

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the road less traveled by and they CANCELLED MY FRIKKIN' SHOW.”

Joss Whedon (1964) American director, writer, and producer for television and film

Bronze Beta web message board, (14 February 2004) http://www.cise.ufl.edu/~hsiao/media/tv/buffy/bronze/20040214.html;after Whedon's discovery that The WB had cancelled Angel. Compare: "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— / I took the one less traveled by, / And that has made all the difference." Robert Frost, "The Road Not Taken" (1916).
Context: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the road less traveled by and they CANCELLED MY FRIKKIN' SHOW. I totally shoulda took the road that had all those people on it. Damn.

“Two roads diverged in a wood, I took the one less travelled
I'm patient so that's one less hassle
If I dream it, I can live it
I've seen the light with vivid imagery
I need to write with fits of energy
But it's hard tryin' to get where I'm goin'
Without a hint or an omen
It's too late to turn around
Perseverance, gotta learn it now
But I'm stubborn how
Am I supposed to survive this rollercoaster hurtlin' to the ground?”

Danny! (1983) American rapper

"F.O.O.D."
Albums, F.O.O.D. (2005)

“It is my job in life to travel all roads, so that some may take the road less travelled, and others the road more travelled, and all have a pleasant day.”

Larry Wall (1954) American computer programmer and author, creator of Perl

[199709241628.JAA08908@wall.org, 1997]
Usenet postings, 1997

“Sometimes the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason.”

Jerry Seinfeld (1954) American comedian and actor

I'm Telling You for the Last Time (1998)

“We stand now where two roads diverge. But unlike the roads in Robert Frost's familiar poem, they are not equally fair.”

Rachel Carson book Silent Spring

Source: Silent Spring (1962), p. 277
Context: We stand now where two roads diverge. But unlike the roads in Robert Frost's familiar poem, they are not equally fair. The road we have long been traveling is deceptively easy, a smooth superhighway on which we progress with great speed, but at its end lies disaster. The other fork of the road — the one less traveled by — offers our last, our only chance to reach a destination that assures the preservation of the earth.

“I have wandered all my life, and I have also traveled; the difference between the two being this, that we wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.”

Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953) writer

As quoted in Lifetime Speaker's Encyclopedia (1962) edited by Jacob Morton Braude, p. 829
As quoted in Traveling for Her: An Inspirational Guide (2008) by Amber Israelsen, p. 2
Variant: I have wandered all my life, and I have traveled; the difference between the two is this — we wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.