The first line, “two roads diverged into a yellow wood,” starts off the poem explaining 2 choices available to the author in life, using the extended metaphors of “roads” and “wood.” As well, the word “yellow” is symbolism for the uncertainty Frost has in making his choice. One has to make a choice based on the little bit one sees. While looking into a wood, it is impossible to see all the different trees, the same way it is impossible to anticipate the different opportunities available in life.

Woods are obstructed and contain many different trees, which symbolize obstacles. While it is a metaphor for life, it also represents the difficulty in foreseeing the obstacles that one has to overcome in a lifetime. This is a beautiful metaphor because wood has a double meaning. There are many different choices in life, the same way there are many different paths in a wood. As well, the wood is a metaphor for life. Each choice leads one on to different obstacles and outcomes, the same way a road does. What choice one makes affects his or her life. The author is comparing choices that must be made in life to roads in a wood. Throughout the poem, Frost describes a wood and 2 roads, which are the extended metaphors. This poem, The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost is magnificently written, including numerous metaphors, which all center around an extended metaphor.

Metaphors in the road not taken