This poem by Robert Frost describes the dilemma a walker faces when the path he is treading diverges into "two roads." The two roads are, in fact, nearly identical.

The first one, as the speaker looks down it, takes a bend into the undergrowth of the forest, precluding him from seeing its end. The other was "just as fair." At first the speaker believes the second path is more attractive because it seems grassier, as if fewer people have walked upon it. Reconsidering, the speaker decides that, actually, they were about equally worn. Both of the roads were covered with leaves and relatively unsullied; they had not been "trodden black" by the feet of previous travelers. The speaker must choose one of the roads, and he doubts that he will have a chance to come back to this place and try the other one in the future. He makes his choice and selects the one "less traveled by," the second one, despite the fact that he previously concluded that both paths had been more or less equally used.

The poem, in one interpretation, is about indecision and making a mountain out of a molehill. The point was simply to take one path and move on, especially since there was no appreciable difference between the two ways. The final stanza can be taken sardonically; the fact that he chose one path over the other made "all the difference," but it is impossible to know what that difference was since the other path was "the road not taken."

The speaker in The Road Not Taken has reached a fork or crossroads in his life and, extending the metaphor, represents it as an actual road or path that forks in two directions. He is surrounded by yellow wood trees and can see the demarcated paths. To try and help him make his decision the speaker has looked along one of the paths "To where it bent in the undergrowth" whereupon he concludes to take the other, having "the better claim."

Whilst considering that one "was grassy and wanted wear," the speaker is immediately conflicted as, upon inspection both roads are in fact similar and " the passing there / Had worn them really about the same." Both roads, in fact, reveal that they are not "trodden black."

Realising his dilemma, the speaker accepts his decision to take the " one less traveled" and save the " first for another day!" He is not convinced thought that such a day shall ever come as, having made the decision, he knows that he will probably not have an opportunity to return. His choice does prey on his mind but he will have to find satifaction in his choice having "made all the difference."

How would you describe the two roads the traveler finds in "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost?

This deceptively simple poem, "The Road Not Taken," has been subject to many different interpretations. The poem is narrated by a traveler who is walking in the woods. He encounters a fork in the road, and, realizing he cannot go down both paths at once, must choose to walk down one of the two roads. He regrets not being able to experience both paths and stands there for a while trying to decide between them. Peering down the first path, he cannot tell where it leads. 

And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

The traveler decides to take the second path, a path he describes initially as just as attractive and possibly even better than the first because fewer people have used it.

Then took the other, as just as fair, 
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

The traveler then changes his initial statement, however, and admits the two paths are just about the same. 

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.

The traveler may have known the paths were the same initially, or perhaps he only sees this retrospectively. He takes the second path and regrets that he probably will never return to take the first path. 

Oh, I kept the first for another day! 
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

Here, Frost reflects on the continuity of our choices, and how they can lead us to places where we can no longer access the set of choices we once had.

The traveler in the poem projects a vision of himself telling this story long after it happened. He sees himself telling others he took the path fewer people used and that choice made a huge difference for him, even though the two roads were in reality effectively the same. 

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.

Some see these two roads as Frost's way of encouraging nonconformity and bold choices, but others see the metaphor of the two roads completely differently. From the opposing perspective, the traveler did not really choose the road "less traveled by," since both roads appeared equally traveled upon that day. He only presents his choice of the second road as picking the one "less traveled by" later on when he tells this story to others.

The poem does not tell us whether the traveler was happy with his choice of the second road, only that the choice was very significant. The traveler tells this story with a sigh, which seems to indicate he still has a measure of regret over some aspect of his choice between the two roads.

How would you describe the two roads the traveler finds in "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost?

The traveler meets the junction of two roads: one is well-worn, showing many people have taken this road, ostensibly because they believe it is the better one. The other is “wanting wear,” meaning it has not been the choice of most travelers. Both are covered with leaves, but the difference is obvious despite this. At the junction itself, both paths seem to be worn equally. It is only as the traveler looks further down the path that he can tell that there is a difference. His decision rests on which one he should take: the one many people have taken (presumably safely), or the one “less traveled by.” He decides to take the road less traveled. This makes all the difference, he states, presumably in a positive way. Being independent and a trailblazer leads to an unfamiliar avenue, but it can lead to great accomplishment and great reward.

What are the similarities between the poem "The Road Not Taken" and other works by Robert Frost?

Some of Robert Frost's most popular poems have certain aspects in common, and these similarities contribute to the poems' staying power. Let's look at three of Frost's most widely read poems: "The Road Not Taken," "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," and "After Apple Picking."

In all three of these poems, the setting places the reader in the midst of nature, and the poem's speaker describes this natural setting in detail. Each of these poems also functions as a metaphor; that is, the central idea or situation can be taken at face value, but is also symbolic of a larger or deeper truth. In "The Road Not Taken", the road in the title refers not only to a physical path in the woods, but also to the speaker's path in life. The speaker takes the "road less travelled by" and "that has made all the difference."

In "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," the journey through the woods can also be seen as the life journey or life path, and the line "but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep" refers to the many things yet to be accomplished before death.

"After Apple Picking," a slightly less well known poem, has a description of picking and gathering apples in orchard; but many analysts have discussed the symbolic meaning of this poem, and it is widely believed that apple picking is a metaphor for the activity of writing poetry, and is a meditation on Frost's own thoughts about his career, which was still in the somewhat early stages when he wrote this poem.

All three of these poems use a natural setting and activities and situations found in nature to explore larger truths about life, death and work. It is clear that Robert Frost approaches poetry as a way to explore these larger ideas.

In Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken," in what ways did the two roads differ and in what ways were they similar?

In "The Road Not Taken", the narrator is walking in the forest in late fall and comes to a fork in the road. 

Both of the two branches of the road appear superficially similar. There are no signposts to distinguish them. They are both dirt roads covered with recently fallen leaves leading through the woods, and both are infrequently traveled. Both roads are surrounded by thick undergrowth and have not been traveled that day, as the leaves are unbroken and still yellow, rather than bruised and blackened by feet or hooves.

The main difference between the two roads is that one of the two seems slightly overgrown with grass, a sign that it generally was less used, although the distinction is fairly slight, as Frost indicates in the lines:

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same

In Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken," in what ways did the two roads differ and in what ways were they similar?

The narrator explains that he wanted to take both paths, but time would not allow him to do this. Both paths were equally worn-

Had worn them really about the same,

The paths also appeared similar in that they had an equal covering of leaf-litter-

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black

The differences between the paths were, therefore, slight. However, the narrator took the path which appeared to have been less used: perhaps in a bid to experience events that fewer people who took the other path did-

having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,

The poet's final choice affects the rest of his life though, as a reader, we are not sure whether he regards the decision as a positive or negative one-

I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

How are the two things being compared in "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost alike?

The two roads described by the speaker have some similarities and a few differences. He says that the second road is "just as fair" as the first, meaning that both are equally attractive in terms of appearance. However, he also says that "the passing there / Had worn them really about the same." In other words, the numbers of people who have taken each road are approximately the same; again, about the same number of people have traveled each one. One is not more or less worn than the other: one is simply grassier than the other. Neither road is less traveled, as he plans to claim later. Further, the speaker claims that both roads "equally lay / In leaves no step had trodden black." Thus, no one seems to have traveled either road today, as both are covered in fresh, unmuddied leaves rather than muddy, walked-on leaves.

How are the two things being compared in "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost alike?

The two things being compared in "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost are the two roads that diverge in the wood. The narrator is walking along a path and comes to a place where the roads forks, at a Y-intersection, into the two roads which "diverge." 

The narrator describes the roads as "about the same." As the poem is set in autumn, both roads are covered with freshly fallen leaves. No one has walked on either road recently, since the leaves have not been "trodden black", something that would have been the case had someone walked on them after they had fallen. 

When comparing the second to the first road, the narrator describes it as "just as fair", indicating that both roads seem to have equally appealing scenery. Although the road the narrator chooses is grassier, meaning that fewer people have traveled it and a certain amount of grass has sprung up in the dirt or gravel of the road, the poem emphasizes that the roads are otherwise almost identical in appearance.