Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, / And sorry I could not travel both / And be one traveler, long I stood" (1-3).
-- Speaker (1-3)

Importance: These lines introduce "The Road Not Taken," and are significant because they establish the setting (the woods), the speaker (the unnamed "I"), and the central theme of the poem (choice). It is important to note that this opening allows the poem to privilege the image of choice (two roads from which to choose) over the agency of the person making it. This privileging of imagery over psychology continues throughout the poem and is especially apparent in the second stanza.

...long I stood / And looked down one as far as I could / To where it bent in the undergrowth" (3-5).
-- Speaker (3-5)

Importance: These lines, which close the first stanza, help establish the speaker as contemplative and attempting to apply reason to his choice of which road to take. Studying one of...