Frost is not simply that rare bird, a popular poet; he is one of the best-known personages of the past hundred years in any cultural arena. In all of American history, the only writers who can match or surpass him are Mark Twain and Edgar Allan Poe, and the only poet in the history of English-language verse who commands more attention is William Shakespeare.
Everyone loves Frost, and according to David Orr, almost everyone misreads “The Road Not Taken.” I think he’s right. I know I’ve misread it.
I have a vague memory of asking this very question of an English teacher in college — “If the travelers had worn both paths about the same, how can one be less traveled?” The teacher didn’t seem much interested in the issue.
I remember noticing the wearing of both paths, but I didn’t give it enough weight at the end to reexamine that part.