His Friendship With Edward Thomas Inspired Him To Write “The Road Not Taken.”

Robert Frost wrote the narrative poem “The Road Not Taken” which was eventually included as the opening poem in the 1916 collection Mountain Interval. It was first published in The Atlantic Monthly's August 1915 issue. Although its interpretation is recognized for being complicated and potentially varied, its core topic is the divergence of pathways, both literally and metaphorically.

Frost lived in England from 1912 to 1915, when he became friends with author Edward Thomas. Frost and Thomas grew close and went on numerous walks together. They came across two roads one day while walking together. Thomas struggled to make a decision about which route to pursue, and frequently regretted it in the future. Frost sent Thomas an advance copy of “The Road Not Taken” after he returned to New Hampshire in 1915. Thomas read and pondered the verse intently. Some academics assert that Thomas' decision to enlist in the First World War was motivated by “The Road Not Taken”. In the end, he lost his life in the Battle of Arras.