Symbolisms, imagery and themes in The Road Not Taken The Road Not Taken is told by one person - there is no designation regarding gender, position in the life or age. This person has come to a crossroads in his life and has two options to choose from. The location in this poem is a fork in a path in a forest, and the time is not specified although it could happen today, so it would be considered a contemporary piece. The premise of the poem is that the subject faces and then makes a decision about life. Symbolism and imagery are used effectively to reinforce the theme throughout the poem. An example of symbolism in the first stanza is "And I looked at one as far as I could / To the point where it bent to the center and... to the center of the paper" ......; It is an ideal held by most people that the satisfied and successful people of the world are not afraid to take a harder path and march to a different drummer. This is exactly what the character in this poem did by not choosing the common path in life, and in the last years of his life, he had the satisfaction of knowing that the choices he made were the right ones.