“The Road Not Taken”
1-) Paraphrase the poem.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
A traveler was walking along a path when suddenly
And sorry I could not travel both
he came to a fork in the road. Knowing that he
And be one traveler, long I stood
couldn’t travel down both, he looked long down one
And looked down one as far as I could
to see where it went.
To where it bent in the undergrowth.
Then took the other, as just as fair,
He decided to take the other one because they both
And having perhaps the better claim,
seemed just as fair.
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
He tells himself he would save the road for another
In leaves no step had trodden black.
day, but then he realizes that one choice leads to
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
others, so each choice is final.
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
He says that as he reflects on the choice he made, he
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
will realize someday that that choice will have made
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
all the difference.
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
2-) Summary of the poem:
When the speaker encounters a forked path in the woods, he is undecided about each road to take, for both seem
just as fair. After long consideration, the speaker chooses the road less traveled. Reflecting on his decision, the
speaker realizes that, someday, this choice will have made all the difference.
3-) Identify examples of literary elements. Be sure to label each element and describe/explain it.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
SYMBOL: decisions
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
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.
IRONY: (see question #10
below)
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
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.
4-) Who is the speaker? a person who made a choice in life
5-) What is the tone? regretful or hopeful; positive
6-) What is the theme? Seize the day. We are free to make our own decisions in life, but we can’t know
beforehand how things will turn out.
7-) Does the poem rhyme? If so, what’s the rhyme scheme? yes; a-b-a-a-b
8-) Does the poem have rhythm? yes
9-) How does the speaker contradict himself in lines 8-12? In Line 8, the speaker says the road is not traveled,
but in lines 9-10, he says people have passed there. In lines 11-12, the speaker says the paths are equally
trodden, but later he says the path taken was “less traveled by.”
10-) Why is line 13 an example of irony? The speaker ironically contrasts youthful expectations with mature
knowledge.
11-) What does line 12 reveal about the two paths? The two paths are equally worn; neither is less traveled.
12-) Why does the speaker say he will be “telling this with a sigh” in the future? Somewhere in the future, he
will second-guess himself or at least wonder about what would have been.
13-) Why do you think Frost titled this poem “The Road Not Taken” instead of “The Road Taken”? Perhaps the
speaker remains curious about how things would have turned out had he made a different choice; perhaps he
regrets his choice.
14-) Why do you think the roads in the poem are in the woods? Think about what the woods often symbolizes.
The woods are a place with lots of trees that keep a person from seeing ahead. They represent the unknown.
15-) What do you think the speaker means when he says that he “kept” the first road for another day? How do
we know that he realizes his choice of paths is final? The speaker is telling himself he can return to the same
choice and take the other route the next time. But later he realizes that one choice leads to others, so each
decision is final.
16-) Why do you think the speaker’s choice “has made all the difference”? The choice has had a lasting effect;
it has influenced other choices along the way, which can be positive or negative.
17-) Create a graffiti wall that best captures what this poem means to your group.