TP-CASTT
The Road Not Taken
Journal


What is the hardest choice you’ve had to make so
far and why? How did you finally make the choice?
Write 8 lines.
T-(Title)
“The Road Not Taken”
 Options that weren’t chosen
 Missed opportunities
 Regret
P—Paraphrase (Stanza #1)
ORIGINAL TEXT (
ONLY WRITE THIS PART
Two roads diverged in a
yellow wood,
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;
There’s two roads that
split (‘diverged’)
midforest in fall. The
speaker is only one
person so he can’t go
down both. He takes his
time (“long I stood”) and
looks down one road but
the road is curved and his
view is blocked by bushes
(“undergrowth).
P—Paraphrase (Stanza #2)
ORIGINAL TEXT
ONLY WRITE THIS PART
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,
He takes the other road,
thinking it’s better land
(“claim”) since it’s grassy
and didn’t have (“wanted”)
signs of use (“wear”). But
he notices that there is a
bald (“worn”) patch where
the two roads meet
because other people
have also gone back and
forth (“passing”) looking at
both roads.
P—Paraphrase (Stanza #3)
ORIGINAL TEXT
ONLY WRITE THIS PART
And both that morning
equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden
black.
Oh, I marked the first for
another day!
Yet knowing how way leads
on to way
I doubted if I should ever
come back.
Both roads were covered
with freshly fallen leaves
that no one had stepped
on (“trodden”) yet. He
made a mental note
(“marked”) to use the other
road one day, but he
knows he probably won’t
go back since a road
becomes complicated and
opens up even more roads
(“way leads on to way”).
P—Paraphrase (Stanza #4)
ORIGINAL TEXT
ONLY WRITE THIS PART
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.
He predicts he will be
saying the following
when he is older: There
were two roads split in
the forest and I took the
one people hardly used.
That made a big
difference in my life.
C-Connotation (Vocab Terms)

The poem is an Extended Metaphor (everything represents
something else)
In the Poem
Represent(s)….
The two roads
A choice to be made
Autumn/Fall Season
“Road Less Traveled”
A time of maturity
(time to make choices)
A “different” way of life
The “other road”
A “normal” way of life
The “undergrowth” that
blocks his view
The inability to see
the future
C-Connotation

Rhyme Scheme (Rhyme Pattern)
(Letter)
 Two
roads diverged in a yellow wood,
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;
A
B
A
A
B
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,
C
D
C
C
D

C-Connotation


And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.
E
F
E
E
F
I shall be telling this with a sigh
G
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
H
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
G
I took the one less traveled by,
G
And that has made all the difference.
H
**Back and forth rhyme reflects the speaker’s indecision
A- Attitude (tone)

Tone #1: Uncertain
 “Doubted,”
 Suggest
“Sigh,” and “Sorry”
he is not sure
 He
can’t see all the way down one road
 He describes the roads “as just as fair” and both have
“equally” been covered with leaves
 He

sort of thinks they BOTH look the same and can’t decide
Tone #2: Proud
 “And
I/ I took the one less traveled by”
 Repetition
of “I” shows he’s not shy about his choice
S-Shifts

In the last three lines, the speaker sounds more sure
of himself:
 “I,
/ I took the one less traveled by, /
And that has made all the difference.”
T-Theme

Even if you aren’t 100% sure, you still need to make
choices.
 The

roads almost look the same
Choices require commitment; you can’t go back and
forth.
 “way

leads on to way”
Don’t be afraid to do things differently; it is worth it
in the end.
 “Made
all the difference”
T-Title (Again)

What do you think the title means now?

What’s the poem NOT named after?
Short Answer Reponse


Do you think the speaker regrets his choice, or is
happy about it? Explain using evidence from the
poem.
Use “ABC” format
 Answer
the question
 Bring in quotes/evidence.
 Comment on your evidence/Explain it


Box out ten lines on your paper and don’t go
outside of the box.
Turn in at the end of class.