The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

Definition Writing in language chosen and arranged to create a particular emotional response through meaning, sound and rhythm.

Poetry can communicate before it is understood (T.S. Eliot)Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words (Frost)

Poetry

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost The Road Not Taken By Robert Frost Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo 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 thereHad worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally layIn leaves no step had trodden black.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 sighSomewhere 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.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth;

The two roads represent a choice in life this is a metaphor as the paths should not be seen literally diverged means split or dividedhe regrets not being able to make both choices - as one traveller we cannot do thisrepresents the thought process needed to make the choice.

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 thereHad worn them really about the same,

He sees both choices as having equal merit the narrator chooses the path that was grassier, hence less people had walked it in the past. Keep remembering this is all a metaphor for the choices one has to make in lifeafter thinking about it he declares them worn about the same he contradicts himself showing us the difficulty of the decision and his hesitancy

And both that morning equally layIn leaves no step had trodden black.Oh, I kept the first for another day!Yet knowing how way leads on to way,I doubted if I should ever come back.looking back, he realizes that no one had chosen either path that day both were covered with leaves no step had trodden black

exclamation of regret emphasizes the importance of the choiceby making a choice, your life changes and you are never able to make things exactly as they were in the past. A bit like the butterfly effect.

Even at the time of making the choice, he doubted if [he] should ever come back this gives a real sense of stepping into the unknown

I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and II took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.

he looks to the future he cannot be certain that his choice was the right onerepetition of opening poem is circular. This is Frost telling the same story again in the futurethe difference - you can interpret this as you wish but it is important that you do think about its meaning. Frost himself says this final line does not mean he made the right choice, rather that he had to make the choice and it changed everythingMatch each word from the poem to its meaning:

1. divergea. far from here and now2. doubtb. a long deep breath3. hencec. split in different directions4. sighd. not be certain about

Lots Where is the traveler as he starts telling his storyWhat prevents the traveler from seeing farther down the road?What regret does he express in the first stanza of the poem?Which road does the traveler choose?What similarities between the roads does the traveler point out?What is said about the two roads on that fall morning?What decision did the traveler make in the woods as the two roads equally lay before him?What does the traveler realize as he takes one of the roads?Does he think his decision will have any impact on his life? Two roads diverged in a yellow woodIn leaves no step had trodden black

What do these two lines tell us about the season in which the journey takes place? In your opinion, is it important what season it is?What is the poem about ? The poem is about a dilemma, the need to come to a decision / solve a problem This is the theme of the poemTheme the central philosophical idea of a story or poem. We can usually find the theme by asking ourselves what is the poem / story about?

Analysis and Literary Terms

What is the main dilemma in the poem? The speaker is at a fork in the road he has to choose which way to go.The fork in the road is a metaphor for a point in life when you need to make a choice. A metaphor is a type of comparison in which one thing is described as if it were something else. For example: Life is a dream

Is the speaker really standing in a forest thinking which way to go?What does the road symbolize ? The road = Life

Symbolism is the use of a concrete image (symbol) to present an abstract idea. For example: sunshine may symbolize happiness

MetaphorIt symbolizestwo roads diverged in the woods (line 1)yellow wood (line 1)to where it bent in the undergrowth (line 5)then took the other, as just as fair (line 6)it was grassyFill in the table using the word bank:

a sudden decision, future, unconventional (less used), fall, choiceEvery choice you make has a cost because choosing to do one thing means giving up the opportunity to do something else. Faced with the same options , different people make different choices because each person has his / her own way of making decisions based on different values and beliefs. When faced with the need to make a decision we try to think about the cost and guess the outcome.

Choice & Cost https://lollipopsandlavender.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/691090_13296247_b.jpg

Comparing and contrasting Different perspectives Cause and effect Patterns InferringSolvingproblems

HotsHOTS: Problem SolvingProblem / DilemmaOption 1Option 2Solution

How does the speaker solve his dilemma?He compares the two roadsHe weighs the pros and consHe tries to foresee the future Which road does he choose?the less traveled byThe more adventurous / the less conventional ??

Michal Preisler Problem solving is a thinking skill the involves:Identifying the problemConsidering the optionsWeighing the pros and cons of each optionReaching a decisionHOTS Problem Solving

What kind of a person do you think the speaker is?

How do you think the speaker feels about his choice ? Last stanza takes place in the future Sigh of relief ? Sigh of regret ? The what if ??

Why is the poem called The Road NOT Taken and not The Road Taken ?

HOTS: Inferring

Different perspectivesRobert Frost 1874-1963Robert Frost was born in San Francisco, California but spent most of his life in New England, a rural area in the north east of the United States. The area is characterized by hills, woods, farms and small towns. Frost himself worked for many years as a farmer, in addition to teaching English and writing poems. His poems reflect the sights and sounds of where he lived, the fields, farms and woods and scenes of everyday life. All those elements make Frosts poems accessible, leading readers to understand the deeper truths behind seemingly simple ideas

Robert Frost is often called a New England poet. How is this reflected in the poem The Road Not Taken?Post Reading

Which road would you have chosen? Why? How do you feel when you are faced with choices in life? Do you find the prospect of different options exciting or confusing?

Choose one of these two assignments and write 120-140 words.

Write a letter to your child or grandchild about the choice you made (the road you chose) and why you made that choice.

Write a description of any choice you have made and your motives for making that choice.Test questionsIn the first stanza of the poem (lines 1-5), what is the travelers dilemma?

In what ways are the roads in stanzas 1 and 2 (lines 1 10) similar? Give TWO ways

The speaker of the poem says, Yet knowing how way leads on to way, / I doubted if I should ever come back.Give the literal and symbolic meaning of these lines.

Why does the speaker say he will be telling this with a sigh / Somewhere ages and ages hence? Thinking skill I chose

Explain why you chose this skill

In the first stanza of the poem (lines 1-5), what is the travelers dilemma? He doesnt know which road to take (at a crossroad) because the two roads are so similar he finds it difficult to decide which one to take. (5 points) In what ways are the roads in stanzas 1 and 2 (lines 1 10) similar? Give TWO ways. The student can either copy from the poem or answer in his own words. (1) The roads looked the same. (2) No step had trodden black. (3) Nobody had walked on either of the roads. OR(4) Both roads were beautiful. (5 points) The speaker of the poem says, Yet knowing how way leads on to way, / I doubted if I should ever come back.Give the literal and symbolic meaning of these lines. Literal meaning: Once you have taken one road, it leads to other roads. You are unlikely to go back to where you originally started. Symbolic meaning: Decisions you make in life lead to other decisions. You cant go backwards. (10 points) Why does the speaker say he will be telling this with a sigh / Somewhere ages and ages hence? Thinking skill I chose: (See Appendix One for the list of Thinking Skills) Uncovering Motives Answer: The speaker will be telling this with a sigh / Somewhere ages and ages hence because he may be sorry about his decision/choice in the future. He will never know what would have happened if he had made a different decision. (10 points)Explain why you chose this skill to answer question d. I used Uncovering Motives to answer this question because it helped me work out why the speaker says he will sigh.

(5 points)Another option: Thinking skill I chose: (See Appendix One for the list of Thinking Skills) Different Perspectives Answer: He says he will be telling about his decision with a sigh one day, when he is old. The sigh might be one of regret about his choice or it might be that looking back he will be satisfied with the choice he has made and his accomplishments. (10 points) d. Explain why you chose this skill to answer question d. Having different perspectives lets me understand the sigh in two different ways. (5 points)