1. The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

3. The Road Not Taken By Robert Frost
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;
And both that morning equally lay In 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.
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,
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. Analysis and Literary Terms
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 poem
Theme – the central philosophical idea of a story or poem. We can usually find the theme by asking ourselves – what is the poem / story about?

5. Is the speaker really standing in a forest thinking which way to go?
What does the road symbolize ?
The road = Life
Symbolism - the use of a concrete image (symbol) to represent an abstract idea.

6. 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 was something else (example: life is not a bed of roses)

7. How does the speaker solve his dilemma?
He compares the two roads
He weighs the pros and cons
He tries to foresee the future
Which road does he choose?
the less traveled by
The more adventurous / the less conventional ??

8. 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” ?

9. Robert Frost
Robert 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 Frost’s poems accessible, leading readers to understand the deeper truths behind seemingly simple ideas