1. Activity 1.3: Choices and Consequences– Paired Poetry
August 23, This is review for Writing—Just Read Through for the Poem Summaries
Activity 1.3: Choices and Consequences– Paired Poetry

2. Learning Targets
I can analyze choices and consequences presented in the text.
I can analyze and compare diction choices in two different texts on the same topic.

3. Denotation
The word’s exact, literal meaning.

4. Connotation
The suggested or implied meaning or emotion associated with the word. The meaning goes beyond the literal definition.

5. Diction
The author’s word choice.

6. Stanza Describes the division of lines into equal groups.
Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” is divided into 4 stanzas of 5 lines each.

7. Narra (root word) To tell or to make known
Examples: narrative or narrator
Remember: always ask—What does the narrator want to make known to his/her reader (me)?

8. About the Author
Robert Frost ( ) was one of America’s most popular twentieth-century poets. For much of his life, he lived on a farm in New Hampshire and wrote poems about farm life and the New England landscape. His apparently simple poems, however, have many layers of meaning.

9. 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;
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. 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.

10. Stanza 1 Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
The speaker is describing a fork in the road in the fall.
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
He wants to go down both roads at once, but he must choose.
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth
He is trying to see as far down the road as he can, to see if that will help him make his choice.
If this is a metaphor for life, he could be trying to look into his future as far as he can see

11. Stanza 2 Then took the other, as just as fair,
The speaker makes his choice. Each path is different but potentially equally good.
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
He is happy with his choice, but still second guesses himself. However, ultimately it was the “less traveled” road.
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
Then as the journey progresses, he realizes they’re actually worn about the same.

12. Stanza 3 And both that morning equally lay
We hear again that on that morning, each were equal.
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
The speaker is thinking about the other path again and wants to come back to it on another day.
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
However, he realizes he won’t because each road leads to another and eventually you’re far from where you started.

13. Stanza 4 I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
In years from now, he will be telling it with a “sigh” (happy, sad, or reflective). This decision will impact his future.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–
This line is repeated from the beginning– and it reminds us that the choice is important.
I took the one less traveled by,
He is summing up the story that he took the “less” traveled road
And that has made all the difference.
The difference could be positive or negative but will have lasting effects as he imagines telling this story in the future.

14. Explain how the poem’s meaning is developed through the progression of the four stanzas.
The speaker is given two choices, he makes the choice, reflects on his choice and its impact on his future.
The poem is developed throughout the progression of the stanzas by posing a choice. We are all free to choose, but we don’t know before hand what will occur and how it will impact our future.

15. About the Author
Nikki Giovanni is a popular poet and professor of English. Over the years, she has won numerous writing awards. Her writing often focuses on individuals and their choices to make a difference.

16. #2 it's not the same thing but it's the best i can do
CHOICES
By: Nikki Giovanni
#1 if i can't do what i want to do then my job is to not do what i don't want to do
#3 if i can't have what i want then my job is to want what i've got and be satisfied that at least there is something more to want
#2 it's not the same thing but it's the best i can do
#4 since i can't go where i need to go then i must go where the signs point through always understanding parallel movement isn't lateral
#5 when i can't express what i really feel i practice feeling what i can express and none of it is equal i know but that's why mankind alone among the animals learns to cry

17. Stanza 1
Since I can’t do what I want, I shouldn’t do what I don’t want.
Don’t settle for a job or something you are unhappy with because it’s the “best” you can do. Always strive for more and when you get there, be satisfied with what you have.

18. Stanza 2
If I can’t have what I want, I should be happy with what I’ve got.
Not everyone can have everything they want. We need to learn to be happy with what we have. Especially in today’s society. However, at the same time, we need to keep working towards goals not materials.

19. Stanza 3 If I can’t go where I want, I should go where life points me.
Staying where you’re at in life or happy with where you’re at, isn’t always taking a step backwards.
She reminds herself of this because she is upset she isn’t reaching her goals because she cannot freely choose (lateral)

20. Stanza 4
When I can’t express what I’m feeling, I should feel what I can express.
If she can’t express what she truly wants in life, she will learn to be happy with what she has.
She does her best with what she has, but it’s still disturbing to be unable to freely choose to express her importance in the world.

21. Key Idea and Details: Examine Giovanni’s diction
Key Idea and Details: Examine Giovanni’s diction. Notice the choice of the word job. What is the denotation of this word? Think about the connotation of word job. How does it add to a sense of Giovanni’s tone or attitude?
Denotation:
The word “job” means duty, task, or function that someone has and it requires great effort. What is your job right now?
Connotation:
“Job” rather than employment, occupation, and work carries with a sense of duty and responsibility.

22. The Road Not Taken
Examples of connotative diction and implied meaning/emotion:
Traveler– carries the sense of a journey
Fair– multiple meanings and connotation of being equal of appealing
Roads, way– sense of journey. Way carries connotative sense of life path
Sigh– attitude word, or regret or resignation

23. Choices Examples of connotative diction and implied meaning/emotion:
Want– carries a sense of desire and need or childish demand
Job– carries a sense of chore or duty
Cry– attitude of regret or resignation

24. Formal Paragraph Rules
Use the author’s first and last names and titles of his/her works.
No 1st person pronouns (I, we, me , etc.)
No 2nd person pronouns (you and yours)
No abbreviations (b/c = because)
No contractions (Ex.: can’t = cannot)
Formal tone

25. Paragraph prompt - Page 13
Think about the poems and your analysis of their speakers, word choices, and themes. Then write a paragraph in which you explain the two narrators’ reflections about choices.
Start your paragraph with a topic sentence
Include quotations of words and lines from the poems that support your ideas about choices