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Vision: A premiere S&T University for the formation of world-class
and virtuous human resource for sustainable development in Bohol
and the country.
Mission: BISU is committed to provide quality higher education in the

AND
arts and sciences, as well as in the professional and technological
fields; undertake research and development, and extension services
for the sustainable development of Bohol and the country

ADOLECENT
LITERATURE
Compilation of Notes and Activities

Saturday, May 13, 2021

PREPARED FOR:

SHIELA MARIE RANQUECollege of Teacher

Education
ANGELO R. ORIBIA
Grade and Section: BSED English II
Phone: 09210399197
E-mail:

Vision: A premiere S&T University for the formation of world-class and virtuous
human resource for sustainable development in Bohol and the country.
Mission: BISU is committed to provide quality higher education in the arts and
sciences, as well as in the professional and technological fields; undertake research
Page |1
and development, and extension services for the sustainable development of Bohol
and the country
 The Road Not Taken The Daffodils
Robert Frost
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
And sorry I could not travel both
A host, of golden daffodils;
And be one traveller, long I stood
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
And looked down one as far as I could
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Continuous as the stars that shine

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
And having perhaps the better claim,
They stretched in never-ending line
Because it was grassy and wanted
Along the margin of a bay:
wear;
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Though as for that the passing there
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
Had worn them really about the same,
The waves beside them danced; but
they
And both that morning equally lay
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
In leaves no step had trodden black.
A poet could not but be gay
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
In such a jocund company:
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
I doubted if I should ever come back.
What wealth the show to me had
brought:
I shall be telling this with a sigh
For oft, when on my couch I lie
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
In vacant or in pensive mood,
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
They flash upon that inward eye
I took the one less travelled by,
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And that has made all the difference.
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

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 The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
Robert Frost’s ‘The Road Not Taken’ is about the choices and opportunities in life. The poem
highlights the sensation of regret that accompanies all the roads that a person doesn’t take.

‘The Road Not Taken’ by Robert Frost is quite a popular poem; unfortunately, however, its
popularity comes mainly from the simple act of misreading. With this poem, Frost has given the

world a piece of writing that every individual can relate to, especially when it comes to the
concept of choices and opportunities in life.

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud by William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth’s literary classic, ‘Daffodils,’ also known as ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,’

is one of the most popular poems in the English language. It is a quintessential poem of the
Romantic Movement.

Meaning (The Road Not Taken)

Robert Frost’s poetic masterpiece is arguably the most infamously misunderstood poem as of
yet. Marrying elements of form and content, arresting artistic phraseology and metaphors, the

poem is mostly read without being understood. The archetypal conundrum is the primary

attraction of the poem, readers instantly relate to their personal experiences. Forks and woods

are used as metaphorical devices relating to decisions and crises. Similar forks are representative
of everlasting struggle against fate and free will. Since humans are free to select as per their will,

their fate is unknown to them.

Meaning (The Daffodils)

Though the poem’s title gives a hint to a cloud, this poem is not about it. Rather it is about a

group of golden daffodils which were dancing beside the lake and beneath the trees.
Wordsworth’s poetic persona, at some point, visited that spot and he is describing how he felt

having the sight of those beautiful flowers. The poet metaphorically compares him to a cloud for
describing his thoughtless mental state on that day. Like a cloud, he was wandering in the valley

aimlessly. The sudden spark that the daffodils gave to his creative spirit, is expressed in this
poem.

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 Themes (The Road Not Taken)
The thematic idea of ‘The Road Not Taken’ intrinsically lies in “carpe diem”, judging by its

nuance. In conventional carpe diem poems, readers can find that the speaker is urging one to
seize the moment and live in the present. The main theme of this piece is choice and

uncertainty. In this poem, the poet presents a person who is not sure about what to do. He
thinks about the future so he cannot make a decision based on the present scenario. This piece

also taps on several other themes such as choice, uncertainty, indecision, fate, and over-thinking.

Themes (The Daffodils)

Throughout ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’  Wordsworth engages with themes of nature,
memory, and spirituality. These three are tied together as the speaker, Wordsworth himself,

moves through a beautiful landscape. He takes pleasure in the sight of the daffodils and revives
his spirit in nature. At the same time, Wordsworth explores the theme of memory, as he does in

other works such as ‘Tintern Abbey’.  The flowers are there to comfort him in real-time but also
as a memory from the past.

Speaker and Viewer Perspective (The Road Not Taken)

‘The Road Not Taken’ by Robert Frost describes how the speaker struggles to choose among

two roads diverging in the yellowish woods on an autumn morning.

In the poem, the individual arrives at a critical juncture in his life, arriving at crossroads at last

near “a yellow wood.” As per him, the paths are equally well-traversed and yield anonymous
outcomes. The individual comforts with a thought about returning, be if his path is unsuitable

for him, yet in hindsight, he’s aware of the futility of such thought. Since his current path will
bring upon separate paths in itself, disallowing any consequent reversal. The individual

concludes on a melancholic note of how different circumstances and outcomes would have
been, had it been the “other” path.

Speaker and Viewer Perspective (The Daffodils)

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 ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud ‘by William Wordsworth describes how a host of golden
daffodils, dancing in the breeze of the Lake District mesmerized his heart.

The speaker, likely William Wordsworth himself, is walking aimlessly down the hills and valley
when he stumbled upon a beautiful field of daffodils. The speaker is transfixed by the daffodils

seemingly waving, fluttering, and dancing along the waterside. Albeit, the lake’s waves moved as
fervently but the beauty of daffodils outdid with flying colors. The poet feels immensely gleeful

and chirpy at this mesmerizing naturalistic sight. Amongst the company of flowers, he remains
transfixed at those daffodils wavering with full vigor. Oblivious to the poet is the fact that this

wondrous scenery of daffodils brings the poet immense blithe and joy when he’s in a tense
mood or perplexed for that matter. His heart breaths a new life and gives him exponential

happiness at a sight worth a thousand words.

Structure and Form (The Road Not Taken)

Robert Frost has used an interesting style in ‘The Road Not Taken’. He works within the form, but

at times, the form works within his style. Using variation and his brand of words, Robert Frost’s
poems followed a unique composition. At times, he created forms to suit his poetry. This poem

follows a set rhyme scheme. In each quintain, the rhyming convention employed is ABAAB. It

means that there are two sets of rhymes. The sound with which the first line ends occurs again in

the third and fourth lines. While the second and last lines rhyme together.
He has a general tendency to work within and without boundaries, carving memorable,

identifiable, and idiosyncratic poetry. In his early years, he perfected the art of “sound of sense”,
bringing raw sensory perception to a human mind. The sound of words forms imagery due to

the form of words and sound of sense.

Robert Frost has penned the poem in the first-person point of view. So, it’s a lyric poem. It

comprises five verses encapsulated in four stanzas. So, there are a total of 20 lines in the text.
Let’s have a look at the rhyme scheme and meter of this piece.

Structure and Form (The Daffodils)

The poem  is composed of four stanzas of six lines each. It is an adherent to the quatrain-

couplet rhyme scheme, A-B-A-B-C-C. Every line conforms to iambic tetrameter. The

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 poem ‘Daffodils’ works within the a-b-a-b-c-c rhyme scheme as it uses consistent rhyming to
invoke nature at each stanza’s end. Moreover, it helps in creating imagery skilfully as the poet

originally intended. The poem flows akin to a planned song in a rhythmic

structure. Consonance and alliteration are used to create rhymes.

This poem is written from the first-person point of view. Therefore it is an ideal example of a
lyric poem. The poetic persona is none other than Wordsworth himself. This piece contains a

regular meter. There are a total of eight syllables per line and the stress falls on the second
syllable of each foot. There are four iambs in each line, thus the poem is in iambic tetrameter.

Figurative Language and Poetic Devices (The Road Not Taken)

Frost uses several literary devices in ‘The Road Not Taken’. To begin with, he uses anaphora in

the second, third, and fourth lines of the first stanza. Another important device of this piece
is enjambment. It can be seen in the third and fourth lines. Using this device, he maintains the

flow in between the lines as well as connects them internally.

Readers can find the use of metonymy in the phrase, “a yellow wood”. It refers to the season,

autumn, and its effect on nature. There is a symbol in the usage of the word, “undergrowth”. It
stands for the undiscovered regions of the future. In the second stanza, readers can find the use

of irony in this line, “And having perhaps the better claim.” This device is explained further
below. Apart from that, Frost uses alliteration in the phrase, “wanted wear”. The third stanza

presents an inversion or hyperbaton in this line, “In leaves no step had trodden black.” The line
also contains a synecdoche. In the following line, readers can find a rhetorical exclamation.  In

the last stanza, the poet uses repetition for emphasizing a particular idea. For example, the
phrase, “ages and ages” emphasizes the continuity of life’s journey. While the repetition of the

word, “I” in the end and beginning of the third and fourth lines are meant for the sake of
highlighting the speaker’s hesitation. Such repetition is also known as anadiplosis. Lastly, the

poem ends with a paradox.

Figurative Language and Poetic Devices (The Daffodils)

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 Wordsworth makes use of several literary devices in ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’.  These
include but are not limited to similes, hyperboles, personification, and allusion. Similes are also

used since the poet alludes himself to an aimless cloud, as he takes a casual stroll. Moreover,
daffodils are compared to star clusters in Milky Way to explicate the magnitude of daffodils

fluttering freely beside the lake. At times, hyperbole is used to explicate the immensity of the
situation. The allusion of daffodils to stars spread across the Milky Way is one such instance.

Furthermore, the daffodils are even made anthropomorphous in order to create a human

portrayal of Mother Nature in this instance.

Moreover, the poet has also used reverse personifications, equating humans to clouds, and
daffodils to humans with constant movement. Using this clever tactic, the poet brings people

closer to nature, becoming a hallmark of William Wordsworth’s most basic yet effective methods
for relating readers with nature, appreciating its pristine glory. Daffodils celebrate the beauty of

nature and its purity, along with the bliss of solitude. He deems his solitude as an asset and
inspires him to live a meaningful life.

Wordsworth makes use of imagery figuratively to display his feelings and emotions after
encountering the daffodils. Firstly, the image of the cloud describes the poet’s mental state, and

the images that appear thereafter vividly portray the flowers. These images, in most cases, are
visual and some have auditory effects (For example, “Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.”)

associated with them.

Symbolism (The Road Not Taken)

The infamous poem is rich with simplistic literal symbolism. Frost sets up a fictional stage for an
individual upon which he sets the direction of his life with irreparable consequences. It’s a

metaphor for people juggling with lifelong decisions. Seemingly an obvious poem, ‘The Road
Not Taken’ has been subjective, catering to multiple interpretations. According to Robert Frost

himself:
You have to be careful of that one; it’s a tricky poem—very tricky.
In this piece, readers have to be aware of the use of symbols. The first dilemma that comes
across while reading the text is about the actual symbolic significance of the two roads. These

roads do not refer to two different paths. Rather Frost points at two superficially identical roads

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 symbolizing the choices a person has to make. He can only choose any one of them as it is
literally impossible to be “one traveler” on both roads. Besides, readers can find another symbol

in “a yellow wood”. It refers to the idea of change.

Symbolism (The Daffodils)

The poem begins with a symbolic reference to the cloud. It is wandering aimlessly and lonely.

The poetic persona is the embodiment of such a cloud. Hence, it symbolizes being lonely and
thoughtless. This state is achieved when one is free from mundane thoughts. The most

important symbol of this piece is the daffodils. The narcissistic description of the flower seems
to be alluding to the Greek myth. Apart from that, the daffodil acts as a symbol of rejuvenation

and pure joy. Wordsworth becomes the means through which the flowers express their vibrance.
In his pensive mood, they become a means for the poet’s self-reflection.

Tone and Mood (The Road Not Taken)

To understand the tone and mood of this poem, readers have to look for the words that have

emotions associated with them. One such word appears at the very beginning of the second
line. The speaker says, “Sorry” for not being able to travel on both roads. How does this

particular word influence the poem’s tone and mood? First of all, it tells readers that the speaker
is not confident enough to make a decision. Therefore he feels sorry for himself. It reflects his

mental state as well as the poem’s mood that is a little bit drifting towards the lethargic state of
mind. Besides, the tone is emotive but not direct as it lacks confidence. Another phrase, “long I

stood” prolongs the mood of indecisiveness and confusion. The tone follows the mood and it
changes into an introspective one. The confused mood of the speaker also confuses the readers.

Moving on to the following stanzas, the individual becomes comparably confident yet his tone
reflects a sense of grief as he thinks the other road might be better than the one he is about to

walk on.

Tone and Mood (The Daffodils)

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 The tone of this poem, ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’  is emotive, hyperbolic, expressive, and
thoughtful. In the first stanza, the tone of the speaker helps readers to understand how he felt

after seeing the daffodils on a specific event. As the poem progresses, Wordsworth intensifies it,
thus it appears hyperbolic. In the last stanza, he chooses a thoughtful tone for describing the

impact of the scene on his mind. The tone also follows the mood of the poem. Throughout the
text, the poet maintains a calm and joyous mood. It is like the breeze that made the daffodils

dance on that day. While going through the poem, readers can feel this relaxing mood.
References
https://poemanalysis.com/william-wordsworth/i-wandered-lonely-as-a-cloud/
https://poemanalysis.com/robert-frost/the-road-not-taken/

Comparative Analysis

The poem ‘The Road Not Taken’ and ‘The Daffodils’ are narrative poems. As The Road
Not Taken tells a story of a speaker who was struggling to choose on a morning. It also

describes the mindset of the central character in metered verse. Besides, it is told from the first-
person point of view. So, it’s a lyric with a set rhyming and metrical scheme. Likewise, the main

idea of The Daffodils deals with the role of nature in the poet’s life. If one has the eyes to see it,
they can comprehend the serene beauty of simplicity within seconds. For that, the mind should

be as thoughtless as a lonely cloud that floats aimlessly over the valleys and hills. Both poem are
titled  for an interesting reason.

In the poem, ‘The Road Not Taken,’ the road which is not taken by the speaker is the one
that is interestingly similar to the other road he takes. The poet mentions the first road in the

title for emphasizing the dominant thought of the speaker’s mind. If there is only one road,
there won’t be any problem. As there are two options, he struggles to make a decision and

suffers through prolonged indecisiveness. Even if he takes a path (may be suitable for him), still
he will be thinking of the other one. We often think in this pattern. So, the poet advises us not to

be engrossed in such thoughts. While ‘Daffodils’ is a thoughtful mediation on those beautiful

golden flowers. It contains a calm, soothing, and pleasant representation of Mother Nature that

inspires the poet. The memory associated with the daffodils becomes a source of energy while

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 the poet reflects on something or he is pensive. For such a presentation of nature, ‘The
Daffodils’ conveys an important message that includes how nature can be of the greatest resort

when one is feeling low or pensive. It is a source of unimaginable energy that can rejuvenate the
soul.

Both ‘The Road Not Taken’ and ‘The Daffodils’ are composed with symbolic phrases. The
phrase, “a yellow wood” in ‘The Road Not Taken’ symbolizes the abstract idea, change. It is also

a symbol for the season, autumn. The roads diverged in the woods. So, it means that no matter
what road the speaker takes, there will be a change in his life. It is up to him how he reacts to it.

Meanwhile, the phrase, “a host, of golden daffodils” in ‘The Daffodils’ refers to a group of
daffodils the poet saw one day. He personifies the daffodils by using the term “host”. Besides,

“golden daffodils” is an example of metonymy. Here, the poet is referring to the effect in place
of the cause, the sunlight.

Finally, both poems describes each inspirations and meaning behind their writing. ‘The
Road Not Taken’  is about regret. In a superficial reading, it may seem that the poet is

appreciating the speaker’s decision. But, analysing the text thoroughly will reveal that the
speaker regrets the choice he makes even before its actual implementation. We basically find

ourselves observing a very important moment, where he has to make a decision that is evidently
difficult for him. It expresses that the individual is trying to see as far as he can down each road,
to help him decide which one he should choose to take. Robert Frost mentions that at the
moment that this individual was making his decision, both paths were nearly identical. No one

had stepped through to disturb the leaves on both roads. It gives us a glimpse of his doubts and
confesses to himself that it’s highly unlikely he will come back to travel this other road because

he knows as he moves forward he will continue to find other paths taking him further and
further away from this point, where he is standing at the moment. ‘The Road Not Taken’

expresses that the individual is also planning to claim that his choice to take this less travelled
road made all the difference, in where he will be standing at the time. ‘The Daffodils,’ on the

other hand, talks about a simple thing that is the dancing of the daffodils in a calm breeze. The
representation is thought-provoking. According to Wordsworth, whenever he lies on his couch

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 in a vacant or thoughtful mood, the image flashes in his mind’s eyes. It is a simultaneous
process, not a forced one. Blissful memories are so gripping that they stick with a person

throughout his or her life. So, whenever, the poet’s mind becomes empty of thoughts, the image
supplies him the source of energy to re-think. Not only that, when he feels down, the scene acts

similarly. The “inward eye” is a reference to the mind’s eyes. When one shuts his physical eyes, it
unleashes those eyes. Wordsworth compares the daffodils to the “bliss” of his solitary moments.

He provides the reason why he says so. According to him, the memory associated with the
daffodils fills his heart with pleasure, making his heart leap up once again like a child. In this

way, the poet highlights the role of nature, especially daffodils, in his life.

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