THEMES • The decision not to follow the popular

choice will impact a life in a special way.

The Road Not Taken
• It is impossible to regret being different.
Robert Frost
(1874-1963)
• Lyrical, 20th century poem
• Four regular stanzas of 5 lines each. Robert Frost (1874 – 1963) is an American poet. He is
• Rhyme scheme: Regular (abaab, cdccd etc.) highly regarded for his realistic descriptions of rural life and
FORM

• Lines are end-stopped his use of colloquial speech patterns. One of the most
• Lines often begin with conjunctions, which popular and respected poets of the twentieth century, Frost
separates lines, giving to each line a also received many rewards for his work, including four
completeness. Pulitzer Prizes.

went in different directions Autumn Metaphor: The whole poem could be

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, viewed as an extended metaphor; the
First-person fork in the path can represent kinds of
And sorry I could not travel both decisions one is faced with in life.
And be one traveller, long I stood Alliteration: makes the enjambment more pronounced (L3-4).
And looked down one as far as I could
a dense, or thick, area of shrubs and other plants Words with long vowel sounds create a ponderous
To where it bent in the undergrowth
mood.
Pun: Fair – beautiful/just
Both roads looked equally good.
Then took the other, as just as fair,
Perhaps this road is better.
And having perhaps the better claim,
Alliteration This road was better because this path has more grass
Because it was grassy and wanted wear; and has less of a track
Reconsiders lacked
Though as for that, the passing there Symbolism: The roads symbolise the
Both paths are worn down about the same
Had worn them really about the same, choice we make and the paths we take
in life. The fork in the road symbolises
the choice that has to be made.
Time of day
And both that morning equally lay
The path is covered in leaves that have not been stepped
In leaves no step had trodden black. in and turned black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day! The speaker says he will keep this for another day
Walked on
Yet knowing how way leads on to way, One path leads to the next.

I doubted if I should ever come back. Speaker realizes that he will not be able to come back.
Tone and mood: Tone is wistful, without being sad. The speaker realises he will be telling his story “with a sigh”.
This gives the poem a nostalgic feel.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Hyperbole: The poet means much later in life, not literally “ages”.
Somewhere ages and ages hence: Repetition: of personal pronoun “I” enhances the personal
quality. He knows it was his own choice, no one else’s. Can
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – also indicate hesitation.
Paradox: Contains elements of a paradox; because fewer people
I took the one less travelled by, have chose a route, it was a more worthwhile choice. (L19-20)
From now on
And that has made all the difference. Ambiguity: Prompts the reader to ask what it is that has changed
his life.
Frost describes an individual being faced with two choices – of two roads, or paths in a wooded place. The speaker
imagines the person lingering a while considering his options: should he take the one that others have often
traversed, or should he risk taking the one less travelled. He does not consider his options long before decided that he
should choose the less travelled path, a decision he has never regretted. In later years, he came to realise that it is
impossible to choose both options and that it is always better to choose the option others would be less likely to
make.
Questions from the anthology
1. One of the themes in the poem is time.
(a) In the first two stanzas of the poem, the speaker shows that he is anxious about
time passing quickly. Quote one phrase from stanza one, and one phrase from
stanza two to show this concern. (2)

(a) Chose one of the phrases you have just quoted, and explain how it emphasises
the passage of time. (2)

2. The poet uses an extended metaphor relating to acting in a play.

(a) Identify two words or phrases that support this extended metaphor. (2)

(a) Shadows have been personified in lines three to five. Identify two human
character traits given to the shadows in these lines. (2)

3. Comment on the repetition of the word read in the poem and discuss how it contributes
to the meaning of the poem as a whole. (2)

Additional Questions
1. Briefly explain the situation in which the speaker finds himself. (5)
2. Refer to line 14, “Yet knowing how way leads on to way”
a) Explain the literal meaning of this line. (2)
b) In a broader sense, what is the poet saying about life. (2)
3. Quote one line from the poem which proves that one of the two paths had not been
used recently. (1)
4. Which words best describe the style of this poem?
A) Plain, everyday words
B) Flowery
C) Simple descriptive
D) Like a conversation (1)

5. Discuss why the speaker would “be telling it with a sigh”. (4)
6. Instead of the word “yellow” in line 1, what other two-syllable word might the poet
have chosen. Justify your answer. (2)
7. How would the poet be feeling if he had not taken “the road less travelled”? (2)

ESSAY QUESTION:
Comment on the timeless metaphor contained in the lines of the poem. Your essay
should be 250-300 words in length. (10)
Suggested Answers to Additional Questions
1. The speaker comes to a fork in the path in the middle of a forest. It is early morning so
neither paths has been spoiled by footsteps. The speaker decides to take the one less
traveled and come back another time to walk along the other. While in his heart he
knows that it is unlikely that he will return, he is nevertheless grateful that he did not
choose the way of most people but a path that is more unique.

2.Refer to line 14, “Yet knowing how way leads on to way”

a) The speaker realizes that if you choose one path, that path will lead to other
paths and soon you will find yourself far from the original choice.
b) In life, one choice leads to the other. Regrettably it is impossible to choose both
at the same time. Each choice will take you to a different place in life.
3. “Because it was grassy and wanted wear”

4. A) Plain, everyday words

5. The poet will never regret his choice. He will look back at his life with pleasure and no
regrets. He will sigh happily and will believe that his life will be enriched by the choice
he made long ago.
6. Mellow/fallow
7. He would probably be feeling disappointed in himself.

ESSAY QUESTION:
Main points to look for:

• The simple choice between two paths provides a metaphor for the choices we make in
life.
• Choosing a path not chosen by many other people has made life more worthwhile.
• There seemed little choice between the two options at the time; both were just as fair.
• However there were the subtlest differences, one of the paths “wanted wear”
• The poet decided that he would leave the other option for another day.
• Somehow he knew that because life moves on, there probably would not be an
opportunity to return and take up the other option knowing “how way leads on to way”.