POEM-THE ROAD

NOT TAKEN
Unit -1
About the poet
■ Robert Frost an American poet, was born on March 26,1874 in San Francisco,
California. A Four time Pulitzer Prize winner for Poetry, Robert Frost most
frequently wrote about rural life in New England through the language of the
common man. His first published poetry was ‘My Butterfly’. Robert Frost
writes simply, but insightfully, about common, ordinary experiences.
■ Robert Frost credited Edward Thomas ,his close friend and a fellow poet,as
the inspiration for one of his most famous poem ‘The Road Not Taken’.
■ Apparently, Thomas’s indecision and regret regarding which path to take
inspired Robert to write this poetry
This well-known poem is about making choices, and the
choices that shape us. It also describes the dilemma that a person has to face involving
the choices and decisions one has to make in one’s life.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, diverged-separated

And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth; undergrowth-dense growth of plants

Then took the other, just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear; wanted wear-not been used
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.
And both that morning equally lay
Summary
The speaker, walking through a forest whose leaves have turned yellow in
autumn, comes to a fork of the road. The speaker, regretting that he is unable
to travel on both roads (since he is, after all, just one person), stands at the
fork of the road for a long time and tries to see where one of the paths leads.
However, the speaker can't see very far because the forest is dense and the
road is not straight.

The speaker takes the path which was covered with overgrowth and seem to
be rarely travelled by, judging it to be just as good a choice as the first, and
supposing that it may even be the better option of the two, since it is grassy
and looks less worn than the other path. Though, now that the speaker has
actually walked on the second road, he thinks that in reality the two roads
must have been more or less equally worn-in.
Reinforcing this statement, the speaker recalls that both roads
were covered in leaves, which had not yet been turned black by
foot traffic. The speaker exclaims that he is in fact just leaving
the first road, and will travel it at a later date, but then
immediately contradicts himself with the acknowledgement
that, in life, one road tends to lead onward to another, so it's
therefore unlikely that he will ever actually get a chance to
return to that first road.

The speaker imagines himself in the distant future, recounting,

with a sigh, the story of making the choice of which road to
take. Speaking as though looking back on his life from the
future, the speaker states that he was faced with a choice
between two roads and chose to take the road that was less
travelled, and the consequences of that decision have made all
the difference in his life.
Poetic Devices:
Metaphor /SYMBOLISM: Line 1. Two roads diverges……..as roads are compared with
the ways of life
yellow woods – autumn forest is compared to yellow woods
fork in the road- metaphorically representing choices
Anaphora: Line 3.And be one traveler….Line 4. And looked down one…..are examples
of anaphora as the lines begin with the same word And
Alliteration: Line 17 “Somewhere ages and ages hence”……….. ages and ages an
example of alliteration
“Though as far that the passing”
Imagery: Line 1, 11 and 12“ Two roads diverged in a yellow wood….” A picture of the
woods covered with yellow leaves is created in the mind.
Rhyme Scheme: abaab
Explain what these phrases mean:
i) a yellow wood
ii) it was grassy and wanted wear
iii) leaves no step had trodden black
Answer the following briefly :
1. Did the poet make his choice without thinking?
2. What was the condition of the two roads?
3. What does the choice made by the poet indicate about his
personality in the poem?
4. What do you think is the message of the poem?
Answer the following :
Q. 1. Where does the traveller find himself? What problem does he
face?
Q.2. What do you think the last two lines of the poem mean? ( Looking
back, does the poet regret his choice or accept it?)
Q.3. Read the lines and answer the following questions:
And both that morning equally ……….
……if I should ever come back.
(a) What decision did the poet take about the first road?
(b) Why is the poet not sure if he would ever come back to the first
road?
(c) ‘ If I should ever come back?’ Why would the poet like to come
back?