PODAR INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, AMBEGAON

Std IX Subject: English Poem1 – The Road Not Taken

By Robert Frost

I. About the Poet –

Robert Lee Frost (26 March 1874-29 January 1963) was an American poet
born in San Francisco but he spent most of his adult life in rural New
England. His work frequently employed themes from the early 1900s rural
life in New England, U.S.A. Quite naturally, therefore, his poetry is identified
with this region.

Some of the best known famous poems of this four-time Pulitzer Award
winner poet are ‘Mending Wall’, ‘Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening’,
‘The Onset’, ‘Provide Provide’, ‘Neither Far Nor in Deep’, ‘Death of the Hired
Man’ and of course “The Road Not Taken”.

II. Theme of the Poem –

This poem is about life from the perspective of a young narrator who decides
to seize the day, and, as an individual, chooses the road “less traveled
by.” The expression of doubt runs in the poem from the first line until the
last. The expression of uncertainty about choices and our natural tendency
to surmise about consequences we may have to face marks the central point
of the poem. However, what stay in the mind of the people is the philosophy
of life and the dilemma of making choices.

III. Summary –

The poem comprises uncertainty and perplexing situation of the minds of

people about what they may face when standing on the verge of making
choices. It is because life is full of choices, and the choices we make, define
the whole course of our lives. Similarly, the narrator faces a situation during
his travel. He finds two roads at a point where he has to choose one and
must abide by his choice. He thinks he may come back one day to travel on
the other road. However, he also has a feeling that his choice will confront
him with new adventures and challenges. Though there is some regret over
his choice, yet he realizes that the things he has encountered and the places
he has visited, because of this path, have made all the difference in his life.

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IV. Poetic Devices –

1. Rhyme Scheme - The poem, having a perfect rhyme scheme, ‘ABAAB’

is an ambiguous poem that allows the readers to think about choices
they make in life.
2. Alliteration – ‘wanted wear’ – repetition of ‘w’ sound.
3. Repetition - ‘Ages and ages hence ‘ repetition of the word ages for
emphasis.
4. Metaphor - The road in the poem is the metaphor of life, while the fork
on the road metaphorically represents the choices we make to
determine the course of our lives. Similarly, yellow woods are the
metaphor of making decisions during the hard times of a person’s life.
These metaphors used in this poem emphasize the importance of
different decisions we make in different situations and their impacts
on our lives.
5. Imagery - The poet has used images of the sense of sights such as
leaves, yellow woods. These images help readers to actually perceive
things they are reading. The image of the road helps readers to
visualize the road providing a navigation route to the traveller.
6. Simile - There is one simile used in the second stanza such as “as just
as fair”. It shows how the poet has linked the road less taken to the
easy way through life.
7. Assonance - Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds such as the
sound of /a/ and /o/ in quick succession in “though as far that the
passing” and in “Somewhere ages and ages hence.”
8. Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds such
as /d/ in “two roads diverging in a yellow wood” and /t/ sound in
“though as far as the passing there.”
9. Personification: Robert Frost has personified road in the third line of
the second stanza. Here, it is stated “Because it was grassy and
wanted wear” as if the road is human, and that it wants to wear and
tear.

V. Glossary –

1. Diverged : went in different directions

2. Wood : an area of land covered with growing trees
3. Undergrowth : shrubs, bushes and low trees
4. Fair : satisfactory
5. Better claim : preferable
6. Wanted wear : had not been crushed or worn out under human
feet
7. Trodden : walked on
8. Sigh : regret
9. Equally lay : lying in the same manner
10. Ages : a very long time
11. Hence : later

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VI. Make sentences –
1) Trodden -

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

2) Better claim

_______________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

3) Sigh -

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

4) Undergrowth

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

5) Diverged -

__________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

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Activity P 1.1: Multiple Choice Questions –

1. The poet stood at the intersection of ________________.

A. crossroads B. Two roads
C. Three roads D. Railway track

2. The poet felt sorry because ___________________.

A. He could not see the road well
B. He could not travel on both the roads
C. He did not know the direction D. He decided to retreat

3. The poet took the road.....

A. To the right B. To the left
C. The one less travelled on D. The one more travelled on

4. The poem depicts..?

A. Conflicts in life B. Problems we face in life
C. Choices we make in life D. Journeys we take in life

5. The entire poem is __________.?

A. A simile B. A metaphor
C. A ballad D. A personification

6. This poem is written by...?

A. Thomas Campbell B. William Wordsworth
C. Robert frost D. W. B. Yeats

7. What does the author mean by "a wood?"

A. A mini forest B. A cluster of trees growing wild
C. Both A and B D. Neither A and B

8. What did the poet see in the yellow wood?

A. Two paths diverging in different directions
B. Trees in the forest
C. Green grass
D. The dead end

9. How was one path different from the other?

A. One was greener B. One had more grass
C. It seemed less used D. All of the above

10. Which path had been walked on that morning before the poet travelled
on one?
A. Both paths B. The one on the left
C. None of them D. The one on the right

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 11. When the poet chose one of the paths what did he hope to do.?
A. Come back and try the other path B. Travel on one path only
C. Go home D. travel both for sure

12. In the line "Oh I kept the first for another day!" "the first" refers to_____?
A. Narrator’s choice B. The road
C. Fate D. The book

13. Frost uses the image of two diverging roads to symbolize?

A. Sorrow and regret B. Life's choice
C. The love of nature D. The spirit of independence

14. According to the poet, the second road has "the better claim" because it
_______________.
A. Was a familiar path B. Has never been used
C. Had been travelled less on D. Had been travelled more on

15. This poem might have special relevance for you if you are __________.
A. Planning a move to the country B. Deciding which college to
attend
C. Concerned about the environment D. Standing on a crossroad

16. The narrator decided to ______________________.

A. Take the second road B. Take the well-travelled road
C. Save the decision for later D. Take the first road

17. Which of the following statements is the closest interpretation of the line
"yet knowing how way leads on to way?"
A. You can never go home alone B. It’s easy to get lost in a path
C. One path takes you to the next D. You can always come back

18. According to the narrator, the two roads looked?

A. About the same B. Very different
C. Muddy and unpleasant D. Equally travelled

19. Looking back on his decision, the narrator feels.....?

A. Relieved B. Regretful
C. Meditative D. Embarrassed

20. The narrator envisions that in later years he will?

A. Feel sad B. Tell his story
C. See his error D. Write about his experience

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 Activity P 1.2:

A limerick is a humorous poem consisting of five lines. The first, second, and fifth
lines must have seven to ten syllables while rhyming and having the same verbal
rhythm. The third and fourth lines should only have five to seven syllables; they
too must rhyme with each other and have the same rhythm.

The wonderful thing about limericks is that anyone can write them. The simple
rhythm and form are ideal for anyone inclined to write something silly.

Example –

There was an Old Man with a beard

Who said, "It is just as I feared!
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!"

Prepare a limerick of your own on any topic. Remember to add humour

to your poem. You can also use an illustration for your poem –

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 Activity P.1.3 -

Paraphrase the poem using the graphic organizer below. Use the
sentence prompts to help you.

The speaker is in the woods and comes to a spot in the road

where the road is forked

Stanza 1 The speaker is sorry ……….. He

…………………….................................

Until ……………………………………………………………………………..

The speaker takes the other road which is

………………………………………..… He chooses this road because

Stanza 2
…………………………………………………….

Because grass is growing on it, and the road seemed

…………………………..

Though
………………………………………………………………………………..

Both roads were………………………… The

leaves……………………………….
Stanza 3
The speaker saves the first road for……………………………. But, the

speaker knows that

…………………………………………………………………………..

And the speaker doesn’t think

……………………………………………………

Sometime in the future, the speaker will be ……………………………

At a time …………………………………………………….
Stanza 4
That two roads …………………….……..… And

he……………………………….

And that was ……………………………………………………………………

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 Activity P.1.4 -

Directions: Use the graphic organizer below to

help you find clues about the setting of the
poem. After looking over the clues, what can What does it mean to infer?
you infer about each stanza? You may not find Use the information you learn
an answer for each column, but you should be from the text and add your
able to make an inference in the last column. own thoughts about that
information.
Some answers have been filled in for you.
What conclusions can you
draw? That is inference.

Stanza Geographica Time Emotional Occupation What I can infer

l period condition / from this
location daily life stanza?
A yellow
wood Two It is fall because
Stanza sorry Traveller the leaves are
1 roads
diverged yellow

It wanted
Stanza wear
2

Stanza morning
3

He is
Stanza in the
4 future

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