Robert Frost 1874-1963 Robert Frost was an American poet who often used rural settings in New England, on the northeast of the United States, to present his philosophy of life and view of society. As a young man , he worked as a farmer and a teacher and spent three years in Britain before World War I. He was a very popular and successful poet and received literary prizes for his work including three Pulitzer Prizes.

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost Robert Frost was born in San Francisco, California but spent most of his life in New England, a rural area in the north east of the United States. The area is characterized by hills, woods, farms and small towns. Frost himself worked for many years as a farmer, in addition to teaching English and writing poems. His poems reflect the sights and sounds of where he lived, the fields, farms and woods and scenes of everyday life. All those elements make Frost’s poems accessible, leading readers to understand the deeper truths behind seemingly simple ideas

Literary Terms poem poet stanza rhyme infer theme metaphor symbol A poem is a piece of writing in which the words are chosen for their beauty and sound and are carefully arranged, often in short lines which rhyme. poet a person who writes poems stanza A group of lines which form a unit in a poem. This unit usually repeats itself in the poem. rhyme correspondence of sound between words or the endings of words, especially when these are used at the ends of lines of poetry infer “reading “between the lines theme Usually we can find the theme of a literary work by answering the question: “What is this work about?” Theme looks at the message or general idea of the work. metaphor Describing one thing in terms of something else, e.g. the bronze sun. symbol Something which is both itself and also represents an idea, for example, a rose may symbolize beauty.

How many stanzas are there in the poem? 1 Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, 2 And sorry I could not travel both 3 And be one traveler, long I stood 4 And looked down one as far as I could 5 To where it bent in the undergrowth; 6 Then took the other, as just as fair, 7 And having perhaps the better claim 8 Because it was grassy and wanted wear, 9 Though as for that the passing there 10 Had worn them really about the same, 11 And both that morning equally lay 12 In leaves no step had trodden black. 13 Oh, I kept the first for another day! 14 Yet knowing how way leads on to way 15 I doubted if I should ever come back. 16 I shall be telling this with a sigh 17 Somewhere ages and ages hence: 18 Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, 19 I took the one less traveled by, 20 And that has made all the difference.

Take one stanza and decide what words rhyme in it. 1 Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, 2 And sorry I could not travel both 3 And be one traveler, long I stood 4 And looked down one as far as I could 5 To where it bent in the undergrowth; 6 Then took the other, as just as fair, 7 And having perhaps the better claim 8 Because it was grassy and wanted wear, 9 Though as for that the passing there 10 Had worn them really about the same, 11 And both that morning equally lay 12 In leaves no step had trodden black. 13 Oh, I kept the first for another day! 14 Yet knowing how way leads on to way 15 I doubted if I should ever come back. 16 I shall be telling this with a sigh 17 Somewhere ages and ages hence: 18 Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, 19 I took the one less traveled by, 20 And that has made all the difference.

1 Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, 2 And sorry I could not travel both 3 And be one traveler, long I stood 4 And looked down one as far as I could 5 To where it bent in the undergrowth; L1: we can infer that the poem takes place in the fall as the color of the wood is yellow. Fall is a transitional season ( it goes after a large and long summer and before winter) A traveler faces a big and important decision.

2 And sorry I could not travel both 1 Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, 2 And sorry I could not travel both 3 And be one traveler, long I stood 4 And looked down one as far as I could 5 To where it bent in the undergrowth; L 2-3:The traveler thinks about the dilemma what road to choose. It takes him long L.4-5:it is difficult to make a decision-he tries to look far to see where each road leads.

6 Then took the other, as just as fair, 7 And having perhaps the better claim 8 Because it was grassy and wanted wear, 9 Though as for that the passing there 10 Had worn them really about the same, L.6: the traveler looks at the second road and compares it to the first one in a number of ways: the second road is as pleasant as the first road. L. 7-8: the speaker thinks that the road he is now looking at(2nd) might have two advantages over the first road: it has green grass on it that’s why it has more lively appearance. It is in a better condition (almost new) wasn’t in use. L. 9-10: when a speaker is thinking about the people who have passed there, he believes that the condition of two roads is almost identical.

11 And both that morning equally lay 12 In leaves no step had trodden black. 13 Oh, I kept the first for another day! 14 Yet knowing how way leads on to way 15 I doubted if I should ever come back. L. 11-12: the traveler compares the roads as they appear in the morning. He says that no one has walked on the first or second road because their leaves are still yellow and not black. L.13: he decided to take the second road and hopes to travel the first road some other day in the future. L. 14-15: the traveler knows that there is a little chance for him to come back and choose the first road like in a real life: once we make a decision, it’s not always possible to go back and change it.

16 I shall be telling this with a sigh 17 Somewhere ages and ages hence: 18 Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, 19 I took the one less traveled by, 20 And that has made all the difference. L. 16-17: the traveler reflects on the effects his decision will have on his future He will talk about his decision with a “sigh”-happiness or sadness L.19:the traveler chooses a road that not many people choose-this decision had made him both different from the rest, as well as a difference in his life.

A. Match the words in A to their meaning in B 1. traveler a. divide 2. equally b. someone who goes to places far away 3. doubt c. plants and bushes 4. diverge d. the same 5. undergrowth e. nor sure about something 6. wanted wear f. demand 7. wood g. needed to be walked on 8. make a difference h. change something 9. claim i. forest

bent- doubt- fair- lead- sigh- sorry B. Complete the sentences with the words below. Make any necessary changes. 1. The speaker was_________ that he could not take both roads. 2. The traveler could not decide which road to choose. They both looked equally_______. 3. The speaker looked down the road to where it _________ in the undergrowth. 4. One way always _____ on to another, so the speaker _________ that he would ever come back. 5. In the future, the speaker will be telling about his experience with a _______________. sorry fair bent leads doubted sigh