The Road Not Taken By Robert Frost
Background Information Born March 26, 1874 Died January 29, 1963 Modernist Poet Most well known for realistic depictions of rural American life Winner of four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry Awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 1960
Poem: Part 1 Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim Because it was grassy and wanted wear, Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, Repetition of ‘And’ at beginning of lines Strict Rhyme Scheme: ABAABCDCCDEFEEFGH GGH Personification Takes place in a forest in the fall
Poem Part 2 And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. Repetition of first line Final repetition of ‘And’, adds tone of finality to last line Last stanza shows it’s not just about the road, but a major choice in life. Choices equal in appearance, but will lead to big difference later in life Speaker understands he can't take his decision back, but toys with the idea
Analysis Themes: The Concept of Choice May be talking about roads, but it is more about the choice given to the speaker Exploration Speaker is wandering through the woods without a map No map for life, we all wander through, no way to know where our choices will really take us Man and the Natural World Talks about the choice given to him like it is a natural encounter. Poem takes place in autumn in a forest. Why?
Analysis Continued Form Meter: Iambic Tetrameter Four Stanzas, five lines each Period: Modern Style: Ambiguous Many possible meanings to this poem