The Road Not Taken

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,

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.

-Robert Frost, 1916

For the longest time, The Road Not Taken has been my favourite poem. I love the natural imagery of the speaker standing in a lush wood, out for a hike, deciding which path of the two in front of him to take. I also love the symbolism - the two roads representing the choices we have to make in life, both options offering potential risk and reward. The speaker claims he takes the road "less travelled by", and that he feels this sets him apart from others who may have taken the road that seemed to be more popular with other walkers. For these reasons, the poem has become the calling card of those who proclaim to swim against the stream and do things "differently" to everyone else. 

However, when you really look at Frost's description of the roads in Stanza 3, you realise that the speaker notes that both roads look, effectively, exactly the same. There is no road "less travelled" - the speaker simply announces ("somewhere ages and ages hence") that he took the road that others had not in order to make his decision seem more important than it actually was. The "sigh" of the speaker could either be seen as a sigh of disappointment that he didn't take the "other" path and feels as if he missed out on something, or perhaps an ironic one, knowing that, in reality, his decision didn't really matter. He just wants to make it seem to others like it was a life-affirming moment.

    I think the fact this poem has been so misconstrued over the years, much to Frost's apparent amusement, makes it even better in my eyes. Sometimes, more often than not, life flows on around us; the decisions we make aren't always as grandiose or important as we convince ourselves they are.

KS3

1. Go through the poem and write down 5 examples of natural imagery - descriptions of nature.

2. Write a short explanation or verbally explain to someone why you think the speaker finds it so hard to make up his mind about which path in the woods to take. Try to use evidence from the poem to support your ideas and think about what Robert Frost wanted us to think/feel as we read the poem.

I think the speaker finds the decision hard because...

For example, the line "              " suggests to me...

As well as this, the line "              " also implies...

Overall, I think his main problem was...

I think Frost wanted his readers to think/feel... because...

3. Read the poem again and create an illustration based on the imagery used by the writer. What do you picture in your mind when you read the poem?

KS4

1. Pick out as many examples of comparative language as you can. How many times does Frost use language that shows the speaker is comparing the two paths?

2. Explain, in your own words, how this poem represents the decisions we make in our own lives. Think about what Frost is trying to say about decisions and how they can affect our lives. Use evidence from the poem to support your ideas.

In this poem, Frost presents ideas about life through his use of [technique].

This can be seen in the line "              " which suggests...

In particular, the use of the word/phrase "            " is effective as it emphasises...

Furthermore, the word/phrase "              " could also imply...

This could have been to make the reader feel/think/realise... because...

Frost may have been trying to highlight/say/imply...

Alternatively, he may also have been trying to...

3. Write your own poem, inspired by this one. This doesn't have to be about decisions/nature - use your imagination and think about how you respond to the poem personally.