By Robert Frost

DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL
Nacharam, Secunderabad
Class IX
The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost
About the Poet
Name: Robert Frost
Born: 1874- 1963 in San Francisco
Nationality: American
Occupation:
Poet, playwright
Major Themes covered by the poet in his works
1. Depiction of rural life in New England

2. Antithesis- Contrast between fact and fancy, reality and imagination, pleasure and purpose,
nature and civilisation, country and city
3. Presents both sides of the subject for consideration
4. The resolution between the two sides of the subject, emerge from the dramatization of his
work
Awards or Recognitions
 Frost received four Pulitzer Prizes. First one was for New Hampshire in 1924. Other of his
Pulitzer-Prize wins included Collected Poems, in 1931, A Further Range, in 1937 and A
Witness Tree, in 1943.Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
 Congressional Gold Medal (1960)
 Named poet laureate of Vermont
Notable Works
Poems
The Road Not Taken
Mending wall
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Significance of the title
The title brings out the theme of the poem in which every individual comes across situations where
he has to make choices. The decision taken to do things differently makes one stand out in the crowd.
The title is figurative as the journey of life that all humans travel on from the day they are born is
shaped through the decisions they make. The roads symbolise dilemmas in life. The literal meaning
1
is that the poet as a traveller is in dilemma about which road to walk on. Eventually he takes the road
not used by many.
Central Theme
 The poem explores the dilemma a person faces with his choices in life.
 The two roads serve as a metaphor for the choices one makes in life as it throws many
alternatives.
 The choices we make have far reaching consequences and cannot be foreseen.
 Main theme of the poem is indecision, followed by the theme of realisation that every
decision taken shapes one‟s life.
Glossary
1. diverged: separated and took a different direction

2. yellow wood: the forest that is full of yellow leaves due to autumn
3. undergrowth: dense growth of plants and bushes
4. fair: good
5. better claim: it appears to be better
6. trodden: walked
7. way leads to way: one thing leads to another
8. sigh: to take a deep breath expressing a certain emotion
9. wanted wear: had not been used
10. hence: in the poem- in future
Summary
In the Poem, „The Road Not Taken‟, Robert Frost has used two roads as a metaphor for life. The two
roads stand for the choices one makes in life. The poet has combined simplicity, indirect and implied
meaning in the poem.
The narrator faces a fork in a path or road in the woods. It is autumn the leaves are turning colours
from green to yellow. He looks down on both paths as he is unsure about the path he should take.
Although, he wants to take both, it is impossible. He weighs his options and looks at both his options
as far as he can see, choosing the one with the more grass as it seems less worn out or used than the
other. As the narrator introspects further, the paths appear to be similar with fallen leaves covering
the path which seems fresh.
2
The narrator reflects on his desire to return someday in the future to the road not chosen earlier but
suspects he would not be able to do so in the future. He hopes that in the future he would be able to
share his experiences and choices he took that changed his life (for better or for worse).
1. Poetic Devices
Metaphor: The entire poem is an extended metaphor of life.
Line 1- “Two Roads diverged into yellow woods” where 2 roads are compared with the choices in
life
Line 5- “To where it bent in the undergrowth”- The undergrowth at the end of the road not taken
symbolises the obstacles
Line 9- “The grassy Road”- Not many people had chosen the road, the non-conformed choices
Anaphora:
Line 2, 3, 4 are examples of anaphora as lines begin with the same word “And”
Alliteration:
Line 8- “wanted wear”- repetition of „w‟ sound
Line 17- “Somewhere ages and ages hence”- Sound of ages and ages
Repetition: Line 1& 18- “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood” repeated.
Line 18, 19- Repetition of „I‟ for laying more stress.
2. Imagery: The poet has used language in a manner that a mental picture of the two roads, yellow
woods, undergrowth, grassy road, uncrushed leaves is formed before the reader.
3. Rhyme Scheme: ABAAB
Instructions:
1. Question answers to be done in the English classwork notebook.

2. Only value points for the questions are given. Write the answers in paragraphs taking help
from the value points.
Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow-
“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 travelled by, And that has made all the difference”
(a) Who is „I‟ in the poem?

Answer „I‟ in the poem is the poet who is also the traveller.
(b) The speaker tells his story with____
3
Answer (a) happiness (b) a sigh
(c) sorrow (d) excitement
(c) What does “ages and ages hence” imply?
Answer (a) many years ago (b) a decade ago
(c) after many years. (d) centuries ago
(d) The road chosen by the poet was ______________.
Answer not travelled by many
Thinking about the poem
1.1 Where does the traveller find himself? What problem does he face?
Answer
 at a diversion, yellow wood
 dilemma about which path (road) to choose
 impossible to choose both the roads at the same time
2. Discuss what these phrases mean to you.

(i) a yellow wood
 the forest in the autumn season
 signifies turning point in life
(ii) it was grassy and wanted wear
 not used by many travellers
 signifies newer opportunities
(iii) the passing there
 implies people passing over the road
(iv) leaves no step had trodden black
 leaves had not been crushed by the travellers
 not many people made choices or decisions that were different/unique
(v) how way leads on to way
 decisions one makes in life lead to different outcomes or consequences
 turning back is impossible
3. Is there any difference between the two roads as the poet describes them
(i) in stanzas two and three?

Answer
 In stanza two the poet expresses that the road chosen by him was grassy and in need of more
people to walk on it
 then the two roads seemed equally tempting
 In stanza three he mentions that both the roads were laden equally with leaves on which no
travellers had walked so far.
(ii) in the last two lines of the poem?
Answer
 The poet chose the road less travelled by others in the last two lines.
 Decisions or choices made by one are sometimes difficult to change and that makes all the
difference in life.
4
4. What do you think the last two lines of the poem mean? (Looking back, does the poet regret
his choice or accept it?)
 The poet took the difficult decision of walking on the less travelled road.
 being different changed his life
 He has accepted the reality of his life whether good or bad.
 The poet doesn‟t seem to regret his choices.

By Robert Frost

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DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL

1. Depiction of rural life in New England

Significance of the title

1. diverged: separated and took a different direction

Metaphor: The entire poem is an extended metaphor of life.

Line 18, 19- Repetition of „I‟ for laying more stress.

1. Question answers to be done in the English classwork notebook.

“I shall be telling this with a sigh

(a) Who is „I‟ in the poem?

Thinking about the poem

2. Discuss what these phrases mean to you.

(i) in stanzas two and three?

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