Life is full of such situations where we need to make a choice. While we resolve a complex dilemma, there remains a fear that the other choice might be favourable too. But we need to choose one and leave the other option. Frost takes us to encounter one such experience and brings home a metaphorical take away. The narrator comes upon a fork in the road while walking through a yellow wood. He considers both paths and concludes that each one is equally well-travelled and appealing. After choosing one of the roads, the narrator tells himself that he will come back to this fork one day to try the other road. However, he realizes that it is unlikely that he will ever have the opportunity to come back to this specific point in time because his choice of path will simply lead to other forks in the road (and other decisions). The narrator ends on a nostalgic note, wondering how different things would have been, had he chosen the other path.

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The Road Not taken
(Robert Frost)
Notebook Work:
• Text of the Poem
• About the Poet
• Literary Devices
• Summary
• Question-Answers
About the Poet:
Do it YOURSELF
(60-100 Words)
Watch/Listen to these Recitals!

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LITERARY DEVICES USED IN THE POEM
(For Notebook)
1. Rhyme Scheme: Rhyme scheme means the ordered pattern of rhymes at the ends of the
lines of a poem or verse. The Rhyme Scheme of the poem is abaab. (* To find the rhyme
scheme, check the rhyming words.)
e.g.
And both that morning equally lay a
In leaves no step had trodden black. b
Oh, I kept the first for another day! a
Yet knowing how way leads on to way, a
I doubted if I should ever come back. b
2. Metaphor: It is a figure of speech that is used to make a comparison between two things
that are not alike but do have something in common.
e.g.
He is a lion. (Here, a man has been compared to a lion. We are talking about physical strength
and power.)
There are many metaphors in the poem. The road is a metaphor for life and two diverging
roads are two choices. “A yellow wood” i.e., a forest in the autumn season is the metaphor for
making decisions during the hard times of a person’s life.
The poem is a beautiful example of extended metaphor.
3. Simile: A simile is a figure of speech that makes a comparison, showing similarities between
two different things. A simile draws a resemblance with the help of the words “like” or “as”.
Therefore, it is a direct comparison.
For e.g.
He is as brave as a lion. (Here, a man has been compared to a lion with the help of the word
“as”.)

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In the poem, the two roads have been compared by the speaker. The first line of the second
stanza is an example of simile, where the poet writes,
“Then took the other, just as fair,”
4.Anaphora: Anaphora is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive
clauses.
e.g. In the first stanza of the poem, ‘and’ is repeated at the beginning of lines 2, 3 and 4
Stanza I
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
5.Alliteration: e.g. “wanted wear” ‘w’ sound is repeating (second stanza)
‘first for’ – ‘f’ sound is repeating (third stanza)
‘though, that’- ‘th’ sound is repeating (second stanza)
Alliteration is the repetition of identical initial consonant sounds.
Stanza II
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, 10
Stanza III
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!

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Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back. 15
6. Repetition: Repetition is a poetic device that repeats the same words or phrases a few times
to make an idea clearer and more memorable.
e.g. The word ‘Ages’ is repeated. ‘Two roads diverged in a wood’- this sentence is repeated in
stanzas 1 and 4.
Stanza I
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Stanza IV
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. 20
7.Personification: Personification is basically assigning human traits to an inanimate object,
idea, or animal.
e.g. “it was grassy and wanted wear” (Second Stanza).
In this case, the poet is describing the road as having a desire, which is a trait normally
attributed to people.
Stanza II

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SUMMARY
Life is full of such situations where we need to make a choice. While we resolve a complex
dilemma, there remains a fear that the other choice might be favourable too. But we need to
choose one and leave the other option. Frost takes us to encounter one such experience and
brings home a metaphorical take away.
The narrator comes upon a fork in the road while walking through a yellow wood. He considers
both paths and concludes that each one is equally well-travelled and appealing. After choosing
one of the roads, the narrator tells himself that he will come back to this fork one day to try the
other road. However, he realizes that it is unlikely that he will ever have the opportunity to come
back to this specific point in time because his choice of path will simply lead to other forks in the
road (and other decisions).
The narrator ends on a nostalgic note, wondering how different things would have been, had he
chosen the other path.
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, 10
8. Imagery: Imagery is used to make the readers feel things through their five senses. The poet
has used images of leaves, yellow wood and the road. These images help the readers to actually
perceive the things they are reading.
e.g. “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood”

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TEXTBOOK QUESTIONS
1. Where does the traveller find himself? What problem does he face?
Ans: The traveller finds himself in the yellow woods at a point where the road forks into two.
The problem that he faces is that he cannot decide which road to take to continue his journey
because it is not possible for him to travel both roads at the same time.
2. Discuss what these phrases mean to you.
(i) a yellow wood
(ii) it was grassy and wanted wear
(iii) the passing there
(iv) leaves no step had trodden black
(v) how way leads on to way
Ans: (i) Yellow wood symbolises the autumn season. Autumn corresponds with old age. The
poet could be symbolically talking about the later stages of life.
(ii) It conveys that the road was full of grass and nobody has used that road. It was a smooth
road that had not worn out.
(iii) The use of the path by passersby.
(iv) The leaves had not changed their colour and turned black because of less people stepping
on them. It could represent a path one may have never/seldom taken in life for the fear of
uncertainty.
(v) This phrase means how certain decisions one makes in life could pave the way for many
other decisions.
3. What do you think the last two lines of the poem mean? (Looking back, does the poet
regret his choice or accept it?)
Ans: The last two lines of the poem mean the acceptance of reality. The poet made a choice
and accepted the challenging path. He took an unexplored path in his life. He wanted to do
something different in his life so he chooses the less travelled road. No, he does not regret his
choice, but there are some hints as well.
-------------------------------------------------------------
EXTRA QUESTIONS FOR PRACTICE
Question:1. What was the poet’s dilemma?
Answer: The poet was standing before the two roads. He had to decide which one would lead

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him to success. It was not easy for him to decide. So, he stood there and introspected. Out of
the two options, he had to choose the one. Of course, it was not an easy choice.
Question:2. What was the poet’s opinion about both the roads?
Answer: The poet opined that both the roads were the same. They were equally travelled and
there was no difference between them. So, he got confused. It was difficult to decide which
road would be more convenient and comfortable. He wanted to choose the one that would
take him to his intended destination.
Question:3 What do the roads represent?
Answer: The roads represent the problem of decision-making. Human beings suffer because of
their choices and decisions. They find themselves in such situations at every step in their lives.
Out of the available options, they must choose the one that may take them to their destination.
The choice decides the outcome in life.
Question:4. Did the poet take his decision haphazardly?
Answer: No, he speculated and brooded over the situation. He took this decision after a lot of
contemplation. He did not take this decision haphazardly. No doubt, he was a bit confused.
After all, it was not quite easy to make the right choice. But he exercised his option after much
contemplation.
Question:5 Why did the poet choose that road?
Answer: The poet chose that road because it was less travelled. He wanted to do those
activities which had not been done by anyone earlier. The poet didn’t seem to be interested in
choosing a much-trodden path of life. Avoiding the popular rat race, he opted for the option
that broke fresh grounds.
Question:6. What is the message of the poem?
Answer: The message of the poem is to make people aware of their analytical skills. The poet
wishes to say that choices should be made carefully and thoughtfully. One should behave
responsibly because life does not offer multiple chances every now and then.
Hands-on Exercise: For NOTEBOOK
Use the following words to make a short story or paragraph. Use them in a proper way to
convey a meaning and impressive composition.
diverged undergrowth fair claim trodden hence

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Extra Knowledge about how we use Language in Literature:
Parveen Kumar – 9891976788 – Parveen.kumar@wisdom.edu.in