This document contains analysis of the poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost. It discusses the themes of choice and decision making in the poem. It analyzes symbols like the roads representing life paths and choices. It also provides context on the author Robert Frost and his background living in rural New England which influenced his poems.

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3. Poetry
Definition – Writing in language chosen and arranged to
create a particular emotional response through
meaning, sound and rhythm.
• “Poetry can communicate before it is understood” (T.S.
Eliot)
• “Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and
the thought has found words” (Frost)
© Michal Preisler

4. Choice & Cost
Every choice you make has a cost because choosing
to do one thing means giving up the opportunity to
do something else.
Faced with the same options , different people make
different choices because each person has his / her
own way of making decisions based on different
values and beliefs.
When faced with the need to make a decision we try
to think about the cost and guess the outcome.
© Michal Preisler

5. The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost
© Michal Preisler

6. © Michal Preisler

7. The Road Not Taken
By Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And both that morning equally lay
And be one traveler, long I stood
In leaves no step had trodden black.
And looked down one as far as I could
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
Then took the other, as just as fair,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Though as for that the passing there
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Had worn them really about the same,
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=© Michal Preisler

8. Analysis and Literary Terms
• What is the poem about ?
• The poem is about a dilemma, the need to
come to a decision / solve a problem
• This is the theme of the poem
– Theme – the central philosophical idea of a story
or poem. We can usually find the theme by asking
ourselves – what is the poem / story about?
© Michal Preisler

9. • Is the speaker really standing in a forest
thinking which way to go?
• What does the road symbolize ?
The road = Life
– Symbolism - the use of a concrete image (symbol)
to represent an abstract idea.
© Michal Preisler

10. • What is the main dilemma in the poem?
The speaker is at a fork in the road – he has to
choose which way to go.
• The fork in the road is a metaphor for a point
in life when you need to make a choice.
• A metaphor is a type of comparison in which
one thing is described as if it was something
else (example: life is a box of chocolates)
© Michal Preisler

11. • How does the speaker solve his dilemma?
– He compares the two roads
– He weighs the pros and cons
– He tries to foresee the future
• Which road does he choose?
– the less traveled by
– The more adventurous / the less conventional ??
© Michal Preisler

12. HOTS – Problem Solving
Problem solving is a thinking skill the involves:
• Identifying the problem
• Considering the options
• Weighing the pros and cons of each option
• Reaching a decision
© Michal Preisler

13. • How do you think the speaker feels about his
choice ?
– Last stanza takes place in the future
– Sigh of relief ? Sigh of regret ?
– The “what if ??”
• Why is the poem called “The Road NOT
Taken” and not “The Road Taken” ?
© Michal Preisler

14. Robert Frost 1874-1963
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
© Michal Preisler

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