Robert Frost (1874-1963) was an American poet well-known for his realistic depictions of rural life and

his command in writing of American colloquial speech or ordinary, familiar conversation.

The Road Not Taken

BY ROBERT FROST

Rhyme Scheme:

How many syllables per line?

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; (5)

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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)

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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. (15)

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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)

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ANALYSIS QUESTIONS:
1. a) TRUE or FALSE? The road the speaker chose had been traveled less by others before him.
b) Which lines provide the evidence to support your answer to question 1a?
2.. The roads seem to be a SYMBOL of what to the poet? In other words, what deeper meaning
might they represent?
3. In a complete sentence, explain the THEME, or message/meaning, that readers can apply to life.

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Walt Whitman (1819-1892) is an American poet known for long, narrative poems, about
nature, love, friendship, etc. He wrote mostly in free verse with NO rhyme or regular meter
purposefully created by a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables like in this short excerpt
from Song of the Open Road.

from Song of the Open Road

by Walt Whitman

Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,

Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.
Henceforth I ask not good fortune, I myself am good fortune,
Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more,
need nothing.
Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms,
Strong and content I travel the open road.
1. What sound device does he use often to create rhythm in free verse, which has no regular
rhyme or meter?

2. a) COMPARE: How is Whitmans THEME similar to the theme of Frosts in The Road Not
Taken?
b) CONTRAST: How is this poets THEME (main idea/message) different from Frosts?