C entr al i mage o f the po em: B y us i ng thi s ti tl e the po et dr aw s the reader ' s attenti o n to the po em' s fo cus o n the
i mage o f a per s o n s tandi ng at cho i ce that w as no t made, r ather than the cho i ce that w as made.
a fo rk i n the path & deci di ng The path that w as no t cho s en, i r o ni cal l y, beco mes the mo re attr acti ve o ne, and
to take o ne path rather than o ccupi es the s peaker' s tho ughts much mo re than the path that he di d cho o s e.
ano ther (cho i ce between two
o pti o ns i n l i fe). The Road Not Taken
Robert Frost (1874–1963)
Deno tes a fo rk i n the
r o ad.
C o nno tes a l i fe cho i ce
(metapho r ). Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
“o” assonance “a” assonance
Anapho r a: Repeti ti o n o f “And”
i n l i nes 2-4, 7, 11 & 20. And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood Enjambment
Image o f the s peaker s tandi ng
o n hi s to es & s tretchi ng hi s
And looked down one as far as I could
neck, peer i ng al o ng the path,
tryi ng to get a cl earer vi ew o f
the ro ad & hi s futur e, w hi ch i s To where it bent in the undergrowth; 5
“ bent” - unkno wn &
He takes the mo r e appeal i ng
unpr edi ctabl e.
path (“ better cl ai m”), the
“a” assonance
Anti thes i s : Thro ugho ut the “o ther ” o ne that w as “gras s y ”
Then took the other, as just as fair, and no t w o rn do w n by
po em the s peaker s ays that
thes e paths were “fai r ”, “the tr avel l er s .
And having perhaps the better claim,
s ame” & “equal l y ” appeal i ng, It r efers to the s po t at the fo r k
Lacked
but he s ays i n l i ne 7 that he i n the ro ad w here pas s er s -by
cho s e “the better cl ai m”. Because it was grassy and wanted wear; w o ul d have s to pped to po nder
thei r deci s i o n as to whi ch path
Though as for that, the passing there to take.
The s po t w o ul d be wo r n Enjambment
do wn as tr avel l er s s to o d
Had worn them really just about the same, 10
The two paths (“r o ads ”) ar e
aro und, mo vi ng thei r feet,
tr yi ng to co me to a deci s i o n s i mi l ar: s tanz a 2: “as j us t as
abo ut thei r futur e. fai r ” & “the pas s i ng ther e...the
s ame”; s tanz a 3: “ bo th that
The s peaker ' s i ntenti o n i s And both that morning equally lay mo r ni ng equal l y l ay ”.
to retur n s o that he can
Thes e w o rds ar e co nnected
travel al o ng the o ther path
s o me ti me i n the futur e. In leaves no step had trodden black. becaus e, o n that par ti cul ar day,
the s peaker fo und hi ms el f w here
Thi s i s i ro ni c, becaus e he
Oh, I kept the first for another day! tw o ways (paths ) l ay befo re hi m.
wi l l be unabl e to travel
back i nto the pas t & al ter Ex cl amati o n mar k emphas i s es
hi s deci s i o n. Yet knowing how way leads on to way, the s peaker' s regr et.
The s peaker kno ws that he
w i l l no t go back to that I doubted if I should ever come back. 15
s ame s po t i n the w o o d and
then take the o ther path.
Of regret C o l o n: ex pl anati o n fo l l o w s .
The s peaker ex er ci s es I shall be telling this with a sigh Metapho r : the “path” i s a
fr eedo m o f i ndependent Therefore metapho r fo r a l i fe cho i ce
cho i ce. Repeti ti o n o f “I” Somewhere ages and ages hence: made by the s peaker.
co nveys that he made
Hyphen: apply emphasis
the deci s i o n. Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – to the words that follow.
Li ne 20: He i s s ati s fi ed The s peaker fo und hi ms el f o n a
w i th hi s deci s i o n. I took the one less travelled by, l i fe path that w as no t po pul ar
o r cho s en by many peo pl e
And that has made all the difference. 20 s i nce i t i s “l es s travel l ed by ”.
, Anaphora: The deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several successive verses,
clauses, or paragraphs
Antithesis: A contrast or opposition between two things.
Enjambment: The running on of the thought from one line, couplet, or stanza to the next without a
syntactical break/punctuated pause.
i mage o f a per s o n s tandi ng at cho i ce that w as no t made, r ather than the cho i ce that w as made.
a fo rk i n the path & deci di ng The path that w as no t cho s en, i r o ni cal l y, beco mes the mo re attr acti ve o ne, and
to take o ne path rather than o ccupi es the s peaker' s tho ughts much mo re than the path that he di d cho o s e.
ano ther (cho i ce between two
o pti o ns i n l i fe). The Road Not Taken
Robert Frost (1874–1963)
Deno tes a fo rk i n the
r o ad.
C o nno tes a l i fe cho i ce
(metapho r ). Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
“o” assonance “a” assonance
Anapho r a: Repeti ti o n o f “And”
i n l i nes 2-4, 7, 11 & 20. And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood Enjambment
Image o f the s peaker s tandi ng
o n hi s to es & s tretchi ng hi s
And looked down one as far as I could
neck, peer i ng al o ng the path,
tryi ng to get a cl earer vi ew o f
the ro ad & hi s futur e, w hi ch i s To where it bent in the undergrowth; 5
“ bent” - unkno wn &
He takes the mo r e appeal i ng
unpr edi ctabl e.
path (“ better cl ai m”), the
“a” assonance
Anti thes i s : Thro ugho ut the “o ther ” o ne that w as “gras s y ”
Then took the other, as just as fair, and no t w o rn do w n by
po em the s peaker s ays that
thes e paths were “fai r ”, “the tr avel l er s .
And having perhaps the better claim,
s ame” & “equal l y ” appeal i ng, It r efers to the s po t at the fo r k
Lacked
but he s ays i n l i ne 7 that he i n the ro ad w here pas s er s -by
cho s e “the better cl ai m”. Because it was grassy and wanted wear; w o ul d have s to pped to po nder
thei r deci s i o n as to whi ch path
Though as for that, the passing there to take.
The s po t w o ul d be wo r n Enjambment
do wn as tr avel l er s s to o d
Had worn them really just about the same, 10
The two paths (“r o ads ”) ar e
aro und, mo vi ng thei r feet,
tr yi ng to co me to a deci s i o n s i mi l ar: s tanz a 2: “as j us t as
abo ut thei r futur e. fai r ” & “the pas s i ng ther e...the
s ame”; s tanz a 3: “ bo th that
The s peaker ' s i ntenti o n i s And both that morning equally lay mo r ni ng equal l y l ay ”.
to retur n s o that he can
Thes e w o rds ar e co nnected
travel al o ng the o ther path
s o me ti me i n the futur e. In leaves no step had trodden black. becaus e, o n that par ti cul ar day,
the s peaker fo und hi ms el f w here
Thi s i s i ro ni c, becaus e he
Oh, I kept the first for another day! tw o ways (paths ) l ay befo re hi m.
wi l l be unabl e to travel
back i nto the pas t & al ter Ex cl amati o n mar k emphas i s es
hi s deci s i o n. Yet knowing how way leads on to way, the s peaker' s regr et.
The s peaker kno ws that he
w i l l no t go back to that I doubted if I should ever come back. 15
s ame s po t i n the w o o d and
then take the o ther path.
Of regret C o l o n: ex pl anati o n fo l l o w s .
The s peaker ex er ci s es I shall be telling this with a sigh Metapho r : the “path” i s a
fr eedo m o f i ndependent Therefore metapho r fo r a l i fe cho i ce
cho i ce. Repeti ti o n o f “I” Somewhere ages and ages hence: made by the s peaker.
co nveys that he made
Hyphen: apply emphasis
the deci s i o n. Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – to the words that follow.
Li ne 20: He i s s ati s fi ed The s peaker fo und hi ms el f o n a
w i th hi s deci s i o n. I took the one less travelled by, l i fe path that w as no t po pul ar
o r cho s en by many peo pl e
And that has made all the difference. 20 s i nce i t i s “l es s travel l ed by ”.
, Anaphora: The deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several successive verses,
clauses, or paragraphs
Antithesis: A contrast or opposition between two things.
Enjambment: The running on of the thought from one line, couplet, or stanza to the next without a
syntactical break/punctuated pause.
