THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
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;

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,

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.

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

1. What is the speaker in the poem doing?
2. What does the speaker encounter?
3. What decision does the speaker have to make in the poem?
4. Infer the season. How do you know?
5. Describe the conflict the speaker feels.
6. Explain why the reader doubts he’ll ever come back to travel the first road.
7. Analyze the last stanza. What does the speaker mean by ―Somewhere ages and ages hence”?
8. Formulate an idea of what you think the road may represent. Explain why you think that.
9. Propose a reason for the ―sigh” the speaker has at the end of the poem. What are some of the reasons he may be sighing? Explain your answer.
10. Propose a meaning for the line ―that has made all the difference.‖ What are some of other meanings of that line?
11. Which interpretation do you prefer? Why?

1. The speaker is making a decision whether to go down one road or the other. 2. He/she faces a difficulty choosing his/her path. 3. The speaker has to choose which road to travel down. 4. I believe it may be autumn, for the grass is green, but there's leaves on the ground. 5. The conflict is the difficulty of choosing paths. 6. The speaker doesn't mention a compass, so he can't navigate back. Also, the speaker stated, "I doubted if I should ever come back". 7. Somewhere long ago. 8. The road represents life, for you must make difficult decisions, your decisions affect your future, you can't undo your decisions, and each decision makes a difference. 9. The speaker sighs because they are relieved they finally made their decision and can stop thinking of it for the moment. 10. The meaning of that line can be just as hazy as the others, but it could also be different. The speaker realizes this choice has made it different. 11. I prefer the interpretation that this poem represents Frost's definition of the meaning of life because that's how it seems.