Name __________________________________________________
Block ________
“The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost
Text Passage
Directions: In the “Notes” column, consider the following:
• Write down the main idea of a stanza.
• Make any inferences.
• Record ideas or questions you have about the poem you want to share with others.
• Write any reactions to the poem or insights about its meaning or writer’s style.
• Interpret figurative language.
Underline or highlight pertinent text associated with your notes.
Text
Notes
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.
Frost, Robert. “The Road Not Taken.” In The Poetry of Robert Frost: The Collected Poems. Edited by Edward Connery Lathem. New York:
Henry Holt, 1979. (1915)
1
“The Road Not Taken” Graphic Organizer
Directions: After rereading the poem, answer each question below in the “My Response”
section. Support each response in the “Evidence from the Text” section. After you are given time
to talk to a classmate and share ideas, complete the “My Thoughts Now” section based on your
conversation.
1. In the first stanza, Frost uses the word “diverged.” What does this mean, and what context
clues can you pull from the text to support your assertion? Why does Frost repeat this in the final
stanza?
My Response
Evidence From the Text
My Thoughts Now
2. What words and/or phrases does Frost use to compare and contrast the two roads in the
second and third stanzas? Are the roads different? Justify your response.
My Response
My Thoughts Now
Evidence From the Text
3. As the poem develops, how is the author’s attitude about choices revealed? What specific
words and phrases does Frost use to convey his message about choices in this poem?
My Response
Evidence From the Text
My Thoughts Now
4. In the last stanza, Frost reveals a certain tone. Identify the tone and record particular words
that demonstrate it. Why does the narrator adopt this tone?
My Response
My Thoughts Now
Evidence From the Text
5. What is the theme of this poem?
My Response
My Thoughts Now
Evidence From the Text