15
The Road Not Taken
Beukes
refer to the color of the leaves of the trees in the wood during autumn/type of tree
1. Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
to separate and go into different directions
Wanted to take both roads
2. And sorry I could not travel both
gives the poem a narrative feeling
Repetition of “and”
emphasizes the importance of the choice he had to make
3. And be one traveler, long I stood
American writer
uncertain as to which road to choose
4. And looked down one as far as I could
Speaker tried to look down each path to see where it leads.
Tried to see where each choice would lead him in life.
5. To where it bent in the undergrowth;
plants and trees cover the road
Indicates that you can only see into the future up until a certain point
Deeper meaning
refer to a person’s lifespan.
(middle age or your autumn years)
Figurative meaning
The speaker has come to a cross road in his life.
He took the other road “the one less traveled by”
6. Then took the other, as just as fair,
it was a good choice/ road to take
both roads were equally fair.
7. And having perhaps the better claim,
The road might be better
Contradicts the above mentioned statement
because
looks good, no one else took this road
8. Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
9. Though as for that the passing there
The poet contradicts himself, he now says that the two roads are really the same.
10. Had worn them really about the same,
WHY??
He shows us that he is uncertain about his choice and is considering which one would be better for him.
Both roads are new to him
11. And both that morning equally lay,
both roads were equally fair.
12. In leaves no step had trodden black.
no one else took these roads before him.
Also indicates that it’s his first time at this specific crossroad or problem in his life.
13. Oh, I kept the first for another day!
He wanted to keep the other option so that he could explore that possibility in the future.
He wanted to try the other choice as well but knew it was impossible
14. Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
one thing leads to another and you can’t turn back.
15. I doubted if I should ever come back.
The speaker realises that once he made his choice, he could not go back/ turn back from his course.
Choices
Choices
You have to make the right decision for yourself because there will be no going back.
The road you take now will lead to another and another.
One choice will lead to others
Changed to future tense
He is now referring to his future
Can be a feeling of regret
16. I shall be telling this with a sigh
longs to see what the other opportunity/choice/road might have been like
Links with line 13
17. Somewhere ages and ages hence:
refers to his lifespan
His old age (winter) Links with line 1
In the future he will be looking back to this moment.
18. Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
Makes nature of the poem personal
Shows us that the decision he made was his alone
19. I took the one less traveled by,
He chose the road that few people before him travelled on
20. And that has made all the difference.
something can be understood in more than one way
Ambiguous
We don’t know whether the choice he made was for the better or worse
Lyrical poem
Theme
We have to make a lot of choices everyday.
The most important aspect of this is to make a good/ the right choice, so that one day when we are old, we will say that it was the right thing to do and that that has made all the difference.
Questions
1. What does the speaker encounter?
He encounters a fork in the road in the woods and he needs to decide which road to take.
2. What decision does the speaker have to make in the poem?
Literally: He needs to decide which road to follow
Figuratively: He needs to make an important choice in his life.
3. Infer the season. How do you know?
Autumn, because of the yellow leaves
4. Describe the conflict the speaker feels.
The speaker needs to make an important decision and choose one path to follow. He is hesitant about his choice because he is scare that maybe the other path is better.
5. Explain why the reader doubts he’ll ever come back to travel the first road.
He doubts it because one choice always leads to another and there will be no time to come back to the other choice.
6. Analyze the last stanza. What does the speaker mean by ―"Somewhere ages and ages hence”?
It means when he is an old man / Sometime in the distant future
7. Formulate an idea of what you think the road may represent. Explain why you think that.
It represents an important life choice he has to make. The influence the direction his life will go in. That is why he is hesitant about the choice.
8. 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.
He feels sorry that he cannot travel both ways. Both roads/choices are good and will benefit him as far as he can see.
9. Propose a meaning for the line ―” that has made all the difference.” What are some of other meanings of that line?
The fact that he chose the road less traveled by made all the difference.
- He did not take to easy way out.
- He is the only one that can be blamed for his choices.