“The Road Not Taken”

Robert Frost
 Learning Target
✓ By the end of the lesson, students should be able to
develop a specific and compelling claim about a
poem beyond its literal or surface interpretation,
citing textual evidence to support their contention.
✓ Standards:
o 7.RL.1: Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
o 7.RL.2: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the
course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.
o 7.RL.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text,
including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word
choices on meaning and tone, including rhymes and other repetitions of sounds on a
specific verse or stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama.
o 7.W.1b: Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate,
credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.
o 7.SL.1a: Come to discussions prepared having read or researched material under study;
explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to
probe and reflect on ideas under discussion.
“The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost
After watching the animation, share
your initial reactions, thoughts or
questions with the class.
• How did you respond during or after
watching the video?
• Did the poem or video elicit a
response, whether it may be a
physical, emotional and/or intellectual
reaction?
“The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost
❖ The speaker is walking along a road and comes
across a fork in the road. He wonders which road
he should take and what will happen because of
the choice he made to travel down one road and
not the other.
❖ This poem is open to multiple interpretations:
• A celebration of individualism?
• A poem about loss?
• A poem about choices?
• A poem about regret?
• A depiction of life?
“The most misread poem in America”
–The Paris Review, 2015
Robert Lee Frost (1874-1963)
“The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost
Listen to the poem being read aloud and
begin annotating the text by making note of
anything that strikes you or grabs your
attention.
o After listening to the poem again, has your
understanding of the poem changed?
• Did listening to the poem while following along
with the lines elicit any additional reactions?
• What do you believe is the purpose, theme or
underlying meaning of the poem?
“The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost
Annotate Frost’s poem and complete
the “Annotation Accompaniment”
packet to guide your annotations.

Be prepared to share your

annotations and responses with your
peers in a class-wide discussion.
Stop and Think
o Is the speaker in the poem satisfied with
his or her decision? Why or why not?
o In the poem’s context, can humankind
control their fate, or is it dictated by
destiny?
o Do your decisions in life contribute to your
identity? Can you change who you are by
making different choices?

Cite evidence from the poem, from your experiences in

life, or from other sources of literature to support your
answers.
“The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost
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;

“The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost
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,

“The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost
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.

“The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost
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.

Putting it all Together
Sample claim:
A careful reading of Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”
reveals that, far from advocating the forging of one’s
own road, the poem examines instead the tremendous
difficulty of distinguishing between choices and the
regret that inevitably follows any decision.
The speaker asserts he or she “looked down one [path]
as far as I could / To where it bent in the
undergrowth” (4-5), so we know that the speaker’s view
is obstructed by the path’s veering off out of sight. The
speaker also claims to be “sorry I could not travel both
/ And be one traveler” (2-3). In the word “sorry” we hear
a sense of regret at lost possibility because the speaker
must choose one of the paths rather than taking both…
Putting it all Together
Using your annotations, your understanding
of the poem and the “Annotation
Accompaniment” packet, take a position and
make a statement about the poem.
Be sure to support your claim by citing lines
from the poem and develop an argument
that is not readily apparent to the reader;
show that the poem is not as
straightforward as it appears.