"The Road Not Taken"

by Robert Frost

SSAT Reading Practice - Poetry Analysis

The Poem

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.

Reading Tips

  • • Look for the central metaphor and what it represents
  • • Pay attention to the speaker's tone and emotions
  • • Consider the poem's structure and rhyme scheme
  • • Think about the deeper meaning beyond the literal story

Comprehension Questions

Progress: 0/5

1. What is the central metaphor in this poem?

2. What does the phrase "wanted wear" suggest about the second road?

3. What is the tone of the final stanza?

4. What literary device is used in "I took the one less traveled by"?

5. What does the speaker mean by "way leads on to way"?

About the Poem

"The Road Not Taken" was written by Robert Frost in 1915 and published in 1916. It's one of the most famous and frequently misunderstood poems in American literature.

Frost wrote this poem about his friend Edward Thomas, who would often regret decisions about which path to take during their walks together. The poem uses the metaphor of diverging roads to represent life choices and their consequences.

The poem follows an ABAAB rhyme scheme and is written in iambic tetrameter. While often interpreted as celebrating individualism and taking the unconventional path, the poem is actually more complex, exploring themes of choice, regret, and the stories we tell ourselves about our decisions.