Title: “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;

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 Comprehension:

1. What is the setting of the poem?
2. What is the speaker’s dilemma in the poem?
3. How does the speaker describe the two roads?
4. Why does the speaker choose the road he takes?
5. What does the speaker mean by “wanted wear”?
6. What does the speaker mean by “the passing there had worn them really about the same”?
7. What does the speaker mean by “leaves no step had trodden black”?
8. Why does the speaker keep the first road for another day?
9. What does the speaker mean by “knowing how way leads on to way”?
10. What is the significance of the last stanza in the poem?

Answers:

1. The setting of the poem is a yellow wood.
2. The speaker is torn between two paths and cannot decide which one to take.
3. The speaker describes one road as grassy and the other as bending in the undergrowth.
4. The speaker chooses the road that is grassy and less traveled.
5. “Wanted wear” means that the road was less traveled and needed someone to walk on it.
6. The speaker means that both roads had been used by travelers and were equally worn.
7. “Leaves no step had trodden black” means that no one had walked on the leaves, leaving them undisturbed.
8. The speaker keeps the first road for another day because he hopes to come back and explore it later.
9. “Knowing how way leads on to way” means that once a decision is made, it leads to more choices and paths.
10. The last stanza suggests that the speaker took the road less traveled, and that choice has made a significant impact on his life.