By Robert Frost

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo 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 thereHad worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally layIn 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 sighSomewhere 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.

What

does this mean?

Poetry

Type of rhythmic, compressed language that uses figures of speech and imagery to appeal to the reader’s emotions and imagination.

Rhyme Scheme

The pattern of end rhymes in a poem

Repetition of accented vowel sounds, and all sounds following them, in words that are close together in a poem.

Rhyme schemes are shown by letters (aabbcc)

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;

 

a

b

a

a

b

Speaker

Voice that is talking to us in a poem.

It is never the poet.

I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere 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.Who is the speaker?

Meter

Generally regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry.

A foot is usually between 2-3 feet, a combination of accented and unaccented syllables.

! ! - ! - - ! - ! Two roads / di verged / in a yel / low wood

! ! - ! - - ! - ! Two roads / di verged / in a yel / low wood

- ! ! - - - ! - ! And be / one trav el / er long / I stood

- ! - ! - ! - - ! And looked / down one / as far / as I could

- ! - ! - - ! - ! To where / it bent / in the un / der growth

Stanza

Group of consecutive lines in poem that forms a single unit.

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo 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 thereHad worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally layIn 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 sighSomewhere 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.

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