Teaching With Visuals
Transcript: The Road Not Taken Karen Granger Poem The Poem 1st Stanza "The Road Not Taken" Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Analysis: - speaker is describing a "fork in the road." - rather than being an actual road, it's more likely that it was two pathways since the poem was originally published in 1916. - "yellow wood" indicates time: fall. - speaker is faced with a choice. 2nd Stanza "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," = after all that, he decides to take the other road. - "as just as fair" - the roads are the same. - "wanted wear" - NOT personification, it means it lacked wear. - lines 9-10 the speaker is indecisive because the roads have virtually no difference! 3rd Stanza "And both in 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." - again, it's clear that the paths are equal. - in the "morning," however, the speaker realizes no one has ventured down this path. - wasn't one of the paths "grassy?" Why is it covered with leaves? - is the speaker reliable and honest? - "...for another day!" the speaker is basically procrastinating. - "Yet..." the speaker realizes that this is foolish. - we always think we can do something else later, but can we really? 4th Stanza "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." - "sigh" sighs can be happy, sad, etc. so what does this really mean? - "and I--" prepares readers for a conclusion. - "I took the one less traveled by" interesting that he says this considering both of the roads are the same. - Did it this decision make him successful? A failure? Lose? All we know is that no matter what, his decision will always play out the same. Activity Activity 1. As a group, try to figure out what the meaning of the poem is. 2. Stanza by stanza, interpret the author's meaning, or multiple meanings. 3. Use textual evidence to back up your argument. 4. Come to an agreement about your claims. 5. Think critically! Why did Frost choose these words? What is the impact of them? What words would you use? Standards Standards 1. RL.11-12.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly engaging. RI.11-12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.