The Road Not Taken

The speaker of the poem wishes that he or she did not have to make a choice between the roads. What lines from the poem support this statement?

"And sorry I could not travel both" and "And be one traveler, long I stood"

What phrases from the text compare the two roads in the poem, or show that they are similar?

"Fair," worn "about the same," and lie "equally" untrodden when the speaker sees them

What is the setting of this poem?

A wood with two roads in it

Based on the information in the poem, why might the second road have "wanted wear" and been "grassy?"

Because few people had taken the second road

According to the speaker, what "has made all the difference" (line 20)?

He or she took the road less traveled by.

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood." What is most likely implied by the word "yellow"?

It is fall, and the leaves are no longer green.

What has worn the roads "about the same" (line 10)?

The "passing" along the roads has worn them about the same.

What does "this" (line 16) refer to?

The explanation of why the speaker chose the second road

The speaker claims that he or she has taken the road less traveled by. Is the speaker telling the truth?

This is hard to say because they both seem to be equally traveled.

Read these lines from the poem. Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, "And sorry I could not travel both" What does the word "diverged" probably mean?

Went in different directions

"Yet knowing how way leads on to way. I doubted if I should ever come back." What is the speaker thinking about in these lines?

Whether or not you are stuck with a choice-- can you go back and make a different choice the next time, or are you stuck with the consequences of the original choice?

What is the theme of this poem?

You have to do things your own way--OR--You have to live with your choices.