Grade 8 Poem Analysis Worksheet

Poem Analysis: 'The Road Not Taken'

Read the poem 'The Road Not Taken' by Robert Frost carefully. Then, answer the questions that follow, analyzing the poem's literary devices, theme, and structure.

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.

1. What literary device is primarily used in the line 'Two roads diverged in a yellow wood'?

2. The speaker in the poem expresses feelings of   and   when faced with the choice between the two roads.

3. The phrase 'ages and ages hence' suggests that the speaker views this decision as having   significance.

4. Identify and explain one example of imagery used in the poem.

5. The poem explicitly states that the speaker regrets the choice they made.

6. Discuss the central theme of 'The Road Not Taken.' How does Frost use the imagery of the diverging roads to convey this theme?