We haven’t spoken about poetry for a while, so in today’s episode we’ll explore one of the most famous poems in English literature, The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost.
We’ll read the poem and break it down in simple, clear English to help you understand both its meaning and its language. We will look at the key vocabulary, the imagery of the two roads, and some deeper ideas about choices and life decisions.
By the end of the episode, we hope you’ll not only understand the poem more clearly, but that you’ll also feel more confident about how to approach English poetry in general.
Good news from Marta from Poland. She sent me an email with news about the Cambridge C1 Advanced exam that she recently took.
“I got my results on Monday. I’m pleased to tell you that I passed with flying colours! In fact, my overall score was 205.“ (that’s grade A, C2 level!)
This isn’t the first time we’ve spoken about poetry:
Poetry https://inglespodcast.com/201
“If” by Rudyard Kipling https://inglespodcast.com/537
We’ll read the poem in full, explain some advanced vocabulary, read it again and then discuss what it could mean.
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost 1874 – 1963
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.
Vocabulary
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;
wood – a forest of trees. Woods tend to be smaller than forests. In the poem it suggests a peaceful, calm wooded area.
bent – curved or changed direction. “The tree bent in the strong wind.”
undergrowth – small plants and bushes growing under trees in a forest. “We could barely see the path because of the thick 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,
fair – pleasant, attractive, or looking good. “My fair Lady”
grassy – covered with grass, or resembling grass
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.
trodden – tread/trod/trodden – stepped on many times. “The snow was trodden and muddy after the crowd passed.”
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 – a long audible breath indicating tiredness, boredom, relief or sadness.
hence – from now or from this time; therefore. “He will retire next year, hence the new manager will take over.”
diverged – split into different directions. “The road diverged into two smaller streets.”
Discussion
What does the poem mean?
The rhyme scheme of each verse is ABAAB. What does that mean? Do you know any other common rhyme schemes in English?
Would you have the same road as the poet – the slightly less used one – or the other one?
Do you think the sigh in the last verse is one of tiredness, relief, sadness, or something else?
Are there any choices you’ve made in life that you are curious to know what might have happened if you had taken a different path?
…and now it’s your turn to practise your English.
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Aleksandra Jurczak
In next week’s episode: Advanced modifiers for comparatives and superlatives
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The music in this podcast is by Pitx. The track is called ‘See You Later’