TRNT - Meaning
What decision does the speaker have to make in the poem?
Which road to take (in life)
What blocks the speaker’s dream?
The wall
What is the setting in the poem?
a yellow wood / a forest in the autumn
What color is used to describe the wall?
Black
Name one difference between Langston Hughes and Robert Frost.
Difference: Langston Hughes was Black
He was part of the Harlem Renaissance
Frost was White
He moved to England.
Which road did the speaker choose?
The road that was grassier / the road less travelled by.
What does the wall represent?
Racism, discrimination, or obstacles in life.
What is the significance of Autumn?
It is a time of change, and the choice will change the speaker's life.
What does darkness symbolize in the poem?
Oppression, fear, or injustice.
Name one similarity between the poets .
Similarity:Both Write About Human Experience
Both use symbols in their poems
Why does the speaker feel the choice is difficult?
Because both roads look similar and are equally attractive.
What has the speaker almost forgotten? Why?
Their dream. Because it has been a long time since they lived in the world without the wall (racism)
What does the phrase “wanted wear” suggest about the road?
It seems less used or different.
What does light represent?
Hope and the power of dreams.
What metaphors are used in the poems?
AIGO - the wall is a metaphor for racism, the hands a metaphor for the artist's tools
TRNT - the whole poem is an extended metaphor for choices in life.
The title
He says he's sorry he can't travel both
He saved the first for another day
What is the feeling at the end of the poem? Why?
The feeling is optimisitic. Because he has broken the wall and released thousands of dreams.
What does the line "Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted I should ever come back" mean?
One decision leads to another, and we can't go back in time to change our first decision and change our path.
Why is the wall described as growing higher?
The obstacles grow and become more difficult to over time.
What is the imagery use in the two poems?
AIGO - light and dark
What is the message of the poem?
decisions are challenging and we don’t know until well after we have made them whether or not they were the right decisions.
What message does Hughes give about dreams and obstacles?
We can overcome the obstacles that get in the way of our dreams with determination, strength and hope.
What part of the poem is left open for interpretation. Explain.
The end. The speaker says he will be telling this with a sigh, and that the choice made all the difference. we don't know if it is for the better (pride) or the worse (regret)
He breaks the walls with his hands. Langstons hughes used his hands to write poetry to help raise awareness of racism which he hoped would end racism.
How is the future presented differently in each poem?
Frost’s future is uncertain; Hughes’s future is hopeful.