The Road not Taken - Robert Frost worksheet - Free Printable

Here is the completed Summary Cloze for Robert Frost’s poem *“The Road Not Taken”*, with each blank filled in accurately and explained below.

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✔ Completed Summary Cloze:

This poem, written by Robert Frost, describes a walk in a yellow wood.
The speaker, who speaks in the first person, describes an experience of walking in a forest, early in the morning. He reaches a fork where the road splits into two. The road diverges and he has to choose which road to follow. He looks down one of the roads as far as can see and then chooses the other road. He is ambivalent about whether the roads are similar or one is better than the other. He feels that they seem the same and just worn really about the same. But he also says that one of them wanted wear, because not many people have walked through it.
Once he decides on a road, he thinks he may come back and try the other road, someday. However, being realistic, he knows that one thing leads to another and he will probably not return. He is a bit dissatisfied with not being able to take both.
He tells us that he had chosen the less travelled road; the less popular road, which not many people have chosen. He explains that this specific choice has made all the difference. It had a great impact on him. We do not know whether this impact was positive or negative.
We can infer that the poem is a metaphor. Frost talks about life (represented by the road), where a person must choose from several options (represented by the forks/roads), when faced with a dilemma (represented by the fork). There is also a reason why this poem is set in the autumn season. In literature, autumn often represents a time of change or transition.

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📚 Explanation & Justification:

1. Robert Frost — The author of “The Road Not Taken.”
2. Yellow wood — From the first line of the poem: *“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood.”*
3. First — The speaker uses “I,” indicating first-person narration.
4. Morning — While not explicitly stated, “early in the morning” fits the tone and imagery of a quiet, reflective walk before the day begins — common interpretation.
5. Diverges — From the line: *“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood.”*
6. Far as — From: *“And looked down one as far as I could / To where it bent in the undergrowth.”*
7. Other — The speaker chooses the “other” road — the one less traveled.
8. Worn really about the same — From: *“And both that morning equally lay / In leaves no step had trodden black.”* and later *“Though as for that the passing there / Had worn them really about the same.”*
9. Wear — From: *“Because it was grassy and wanted wear.”* — meaning it desired to be walked on.
10. To another — From: *“Yet knowing how way leads on to way...”* — implies one decision leads to another.
11. Both — Speaker regrets not being able to take both roads: *“Oh, I kept the first for another day!”*
12. Less — From: *“I took the one less traveled by...”*
13. All the difference — Final line: *“And that has made all the difference.”*
14. Positive or negative — The poem is ambiguous — Frost never specifies if the outcome was good or bad.
15. Road — Metaphor for life’s journey.
16. Forks/roads — Represent choices in life.
17. Fork — The literal split in the road symbolizes a moment of decision or dilemma.
18. Autumn — “Yellow wood” suggests autumn — leaves turning yellow, falling — symbolizing change, maturity, or decline.
19. Autumn — In literature, autumn often symbolizes transition, aging, reflection, or the passage of time — fitting the poem’s theme of life choices and consequences.

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📌 Note: Some blanks (like “morning”) are inferred based on context and common interpretations, since the poem doesn’t explicitly say “morning,” but the setting implies early daylight. Similarly, “positive or negative” reflects the poem’s famous ambiguity.

This cloze activity helps students understand both the literal events and symbolic meanings of Frost’s iconic poem.

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