Robert Frost’s 1916 poem “The Road Not Taken” stands among his signature works. The poem describes a moment of decision, allegorically framed as a fork in a road. The speaker reflects on his options, peering down the woodland path for answers, before subtly admitting the insignificance of the choice. In his usual mode, Frost draws readers into a careful examination of the world, presenting his vision through spare but telling images.

Skills: analysis, drawing inferences from text, close reading, identifying the relationship between words

About This Document

The Owl Eyes Imagery activity gives students an opportunity to practice identifying and analyzing imagery. Imagery within a text creates a sensory experience that can connect readers to a text’s setting, atmosphere, or overall aesthetic. Studying imagery will help students understand how narrators or principal characters feel. The main components of this worksheet include the following:

• A brief introduction to the text
• A handout on types of imagery with examples from classic texts
• A step-by-step guide to activity procedure
• Selected examples of imagery from the text

In completing this worksheet, students will learn to identify and analyze different kinds of imagery in order to develop close reading skills and identify the effect imagery has on their reading experience.