Bennett Poetry Anthology Project

Poetry Anthology By Mrs. Bennett

Table of Contents The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost Poem 3 Analysis 4-5 Good Morning, Dear Students Poem 6-7 Analysis 8-9

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.

“The Road Not Taken” Analysis The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost is a poem about the many choices we will have to face in life. Sometimes we will make a choice that is not very popular. And that choice may change our life forever, for good or bad. My text to self connection to this poem is that many times, I ponder how my life would have turned out differently if I would have taken a different path. This poem didn’t make me laugh or cry, but it did make me reflect on my life. It is a lyrical poem because it expresses deep, personal feelings. It has 4 stanzas (with the following rhyme scheme) and 3 line breaks.

“The Road Not Taken” Analysis The poet has included figurative language in the form of metaphors because he has compared life to a forked road. The speaker’s main purpose in the poem is to share his feelings about making choices in life and the effects of those choices. I think the most important line in the poem is... “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” ...because it summarizes the whole poem. The speaker in this poem decided to take the road that no one else took. That means in life, he chose the path that was least popular. He did something different than everyone else. He said this decision made all the difference. The reader doesn’t know if the outcome was positive or negative.

Good Morning, Dear Students by Kenn Nesbitt “Good morning, dear students,” the principal said. “Please put down your pencils and go back to bed. Today we will spend the day playing outside, then take the whole school on a carnival ride. “We’ll learn to eat candy while watching TV, then listen to records and swing from a tree. We’ll also be learning to draw on the walls, to scream in the classrooms and run in the halls. “So bring in your skateboard, your scooter, your bike. It’s time to be different and do what you like. The teachers are going to give you a rest. You don’t have to study. There won’t be a test.

Good Morning, Dear Students (cont’d) “And if you’d prefer, for a bit of a change, feel free to go wild and act really strange. Go put on a clown suit and dye your hair green, and copy your face on the Xerox machine. “Tomorrow it’s back to the regular grind. Today, just go crazy. We really don’t mind. So tear up your homework. We’ll give you an A. Oh wait. I’m just kidding. It’s April Fools’ Day.”

“Good Morning, Dear Students” Analysis ● This poem relates to my life because I work at an elementary school, and this would never happen. ● My emotional response to this poem is it made me laugh, so it is a humorous poem. ● The theme is it’s April Fool’s Day and the principal is playing a joke on the students. ● This poem is a humorous poem. ● This is a rhyming poem with an AABB rhyme scheme, 3 stanzas and 2 line breaks.

“Good Morning, Dear Students” Analysis ● The speaker’s main purpose is to show students something a principal would never do. It was a contrast and contradiction. At the end, the principal says “April Fools”. ● The poet’s use of descriptive language helped me imagine the students going wild. For example, “Go put on a clown suit and dye your hair green, and copy your face on the Xerox machine.” ● I think the most important line in the poem is the last line, “Oh wait. I’m just kidding. It’s April Fools’ Day”, because it is the punchline of the poem when the principal says he’s just kidding. The kids really can’t go out and do all those crazy things.

Poetry Reading Log Frost, Robert. “The Road Not Taken”. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44272/the-ro ad-not-taken Nesbitt, Kenn. “Good Morning, Dear Students”. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47154/good- morning-dear-students