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Stanza 4: In this stanza the reader jumps forward in time. This poem is most likely talking years, not months. This story is important, because the speaker will still be telling it many years later. The poet says that in the future, with a deep breath he will say that long ago. He had reached a point in life that there were two choices for him and he travelled on the road which had been travelled upon by few people and that choice made so much of difference. In the same way, when you are older, you will say that way back, when you were young, you had two choices. This is a very great message for all the students - that you should be wise and be vigilant while making, choosing, correct alternative out of the options that you have in your life because your future depends on the choice that you make today. The poet took the path that no one else did, and that is what has made the difference in his life that made him successful.
Important Questions
Q 1. Trace the movement of thought in "The Road Not taken".
Ans. In this poem the poet brings out the importance of choice: making in one's life. He says that choices are irrevocable. They have a very far reaching influence. They influence the whole course of a man's life. Another idea brought out in this poem is that one cannot achieve extraordinary things by taking an ordinary course. Only lesser mortals follow the beaten paths. Great souls always prefer to tread new paths. The poet illustrates this idea with the help of a very common experience.
Once the poet was travelling through a forest. He came to a place from where the road diverged in two directions. It was not possible for the poet to travel by both the roads at the same time. He had to choose one of the two. The poet stood there and thought for a long time. One of the roads was visible upto some distance. It meant that the road had frequently been used. The other road was overgrown with grass. It meant that this road had not been used much. The poet decided to go by the second road. He kept the first one for another day.
The poet imagines a time many ages hence. He will then be in some other world. He will then recall how he had decided to travel by the other road and 'that has made all the difference'. Frost suggests that the choices which one makes in one's life are for good. One cannot turn back and make a second choice regarding one's goal in life. Therefore, it is all the more essential that one should exercise great caution in making the choice. He also suggests that by choosing the ordinary course in life, one cannot hope to become extraordinary.
Q 2. Give a critical appreciation of the poem "The Road Not Taken".
Ans. "The Road Not Taken" is one of the finest poems written by Robert Frost. A man, walking in the yellow woods in Autumn, comes to a point where the road divides into two. The man stands thinking for some time which road he should follow.
The poet presents here the difficulty and importance of having to make a choice in life. There are two roads before a man. One of these roads is generally walked over by a large number of men. The other is the less travelled road. One cannot go along both the roads at the same time. One has to choose either of these two roads. This choice will make all the difference. It will lay down the course and destination of his life. After covering a large part of this road, one may feel that perhaps the other road might have been more rewarding. But, then there is no return. The man cannot go back and follow the other road. He has to accept the consequences of his choice, good or bad. The poem is marked by simplicity and clarity. As is usual in Frost's poems, this poem also hides a deep meaning beneath the surface story. The surface story has a rural background. A traveller, passing through yellow woods, reaches a point where the road divides into two. This has a deep significance. Every person is a traveller in the autumnal woods of life. He has to make a choic of his course and destination in life. He has to suffer the consequences of his choice. He cannot mend the situation.
Q3. What do the two roads symbolize?
Ans.: The two roads symbolise the choices governing man's personal, social and professional life. Because the roads head in different directions; choosing one involves rejecting the other. The claims of each road are so conflicting that the speaker weighs and balances them for a long time. At first sight both the roads seem equally worn and covered with leaves. A closer scrutiny reveals one to be more used but it winds its way through the undergrowth. The other road seems more pleasant and less used. The speaker chooses it because its beauty and mystery tempt him.
Q4. Discuss the dilemma of the traveler
in the poem.
In this poem there is a traveler. Two roads diverged in a yellow wood. He stood there for a long time. He looked down. Actually he had come to the junction of two roads. The roads were branching away from one another. The poet was a single traveller. He looked along one of the roads as long as he could. He then turned to the other road. This one was just as good and comfortable a road for travelling along as the other one. In a way it was entilted to a preferential treatment. It was grass covered and provided an additional attraction. So far as the use of either road by travellers was concerned both had been frequently used by them and looked worn out and broken to the same extent.
Q. 5. How does the traveler come to a decision about what to do in the poem?
Ans.: The speaker made the right choice. If we are seekers after truth, we should avoid taking common roads. Less travelled roads may be full of dangers and difficulties. But real experience and knowledge in life come only by facing dangers and difficulties. The poet is happy that the traveler has taken a road which is not well trodden.
Q6. What are the two roads in life?
Ans. There are two roads in life. One is meant for the ordinary people. The other one is for the extraordinary people. Ordinary people take the well trodden path. They do not want to break fresh ground. Extraordinary people like to do something new. The traveller was a man of mettle. He did not believe in going along the easy way of life. He believed in accepting the big challenges of life. He knew that one cannot achieve extraordinary things by taking an ordinary course. Great achievements demand equally great risk and labour. Therefore men of courage always prefer to break new paths. Only lesser mortals follow beaten and worn:out paths. Both the roads looked equally attractive to the traveller. The one was visible as far as he could see. It had frequently been used.
The other road was overgrown with grass. It had not been much used. The traveller chose this road and that made all the difference.
Q7. Discuss the theme of Frost's poem.
Ans. In this poem Robert Frost brings out the importance of choice: making in one's life. He says that choices are irrevocable. They have a far reaching influence. They influence the whole course of a man's life. Frost suggests that the choices which one makes in life are for good. One cannot turn back and make a second choice regarding one's goal in life. Therefore choices should be made with great caution. Another idea is that one cannot achieve extraordinary things by taking an ordinary course. Only lesser mortals follow the beaten paths. Both the roads looked equally attractive to the poet. But he decided to take the less frequented one. If he had taken the more frequented one, he could be sure of reaching somewhere.
Q. 8: What types of poetic Devices / literary terms are used in this poem?
Ans.: Different types of poetic Device or literary terms used in this poem are:
Quintian: The poem contains four stanzas and each stanza contains five lines. This is called a quintain. Thus the poem contains four quintains.
Personification: “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood”. Here the poet is not talking about a road fork in the woods. He is using the literary term personification for different choices in the life.
Metaphor : In the poem the poet uses the ‘fork in the road’ as a metaphor for the choices we make in life.
Repetition: “Somewhere ages and ages hence”. The word ‘ages’ is written twice as Repetition.
Q9. What is the rhyme-scheme of the poem?
Ans.: The rhyme-scheme of the poem is ab aa b. The thymes are end rhymes. Perfect rhymes are “lay and way’ and slant rhymes are both and undergrowth.
Q10. What is the message of the poem?
Ans.: Through the poem “The Road Not Taken’ the poet wants to tell us that in our life when we have to make a choice. Out of many choices, we should be very careful to do so. Otherwise if in haste we make a wrong choice, in the long run even our hard work does not yield as good result as if we had chosen a right one.
Q11.Writ a short note on the title of the poem ?
Ans.: The title “The Road Not Taken’ is apt, appropriate and logical. The poet after travelling a long distance thinks about the road that he does not take and realizes that he has chosen wrong road. He wishes if he had taken the other road, it would have proved more rewarding. But now he can do nothing as his choice is irrevocable. It is very difficult to say whether the road we have chosen will lead us to the desired end.
Q12. Write a short note on the language of the poem?
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