Unit
I: Poetry
1 Robert Frost: “The Road
Not Taken”
About Author: Robert Frost was born on March 26,
1874 and died on January 29, 1963. He was an American poet teacher and
lecturer. He was born in the USA and lived much of his life in New
Hampshire. He was a popular poet. His work is remembered
for its realistic representation of rural life. He was of the view that a poem
begins in joy and ends in wisdom. The poem “The Road Not Taken” is taken from
his poetry collection titled 'Mountain Interval'. This poem is characterized by
his straight style and emotional control. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize
four times-in 1924, 1931, 1937 and 1943. He was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 1960 for his poetic works. On
July 22, 1961, he was named poet laureate of Vermont. His works mostly deal with rustic life so the settings
are also from rustic life.
Introduction: - “The
Road Not Taken” of Robert Frost is one of the best and the most admired of the
lyrics published in 1916 in the volume of poems called “Mountain Interval”. In this poem the poet's thoughts are set at a
place in the forest where poet has to select only one path out of the two. He comments on the complexity and importance
of making a choice between these two paths.
He cannot see
where each road will lead to in the end, in spite of his greatest hard work to
do so. This is a metaphor for being faced with different paths in life, and
having to make only one choice among them. It affected not only his life on
this earth but also his spiritual life after death.
The
theme of the poem is that it is
important to take risks and go behind one's heart in life, even if the path is
apparently unusual. In this poem the
poet brings out the significance of choice-making in one's life. He says that
choices cannot be changed. They have a very extensive influence. The influence
is the whole course of man's life.
Summary: - The
poem “The Road Not Taken” is based on an ordinary experience. It depicts the
speaker as standing in the forest at such point which leads to two roads,
thinking which road he should take. Once, speaker of the poem was travelling by
a forest. He came to a place from where the road divided off in two directions.
It is natural that he cannot travel by both the roads at the same time. He had
to select only one of the two. He stood there and thought for a long time. One
of the roads which the author called by first road, seems had been used by the
people as its grass has been trodden. The other one which the author named as
second road seems not used by people as it was dense with grass. So it is clear that this road had not been
used much. The poet decided to go by the second road which is not used by more
people. He kept the first one for another day. This choice had made all the difference
for him.
Summary in Urdu:
خلاصہ: - The Road Not Taken 1916 میں "ماؤنٹین انٹرول" کے نام سے نظموں کے حجم میں شائع ہونے والی غزلوں میں سے ایک بہترین اور سب سے زیادہ قابل تعریف ہے۔ شاعر کے خیالات دو راستوں میں سے کسی ایک کو منتخب کرنے کی دشواری سے کام کرتے ہیں، جو کسی خاص مقام پر منحرف ہو جاتی ہیں۔ وہ مشترکہ طور پر انتخاب کرنے کی پیچیدگی اور اہمیت پر تبصرہ کرتا ہے۔ یہ نظم ایک عام تجربے پر مبنی ہے۔ اس میں سپیکر کو ایک موڑ پر کھڑا یہ سوچتے ہوئے دکھایا گیا ہے کہ اسے کون سا راستہ اختیار کرنا چاہیے۔ وہ یہ نہیں دیکھ سکتا کہ ہر سڑک آخر میں کہاں تک لے جائے گی، ایسا کرنے کے لیے اپنی سب سے بڑی محنت کے باوجود۔ یہ زندگی میں دو مختلف راستوں کا سامنا کرنے اور ان کے درمیان صرف ایک انتخاب کرنے کا استعارہ ہے۔ایک دفعہ شعر کہنے والا جنگل سے سفر کر رہا تھا۔ وہ ایک ایسی جگہ پر پہنچا جہاں سے سڑک دو سمتوں میں بٹی ہوئی تھی۔ یہ فطری بات ہے کہ وہ بیک وقت دونوں سڑکوں سے سفر نہیں کر سکتا۔ اسے دونوں میں سے ایک کا انتخاب کرنا تھا۔ وہ وہیں کھڑا دیر تک سوچتا رہا۔ لگتا ہے کہ سڑکوں میں سے ایک عام طور پر استعمال کی گئی تھی۔ دوسرا گھاس سے بھرا ہوا تھا۔ تو یہ واضح ہے کہ یہ سڑک زیادہ استعمال نہیں ہوئی تھی۔ شاعر نے دوسری سڑک سے جانے کا فیصلہ کیا۔ اس نے پہلے والے کو دوسرے دن کے لیے رکھا۔ اس انتخاب نے اس کے لیے تمام تر انحراف کر دیا تھا۔ اس نے نہ صرف اس زمین پر اس کی مستقبل کی زندگی کو متاثر کیا بلکہ موت کے بعد اس کے روحانی کورس کو بھی متاثر کیا۔ نظم کا موضوع یہ ہے کہ زندگی میں رسک لینا اور اپنے دل کے پیچھے جانا ضروری ہے، چاہے راستہ بظاہر غیر معمولی کیوں نہ ہو۔اس نظم میں شاعر اپنی زندگی میں انتخاب کی اہمیت کو سامنے لاتا ہے۔ ان کا کہنا ہے کہ انتخاب کو تبدیل نہیں کیا جا سکتا۔ ان کا بہت وسیع اثر و رسوخ ہے۔ اثر و رسوخ انسان کی زندگی کا پورا دور ہے۔
Text of “The Road Not
Taken”
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.
Glossary/ Difficult
Words:
diverged :
separated
wood:jungle.
undergrowth:bushy
traveller: a
person who travels
fair: nice
grassy: full of
grass,
though: in spite
of something.
lay: placed
horizontally
claim : to take as
the rightful owner
trodden: walked on
frequently
sigh : emit a
long, deep audible breath expressing sadness, relief or tiredness
know: to have
information
doubt: uncertainty
age: a very long
time
difference: a
point or way in which people or things are not same
Paraphrase
The speaker was traveling
alone one day on a road. There were yellow woods across the roads. The speaker
reached a point where road had a diversion.
He had to choose one between the two roads. He stood at that diverge
and looked at the both roads very carefully. He looked at the one road
carefully till from where it got curved and afterward the road was covered with
tall trees and thus was hidden.
He took a long time to decide whether it is good or not for him. He took the second road and saved first road
for another day. Now, he wishes that he could go back but he think he will
never be able to come back to take the first road.
He shows his failure in choosing the right path. He is
dissatisfied with his decision of taking second road. The poet accepts his
failure of taking less travelled road. He took the road that no one else took,
and that is what has made the difference.
Explanation and Analysis:
Stanza- 1: The speaker of
the poem came to a crossroads in the forest. The roads were divided away from
each other. He recognizes that he could not go along both the roads at one and
the same time. He stated at the crossroads for a long time. Yellow forest means a forest with leaves
which are tiring out and they have twisted yellow in colour – the season of
autumn. It represents a world which is full of people, where people have been
living for many years. They symbolize people who are senior than the poet. The
poet kept standing there and looked at the path very cautiously as far as he
could see it. Before taking the path, he wanted to know how it was. It happens
in the life of everyone have choices. There are different choices, but have to
choose only one out of them. One should think about the choice whether it is
suitable for us or not and only then, we take a decision on what path we should
choose.
Stanza-2: The poet kept on looking at one path for a
long time to check if it is the right path for him or not and them he decided
and started walking on another path because he felt that both paths were
equally good. He says just as fair, so, he felt that both paths were equally
good and started walking on one of them. He adds that maybe he felt that the
path was better for him so he chooses it as it had grass on it which means that
it was unused. Not many people had walked on this path earlier that is why this
path was grassy. ‘And wanted wear’ means that it was not walked over by many
people. After he walked on the path for some distance, he realized that both
the paths had been worm out the same way. Both the paths were similar and worn
out. Even in our life, we take any path or option but all of them have
the same benefits, disadvantages, problems, challenges and we must face them.
We think that we are choosing a better option, but it is not that way.
Stanza-3: In this stanza again,
the poet found both the paths looking same. Perhaps, he goes in the flashback.
It was tough for him to know the real road as in the morning he was the first
person to walk on the road. He couldn’t decide the right
path as no step had shattered the leaves on the roads to allow him to go for
the right one. These lines are an example of imagery.
The poet here saves the first
road for another day. The poet here saves the first road for another day. Then
in the third, he doesn’t think he will ever be able to come back and take the
other path, as much as he wishes he could.
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.
Literary Terms / Poetic
Devices: There are used different
literary terms or poetic devices in this poem; some important ones are:
Assonance: It is the repetition of vowel sounds in words
which are nearby in verse ore sentence. In this poem it is found in Stanza-1 as
there is repetition of sound “O” in words ‘roads’ & ‘yellow’. It is also
present in Stanza-4 as there is repetition of sound “a” in words ‘ages’ &
‘ages’.
Anaphora: In this words repeat at the beginning of
successive sentences. In this poem “And”
is used in Stanza-1 in lines: 2, 3 & 4.
Consonance: It is the repetition of similar or same
consonant sounds but different vowel sounds. I this poem it is used in Stanza-1
as there is repetition of sound “d” in words ‘roads’, ‘diverged’ and ‘wood’.
Enjambment: It is the continuation of a sentence or
phrase from one line to another in poetry. In this poem it is used in Stanza-1
in lines: 3, 4 & 5. In Stanna-2 in lines: 4 & 5. In Stanza-3 in lines:
1 & 2. And in Last Staza-4 in lines 1 & 2.
Metaphor: It refers directly one thing by mentioning another
thing. In this poem it is used in Stanaz-1 as “underground” is used for future
for which one cannot see. Also in the poem the poet uses the ‘fork in the road’ as a
metaphor for the choices we make in life.
Simile: It is comparing two unlike things which
are mostly compared by ‘like’ or ‘as’. In this poem both roads have been
compared to each other using the words “as just as fair”.
Quintian: The poem contains four stanzas and
each stanza contains five lines. This is called a quintain. Thus the poem
contains four quintains.
Personification:
It
means to give human characteristics or qualities to nonhuman or inanimate
things. In the poem in stanza- 2 the road is personified as wanting humans to
travel down its path. Also in the last stanza:
“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.
Repetition: In this poem there is repetition of
many words as: In stanza-3 the word “way” has been repeated twice. Also in stanza-4 the word ‘ages’ is written
twice.
Rhyme
Scheme/ Form: 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. The rhyme scheme is masculine except the last line.
It has four stressed syllables per line having iambic tetrameter.
Textual Exercises
Answer the following in a single word, phrase or
sentence each.
1. What is the conflict the poet faces?
Ans.: The conflict
which the poet faces is selecting a road between two roads.
2. Describe the setting of the poem.
Ans.: Forest is the setting of the poem.
3. Why does the poet say that the second road had the
"better claim'?
Ans.: The poet says that the second road had
the “better claim” because that road seems him to be undiscovered by any one.
4. How does the poet come to a decision as to which
road to take?
Ans.: The poet decides to select the second
road which is not used by anyone.
5. What does taking the road not taken symbolises?
Ans.: It symbolizes
with poetry which is not cup of everybody.
B. Answer the following
in about 150 words each.
Q1. What words does the poet use to allow us to share
the traveller's experience?
Ans.: Robert Frost had written the poem “The Road Not
Taken” has deeper message. The message is about the ‘decision’ that one makes
in life. On the superficial this is a story about a traveler’s experience that
comes to a divergence in the road he is travelling upon. It is natural that he
cannot travel by both the roads at the same time. He had to choose one of the
two. He stood there and thought for a long time. One of the roads seems had
been used commonly. The other one was dense with grass. So it is clear 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. This choice had made all the divergence for him. As he thinks
about his choices he looks down his path as far as he can see trying to foresee
what life will be like if walks that path. Then he gazes at the other and
decides that going down that path would be just as rewarding. At this point, he
concludes that the trail less travelled on would be more pleasant.
2. Carefully examine the last stanza and explain what
the speaker means by the line 'Somewhere ages and ages hence’.
Ans.: Ans.: The
last stanza of the poem "The Road Not Taken" sums up the whole truth
that the poet means to convey. He stresses here that a moment comes in life
when one has to make a choice. One has to decide which road one should follow.
Man chooses the road that seems to him to have a better claim. In the distant
future when he has already covered a large part of the road, he may think that
perhaps the other road might have been more rewarding. But then it is too late
and there is no return from the road already taken. Also last stanza of the
poem has a deep autobiographical note as they deal with poet’s real life. The
poet in his life chose the less travelled road of poetry. This choice made all
the difference in his life.
The
speaker means by the line ‘Somewhere ages and ages hence’ in the poem that in
future we may regret about our choice. One's destination in life depend ones
selection of choice in life. One must be ready to accept the consequences of
one’s selected choice.
3. What do the two roads symbolise? Based on your
interpretation, why does the traveler chose the road not taken?
Ans.: The two roads
symbolise the philosophical idea that every man in his life has to make one
choice from many choices. The selected choice reflects not only ones present
but also ones future, in other word what he is and what he will be. The two
roads symbolise the selection of one’s personal, social and professional life.
The traveler kept on looking at for selection of right
path among the two paths. He is in dilemma as he felt that both paths were
equally good. Finally he selected the second road; he chooses it as it had
grass on it which means that it was unused by others. The traveler here
represents the poet himself and he loves adventure in life. The traveler chose less travelled road even though it may be
full of dangers and difficulties; but real experience and knowledge in life can
be achieved with dangers and difficulties.
4. According to
you, what does the speaker mean by the last line of the poem?
Ans.: The
last two lines of the poem "I took the one less diverged in a wood, and
I-/And that made all the difference." have a deep autobiographical note. They deal with the poet’s actual life. The speaker
of the poem selects the ‘less traveled’ road as the poet chose the less
travelled road of poetry. This choice made all the difference in the poet’s
selection of becoming a poet in life. The expression has a deep significance in
the context of poet’s real life. One cannot have the best of everything. One's
course and destination in life depend on the one chooses in life. In these two
lines the speaker says why and how he had chosen the road which was less
travelled. This choice of selecting the ‘less traveled’ road had made ‘all the
difference’ not only in his present life, but it will affect upon his future
life also. It affected not only his material life on this earth but also his
spiritual life after death.
5. "Yet knowing how way leads on to way' is a
comment about the nature of a person's life. Elaborate.
Ans.: The line ‘Yet knowing how way leads to way’ is
penultimate line of the third stanza of the poem. In this line the writer wants
to give the message to the readers the significance
of choice-making in one’s life. Here the poet says that choices cannot be
changed ones accepted and followed in life. But the selection of a choice has
great influence upon one’s life. The influence remains not only in the whole
course of man's life but also after death. The speaker in the poem says that
the two roads lay in front of him where equally covered with leaves but the
second one seems not used by more people.
The speaker travelled on ‘less traveled’ road like the poet travelled on
the less travelled road of poetry. The selecting of a choice made all the
difference in one’s life. It is not possible in future to change the
consequences of one’s selected choice. But
real experience and knowledge in one’s life come only by facing dangers and
difficulties.
C. Answer the following
in about 300 words each.
1. How vital a role does nature play in the poem? Does
Frost use nature to add to the conflict the traveller faces?
Ans. Nature plays a vital
role in the Robert Frost’s poem “The Road not Taken”. There are many choices in
one’s life but one can select only one which is explained by the poet with the
help of two roads in a forest. One is meant for the ordinary person that is
depicted in the poem as much travelled path. Other is meant for extraordinary
people like the narrator of the poem (Poet) who like to do something new.
“The
Road not Taken” by Robert Frost has forest in its setting. The narrator of the poem has two roads before
him. The two roads head in different directions. He chooses one road and
rejects the other. The traveler/speaker chooses one that is less travelled.
Both the roads looked equally attractive to the poet. But he decides to take
the less frequented one. If he had taken the beaten path, he could be sure of
reaching somewhere. He would not have to face many dangers and difficulties.
But he took the least travelled road.
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 traveler. So far as the use of either road by travelers was concerned
both had been frequently used by them and looked worn out and broken to the
same extent.
The
narrator of the poem is a man of courage. He did not believe in taking the easy
way of life. He knows that great achievements require hard labour and hazards
of life. Only lesser men follow the beaten track. Hostile Nature did not dampen
his spirits. He decided to take the thorny path of life. The less frequented
road was chosen by him. The poet wanted to choose the profession of becoming a
poet. The gaunt let thrown by Nature played a vital role in his life.
Q2. There is a spirit of regret and longing in the
poem. Discuss.
The poem “The Road Not Taken” is a written by
Robert is full with spirit of regret and longing. There is a spirit of regret and longing in the
poem since the narrator of the poem has dilemma about the choice of selecting
the path. He is in dilemma to decide between two roads while travelling and
keeps on thinking what if he has chosen the wrong path.
This poem
is dedicated by Robert for his close English friend, Edward Thomas with whom he
took many walks while he lives in England. The poem's general idea in Frost's
own words is that, “whichever way they go, they are sure to miss something good
on the other path". According to this explanation, the speaker's uncertainty
and his expected gloomy approach towards taking only one of the roads and
missing the other indicates a strong sense of 'regret' and ‘longing’.
The main idea of the poem is that we are
represented by different choices in our lives. He expresses that several times
throughout the poem. We all want to lead a tremendous ‘longing’ life. The
regret and longing starts from the first line till the end of the poem, the
poet has to choose a single path.
The poet is not
convinced he made the right choice so he is going to ‘regret’ and ‘longing’ it
all his life. He presents here the difficulty and importance of having to make
a choice in life without the ‘regret’ and ‘longing’ in future life. It is not
possible to do anything except to regret and long for ones wrong choice which
haunts throughout life. One has to accept the consequences of his choice which
may not only affect one’s present but also in future.
Additional 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 is the symbolism in the poem? Or 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 the 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.
Q8.
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.
Q9.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.
Q10.
Write a short note on the language of the poem?
Ans.: The language of
the lyric is characterised by simplicity, clarity, and epigrammatic force and
terseness. There are four stanzas each of five lines. Each line consists of
eight syllables, though variations have been skilfully introduced to impart the
informality and casualness of the spoken tongue. It is a personal lyric and as
such it does not have the parentheses, and dashes, the pauses and ejaculations
which characterise the dramatic lyrics.
Q11.
Write a short note on Structure of the poem?
Ans.: This
poem consists of four stanzas, each five lines in length (a quatrain), with a
mix of iambic and anapaestic tetrameter, producing a steady rhythmical four
beat first-person narrative. Most common speech is a combination of iambs and
anapaests, so Frost chose his lines to reflect this.
Q12. Frost had dedicated this poem for whom?
Ans.: Robert Frost wrote
"The Road Not Taken" to joke about his friend Edward Thomas, who
often found it difficult to make the simple decision of which path they should
take on their regular walks.
Q13.Why is it important to make the right choices in
life?
Ans.: The choices we make
in our lives should be thought about carefully. One should be aware and ready
to face the consequences of each decision he/she takes.
Q14. What
is a wood? What did the narrator see in the wood? Were the paths similar?
Ans.: In this poem ‘Wood’ means a forest. The narrator saw two paths departing from a
fork in the road and disappearing in the undergrowth. The roads were not
similar as one was less used and so had more grass and seemed less used than
the other.
Q15. What did the
narrator hope that he would do one day? Was he sure of doing so?
Ans.: The narrator hoped to come back and try the
other path someday. No, he did not think he would do so because he knew that
one path would lead to another and it would be difficult for him to come back.
Exercise:
Fill in the blanks with the correct preposition.
1.
He lives ….. 19 Tower Road. (at, on)
2.
We will be gone …. Two days. (for, since)
3.
Tom and his friend will divide the money …. themselves. (among, between)
4.
Many food ….. milk contain calcium. (beside, besides)
5.
I will arrive …. six o’clock. (at, in )
6.
I have known her …. last year. (for, since)
Answers: 1. at, 2. for, 3. between, 4. besides, 5. at,
6. since
Language Activity
Pronunciation
Phonetics: It deals with the study of speech sounds. It
deals with the explanation and classification of the sounds on the basis of how
sounds are produced by human beings and how they are perceived by us.
Phonology: It deals with
how a special language classifies its sounds in to phonemes (distinctive units)
and how syllables are created with the combination of phonemes. It also deals
with the prosodic features like stress, pitch, tone & intonation etc.
Sounds of English:
According to the Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) there are 44 sounds in English
language. In which 24 are consonant sounds and 20 are vowel sounds, vowels are
divided into 12-pure vowels and 8 diphthongs.
Sure, here's the
revised chart with the 44 English phonetic sounds using both Urdu and Hindi
symbols:
English Sound Chart with
Urdu and Hindi symbols
Vowel Chart
|
English Sound |
Example |
Urdu Symbol |
Hindi Symbol |
|
/æ/ |
Cat |
ے / َ |
ऐ / ऱ |
|
/ɛ/ |
Bed |
ے / َ |
ए / ऱ |
|
/ɪ/ |
Sit |
ِ / ِ |
इ / ि |
|
/ɒ/ |
Pot |
و / َ |
ऑ / ़ |
|
/ʊ/ |
Put |
ُ / و |
उ / ु |
|
/ɑː/ |
Father |
ا / آ |
आ / ा |
|
/iː/ |
See |
ی |
ई / ी |
|
/aɪ/ |
Bike |
ائی / اَے |
आइ / ाइ |
|
/əʊ/ |
Go |
و |
ओ / ो |
|
/uː/ |
Blue |
و |
ऊ / ू |
|
/eɪ/ |
Rain |
ے / َے |
ए / ए |
|
/aʊ/ |
Out |
و / َؤ |
आउ / औ |
|
/ɔɪ/ |
Boy |
وائے |
ऑय |
|
/ɜː/ |
Bird |
َار / َ |
अ / ऱ |
|
/ə/ |
Ago |
َ |
अ / ऱ |
Consonants Chart
|
||||
|
/p/ pan پ प |
||||
|
/b/ bat ب ब |
||||
|
/k/ cat ک क |
||||
|
/d/ dog د द |
||||
|
/f/ fish ف फ |
||||
|
/ɡ/ go گ ग |
||||
|
/h/ hat ہ ह |
||||
|
/dʒ/ jam ج ज |
||||
|
/k/ kite ک क |
||||
|
/l/ leg ل ल |
||||
|
/m/ man م म |
||||
|
/n/ not ن न |
||||
|
/r/ run ر र |
||||
|
/s/ sit س स |
||||
|
/ʃ/ ship ش श |
||||
|
/t/ top ت त |
||||
|
/θ/ think تھ / ث थ |
||||
|
/ð/ this ذ / د द / ध |
||||
|
/v/ van و / وِ व |
||||
|
/w/ wet و व |
||||
|
/j/ yes ی य |
||||
|
/z/ zebra ز ज़ |
||||
|
/tʃ/ chair چ च |
||||
|
/dʒ/ judge ج ज |
||||
|
/ŋ/ sing نگ ङ |
