QnA
Why did the poet leave the first road?
The poet leaves the first road that is well trodden and chooses the one that is less travelled by’. It is the second road that is full of challenges. It is this road that would make him standout and that has ‘made all the difference’.
I chatter over stony ways,
In little sharps and trebles,
I bubble into eddying bays,
I babble on the pebbles
a) How does the brook move?
(b) What is the mood of the brook as it flows towards the river?
(c) What poetic device has been used in the last two lines?
(a) The brook moves in swift current with tremendous noise.
(b) The brook is in a joyous mood. It seems to be talking and looking forward to joining the river.
(c) Alliteration.
How do the expressions ‘bicker down’, ‘hurry down’, ‘slip between ridges’, ‘chatter, chatter’ help in creating the image of the young river?
All the expressions suggest energy, enthusiasm, frivolous behaviour that can be associated with a young person- always quarrelling, talking, hurrying, taking short cuts etc.
“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.”,
(a) Who does ‘both’ refer to?
(b) Why does the poet doubt his coming back?
(c) Why would the poet like to come back?
(a) ‘Both’ refers to the two roads.
(b) The poet doubts his coming back because one path would lead to another path.
(c) The poet would like to come back to travel on the road not taken.
What is the ‘refrain’ in the poem, ‘The brook’? What effect does it create?
The refrain of the poem is ‘For men may come and men may go, hut I go on forever’. It shows the transitory. nature of human life and the eternal life of nature. Man is mortal and continues his journey till he meets his death. The brook on the other hand is immortal. It is perennial and flows on till eternity.
Why is the nightingale’s song a welcome song?
The poet feels that the weary travellers would forget their tiredness and they would feel refreshed when they, listened to the melodious notes of the nightingale’s song.The soothing song would give relief to the travellers from fatigue and exhaustion, that is why he compares it to a ‘welcome song’.
“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And by one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth”;
(a) What does the yellow wood mean?
(b) Why does the poet stand long?
(c) What is the rhyme scheme of die stanza?
(a) Yellow wood refers to the decomposing leaves and the autumn season.
(b) The poet was in a dilemma about which road to take. Both the roads were equally worn and were covered with leaves.
(c) abaab.
In the poem “The Road Not Taken”, where is the poet and what does he see in front of him?
In the backdrop of the autumn season in a forest of yellow leaves- trees, Robert Frost came across a path which diverged into two roads. One road is less trodden and full of challenges, while the other is a beaten track without any difficulty.
I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance,
Among my skimming swallows;
I make the netted sunbeam dance Against my sandy shallows.”
(a) Name the literary device used in this stanza.
(b) Why did the swallows touch the surface of the brook?
(c) What do ‘slipping’, ‘sliding’, ‘glooming’ and ‘glancing' reflect?
(a) Alliteration.
(b) The swallows touch the surface of the brook to catch the fish.
(c) All these words reflect the various moods and movements of the brook
The final stanza in the poem ‘The Road Not Taken’ starts ‘with a sigh’. Why?
The final stanza in the poem ‘The Road Not Taken’ starts ‘with a sigh’. It is a sigh of relief and satisfaction. The poet is satisfied with all that has happened in his life and the position that he is in. It is a sigh of relief that on that day he had taken the ‘road less travelled by’ and ‘that has made all the difference.’
Why has the poet used the word ‘babble’ for ‘The Brook’?
As the brook moves, its swift current strikes against the pebbles and stones under it, producing a tremendous noise. Thus, the brook seems to be ‘talking' as it moves. Also its rapid spiral movement creates spirals of bubbles and it sounds very cheerful.
“No nightingales did ever chant,
More welcome notes to weary bands,
Of travellers in some shady haunt,
Among Arabian Sands.”
(a) Who are the weary bands?What welcome notes do they hear?
(b) Why are the notes of the nightingale welcome?
(c) What are “Arabian Sands”?
(a) The weary bands are the travellers.They hear the welcome notes of the nightingale.
(b) The notes of the nightingale are welcome because they are sweet and soothing.
(c) Deserts signifying weariness are the ‘Arabian Sands’.
Why does the poet want the passers-by to “stop here or gently pass”?
The poet was fascinated by the melodious song of the Solitary Reaper.The musk of her song and the melodious voice made him spellbound.The girl was busy in her work.So, the poet wishes the passers-by to “stop here or gently pass” so as to not disturb her.
“Or is it some more humble lay,
Familiar matter of today?
Some natural sorrow loss or pain,
That has been and may be again?”
(a) Who is singing and where?
(b) What is the poet trying to guess?
(c) What does ‘humble lay’ stand for?
(a) The Solitary Reaper is singing in the field.
(b) The poet is trying to guess the theme of the song.
(c) ‘Humble lay’ stands for common man of the song and the song may be about the common, simple people or situations.
How does the poet bring out the beauty of the song of the Solitary Reaper?
He compares her song to the sweet notes of the nightingale and the cuckoo, both birds that sing in romantic surroundings. The song of the nightingale is a very welcome sound to the tired travellers as it signifies that they are approaching an oasis. The song of the cuckoo bird brings joy to the listeners as it is a harbinger of spring after the long, cold winter. The song of the reaper arouses the same feelings of pleasure and joy in the poet’s heart. It also lends a feeling of romance to the poem.
‘The Road Not Taken’ is a poem of all times. Comment on it.
The poem is relevant for all times as everyone faces dilemmas at every step in life.We have to face the difficulty of making a choice in life.One should move on without looking back or thinking whether it was a right choice or not.
“Alone she cuts and binds the grain;
And sings a melancholy strain;
Listen for the vale profound
Is overflowing with the sound.”
(a) Who is ‘she’ in the above lines?
(b) What kind of a song is she singing?
(c) What does the expression ‘vale profound’ mean?
(a) ‘She’ in the above lines refer to the solitary reaper.
(b) She is singing a sad and melancholic song.
(c) ‘Vale profound’ means the deep valley.
What are the different things found floating in the brook?
The different things that can be found in the brook are the blossoms, the lusty trout, grayling and the foamy flakes.
“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could”
(a) Name the poem and the poet of above extract.
(b) What does the poet mean by ‘yellow wood’?
(c) He could not travel both the roads, why?
(a) The poem is ‘The Road Not Taken’, and the poet is Robert Frost.
(b) ‘Yellow wood’ means the decomposing leaves and the autumn season.
(c) Being an individual, the poet could not travel two roads at the same time.
Bring out the symbolism in the poem ‘The Road Not Taken’.
The poem is concerned with a choice made between the two roads. The poet tells himself that he will explore one and then come back and explore the other, but he knows that he will probably be unable to do so. The poem is about something more than the choice of paths in a wood, for that choice might be relatively unimportant. We interpret his choice of a road as a symbol for any choice in life between alternatives that appear almost equally attractive. Through the years, however, we come to find that the choices we make and the paths we choose, will make a difference in our lives.
How was the poet affected by the song of the Solitary Reaper?
The poet was spellbound by the sweetness of the song of the Solitary Reaper. Though, he could not understand the language of the song, he stood there motionless and captivated enjoying the melodious song. It fascinated him so much that he carried its sweet melody in his heart for a long time.
"I come from haunts of coot and hern,
I make a sudden sally
And sparkle out among the fern to bicker down a valley.”
(a) Explain: ‘I make a sudden sail’.
(b) How does the brook sparkle?
(c) Name a poetic device used in the above lines.
(a) It means that the brook emerges suddenly.
(b) The brook reflects the sunlight and sparkles.
(c) Alliteration/Personification.
The poet could not understand the theme of the song? Why? What were the guesses made by him?
The poet could not understand the theme of the song because the dialect used by the reaper was unfamiliar to him. The probable themes of the songs sung by the Solitary Reaper which the poet presumes are a tale of some far off happening, or of a natural sorrow, or of a loss or of a parting from some dear ones.
“Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow.
For old, unhappy, far off things.”
(a) What do the ‘plaintive numbers’ refer to?
(b) Why does the poet use the word ‘perhaps’ here?
(c) Pick out a word similar in meaning to ‘to move continuously
(a) ‘The plaintive numbers’ refer to, the highland girl’s sad songs
(b) The poet uses the word ‘perhaps’ here because he does not know her language.
(c) Flow
How is an aura of mystery and magic created in the poem 'The Solitary Reaper'?
The song sung by the Solitary Reaper is melodious and magical. It is sweeter than the songs of the nightingale and the cuckoo bird. Her melodious voice cast a spell on the poet Who is mesmerized by the melody of the song. The song haunts him for a long time and leaves an everlasting impression on his mind.