English Poem 2 The Road Not Taken

 Poem 2 The Road Not Taken

Date: 20.04.21

Topics taught: Read the poem, Explanation of first stanza through Ppt.

Homework: Find meanings of

1.diverged

2.trodden.

Date: 21.04.21

Topics taught: explanation of poem through ppt.

Ppt- The Road not taken

Discussion of textual exercise.

New words to be written in notebook.

1.diverged

2.undergrowth

3.lay

4.trodden

5.sigh

Find the meanings and make sentences from the above words.

Comprehension Questions

 

a)       Why did the poet leave the first road?

The poet left the first road in the hope that he would travel on it on another day.

b)       Why did the poet doubt about?

The poet doubted if he would ever come back to the same place to walk on the road that he had left for another day.

c)       Who does ‘both’ refer to?

`Both’ refers to the two roads that lay in front of the poet.

 

 

d)       Why would the poet like to come back?

The poet would like to travel by the first road (the road not taken) and, so would like to come back.

e)       Having chosen his road, what decision did the speaker take about the first road?

He decided to stick to the chosen road for some more time and promised himself that he would travel the other one sometime later.

 

f)         Explain: ‘leaves no step had trodden black’.

No traveller had trodden on either of the two roads. It was evident from the fact that the fallen and sodden leaves lay uncrushed there. No feet had trampled them.

 

g)       Why is the poet not sure whether he will ever come back to the first road?

The poet thinks so because in the journey of life one road leads to another and one can seldom relive the moments and undo the circumstances gone by.

 

h)       What do you understand by 'wanted wear' according to the poem, 'The Road Not Taken'?

The road has been personified by Robert Frost here. The road appears to be 'wanting wear' as nobody had walked on it. It was avoided by the travellers. The poet is quite adventurous and takes the path that others seldom take.

 

i)          What does the choice made by the poet indicates about his personality in the poem 'The Road Not Taken'?

The poet chose the road which others avoided or seldom took. This indicates that the poet is brave and adventurous. He likes to take risks and make his own path rather than following others.

 

 

 

 Date: 23.04.21

Topics taught: Discussion of practice sheet.

Q1	Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
(a)	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 To where it bent in the undergrowth’
i.	What does the poet regret?
	The poet regrets the fact that he could not travel on both the roads. He regrets the fact that once he chooses one road there may be no going back to the other.
ii.	Why did the poet stand there looking at the two roads for a long time?
	The poet stood for a long time because he could not decide which road he should take.
iii.	What does the phrase ‘yellow wood’ mean?
	The poet refers to the leaves of the trees which turn yellow during the autumn season and fall from trees. The leaves give the trees and the forest a yellow hue.
iv.	Give the antonym of the word –‘diverged’
	converged
(b)	‘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’
i.	What does ‘other’ refer to in the above lines?
	In the above lines, ‘other’ refers to the road that was grassy and less travelled upon.
ii.	How was the road that the narrator chose?
	The road that the narrator chose was grassy and less travelled upon.
iii.	Explain ‘grassy and wanted wear’
	The road was covered with grass as not many people had walked on that road so it was more inviting.
iv.	Give the synonym of the word-‘fair’
	satisfactory / good enough

 

(c)	‘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.	What does ‘both’ refer to?
	In the given lines ‘both’ refers to the two roads that forked out in different directions.
ii.	What made the narrator doubt whether he ‘should ever come back’?
	The fact that one road generally leads to another made the narrator doubt that he should ever come back.
iii.	Explain ‘In leaves no step had trodden black’
	The given line means that the dried leaves that lay on the path had not been trampled upon.
iv.	Find the antonym of –‘believed’
	doubted
(d)	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 travelled by, And that has made all the difference.’
i.	Which road did the poet ultimately take?
	The poet took the road less travelled.
ii.	Why did the poet take the road that he did?
	The poet took the road less travelled because it looked equally attractive, it 'looked grassy’ and needed people to walk on it.
iii.	What will the poet be telling ‘ages and ages’ hence?
	‘Ages and ages hence’, the poet will tell about the two roads that diverged in the wood and that he chose the one less travelled by.
iv.	Find the antonym of the word –‘similarity’
	difference
Q2	Answer the following in 30 to 40 words.
(a)	Describe the two roads that the author comes across.
	When the poet arrived at the two roads that diverged, he saw one road was a beaten track where many people had walked on. The other road was grassy and

 

	seemed less trodden. The morning on which the poet arrived at the roads, both the roads were covered with leaves that had not been trodden upon.
(b)	Why did the poet choose the other road? What was the doubt in poet’s mind?
	Being adventurous in nature, the poet chose the second road which was grassy and less walked on and left the first one for some other day. The poet doubted if he would ever be able to come back to travel the first road.
(c)	Does the poet seem happy about his decision?
	No, the poet is not happy about his decision because the title is ‘The Road not Taken’ and not ‘The Road Less Travelled’. Though the last word of the poem 'difference' suggests a positive expression, the word is said with deep grief, according to the word 'sigh' used in the first line of the stanza.
(d)	What is the significance of the sigh in the last stanza?
	The sigh near the end of the poem is intended to express a feeling of regret that the speaker will never know what would have happened if he had taken the other road. If he had taken the other road, then the road he actually took would have been the one not taken.
Q3	Answer the following in 100-120 words.
(a)	What was the poet’s dilemma in the poem ‘The Road Not Taken’?
	The narrator faces a dilemma when he comes to a fork in the road. He is not able to decide which road to take. Out of the two roads, he had to take only one. One of the roads looks more tread upon while the other appears less travelled on. He decides to take the second road which was less frequented. It was not possible to make more than one choice, and to take both the roads. Though he wants to walk on both, he decides to take the second road which was less travelled , with the intention of walking on the first one sometime in the future.
(b)	In your opinion, which road in the poem   ‘The Road Not Taken’ is better and why?
	Neither is better. They are, essentially, the same. The speaker says that he comes to a fork in the road and he examines both the roads. When he looks at the second, he says that it is "just as fair" as the first, and he claims that "the passing there / Had worn them really about the same." In other words, the roads, although they are not identical and do look somewhat different from one another, have been travelled approximately the same number of times. The speaker says that the two roads "equally lay" in the leaves, and so

 

	they are really not significantly different from one another.
(c)	Bring out the symbolism in the poem ‘The Road Not Taken’.
	Through the poem, Robert Frost has spoken of something more than the choice of roads. We can interpret the poet’s quandary of choosing a road as a symbol of the numerous choices we have to make in life. There are occasions in our life when two alternatives appear almost equally attractive. Through the years however, we come to realize that the choices we make and the path we take to journey on makes a difference to our lives. The title ‘The Road not taken’ depicts the feeling of regret. After making a choice, the poet was weighed down with the thought of not making the other choice. He regrets not taking the other road, making the other choice. Even when we do well often after making a choice we keep thinking of what could have happened, what difference it would have made, if we had taken the other choice.
(d)	Does the speaker seem to be happy about his decision?
	No, the speaker is found to lament profoundly on his decision. The poet strongly hints at unhappy state with the negative title of the poem. We become clear of his view when we read the line – “And that has made all the difference”. He uses the word ‘sigh’ to reflect his failure in making the right decision. Besides “I-I took the...................................... ” shows his hesitation in sharing his failed decision. the poet has hinted that he regrets his decision.
(e)	The poet says “I took the one less travelled by /And that has made all the difference.” What is the difference that mentions?
	The traveller picks the road ‘less travelled by’. Only future can tell whether he was wise to go on the road he once chose. Metaphorically, the choice of the road will bring change in life. If we follow the path that hardly suits us, we are possibly going to suffer. Conversely, if we can choose the right track of life we will prosper in life. This is what makes ‘The difference’ after all. The poem like most of Frost’s poems ends in wisdom. Once again establishing Frost’s vision that a poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom. The poet here talks about the failure that has come upon his life as he chose the wrong way.