Tripura Board's Class IX English Language and Literature: Poem-1 The Road Not Taken

 

1. Does one road seem to be more appealing than the other? Use examples from the poem to support your answer.

Answer-  At first the narrator comes to a fork in the road and is not able to decide which path to take. One of the roads looks more frequented by people while the second road appears to be less travelled on. Though he is tempted to walk on both, he decides to take the second path with the intention of walking on the first one sometime in future.

2. What does the poet mean when he says, ‘worn them really about the same’?

Answer-  The poet means to relay to the readers that both the roads that diverged in a yellow wood seemed similar and both of them looked as if they had not been used for a while.

3. What is the main problem or the dilemma of the poet?

Answer- Robert Frost’s ‘The Road Not Taken’ revolves around the dilemma of making the right choice in life. He suffers from an illusion that he can use the option he has left for the other day. Whatever ‘road’ or way of life he chooses, it makes all the difference in his life. Sometimes after a long time, he will have to repent for choosing the path that was less travelled by. It didn’t turn out to be quite a rewarding choice or option.

4. How does the poet resolve the dilemma? Which road does he choose and why?

Answer- The two roads represent two ways of life. They stand for two directions, two attitudes and even two careers in life. The dilemma is of making the right and the rewarding choice. Two roads diverge in different directions. They look equally beautiful and fair. The poet leaves the first road for another day. He opts for the road that was less travelled by and ‘wanted wear’. He opts for an option that is not very conventional, popular and risk-free.

5. ‘The Road Not Taken’ is a metaphor of life. Justify this statement. Justify the title.

Answer- In ‘The Road Not Taken’, Frost uses the fork in the road as a metaphor for the choices we make in life. Thus, the two roads are, in fact, two alternative ways of life. They represent two directions and two options open to the poet. He has made a choice. He has opted for the road which is ‘less travelled by’. He leaves the first ‘for another day’. It becomes impossible to come back on the road one has left. One’s choice makes ‘all the difference’ in one’s life. Hence, the title is appropriate and logical.

6. Why has the poet’s choice ‘made all the difference’ in his life?

Robert Frost uses the fork in the road as a metaphor for the choices we make in life. The two roads represent two alternative ways, two options and two directions of life. One has to face the dilemma. He opts for an unconventional and risky path of life. He chooses to be a poet. This choice has made all the difference in his life. Perhaps he would realise late in life that he chose an alternative which was less rewarding than the one he had left.

7. Why did the poet leave the first road? Did he ever get a chance to walk on the road he had left for ‘another day?

Answer- The poet left the first road and chose the other one which was less travelled, grassy and ‘wanted wear’. He left the first road for another day. But he had a genuine doubt. He knew that one path leads to another and then he would not get a chance to go back.

8. Did the poet repent for making his choice? Give an example from the poem to prove your point.

Answer- The poet had the freedom to make a choice. The two roads were, in fact, two alternatives in life that lay before him. The poet left the conventional and less risky way of life. He opted for the road that was less travelled by and ‘wanted wear’. He left the first road for another day. The choice he made brought all the difference in his life. He seemed to be unhappy about making his choice. ‘1 shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: ‘ But he couldn’t do anything now. His choice had altered the course of his life.

9. ‘I doubted if I should ever come back’. Why does the poet doubt he should ever come back?

Answer- The poet doubts whether he should ever come back to tray-: the other road because he knows that one road leads to another. As a reckless and curious traveller, he was sure to continue to move on in the journey of life. Thus there were no chances of his retracing his steps. Normally one sticks to the decision once taken.

10. What does the divergence in the road signify in real life?

Answer- The divergence in the road signifies that many times in real life we have difficult choices to make. We take a long time thinking about which of the two would be a better option and only time can tell whether we were right in making the choice we made. The forking of one road into two is symbolic of the confusion or dilemma we face in life while confronting a problem and making a decision.

 

11. Why did the poet stand long on the forked road to make the decision?

Answer- The poet took long to make a decision because he could not foresee which choice would prove to be beneficial for hint As he looked at the roads he couldn’t see beyond a particular point. One road was well-trodden and the other showed no signs of anyone treading on it. Thus the poet stood there for a long time undecided which one to experiment with.

12. What impact did the choice of the ‘other road’ make on the poet’s life?

Answer- While making a choice of the roads, the poet took time deciding which one to take. The poet’s choice shaped his life in a different manner. He had a shade of regret about his choke. He knew that his life wouldn’t have been as it was presented if he had taken the other road.

 

 

13. Why do you think the poet sighs in the last stanza of the poem?

Answer- The last stanza reveals that the poet would be telling his story with a sense of regret as the alternative chosen by him did not yield a satisfactory result. He is not very excited while telling the story of his life as he feels that had he taken the other road things might have taken a better shape. Hence, the poet sighs with a sense of dissatisfaction in the last stanza of the poem.

14. The poet says, “I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference.” What is ‘the difference that the poet mentions?

Answer-  The poet says his choice of that particular road has shaped his life in a specific manner with which he is not very happy. Had he chosen the other road, his ambitions and aspirations in life might have been fulfilled and he would not have looked back with a sense of regret. Probably, he would have called himself a successful man.

15. What does the poet mean by ‘yellow wood’?

Answer- ‘Yellowwood’ refers to the jungle with decomposing leaves shed from the trees. It stands for the world where people have been living since long.

16. Explain: ‘leaves no step had trodden black’.

Answer- 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.

17. Which road does Robert Frost choose and why?

Answer- Robert Frost chooses the second road which was less travelled by the travellers. He chose the second road because it was more inviting and wanted to wear’.

18. “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood.” What do the two roads indicate here? What was the poet’s dilemma?

Answer-  The two roads indicate the choices or decisions one has to make in one’s life. The poet has presented the dilemma that one goes through while taking a decision regarding one’s future. The poet, too, is faced with the dilemma of which road to choose for the course of his travel.

19. What is the theme of the poem ‘The Road Not Taken’?

Answer- In ‘The Road Not Taken’, Robert Frost makes a fascinating use of two roads as a metaphor for life. The two roads serve as a metaphor for the choices one makes in life. ‘Thus, the roads are, in fact, two alternative ways of life. The choice one makes has a far-reaching consequence. Elie poet leaves the first road for the road less travelled by and accepts challenges and dares to walk on the untrodden path which has made all the difference in his life.

20. Why did the poet leave the first road?

Answer- The poet left the first road thinking that he would use it on some other day. He found the second road more inviting. The second road was less travelled by and it also wanted wear.

21. Justify the tide ‘The Road Not Taken’.

Answer- The tide ‘The Road Not Taken’ is quite appropriate. It clearly brings out the theme of the poem. The title hints at the dilemmas of life—the choices that one makes in life. Whatever ‘road’ or the way of life one chooses, it makes all the difference. It is the ability to do things differently that makes one stand out in the crowd. Many times, the man yearns for what he has denied himself in life, rather than what he has chosen. Hence, the poet has given his poem the title ‘The Road Not Taken’.

22. Bring out the symbolism in the poem ‘The Road Not Taken’.

Answer- The poem The Road Not Taken’ concerns a choice made between two roads by the poet. The poet decides to explore one road and then come back and explore the other but this might not be possible. The choice of roads in the poem symbolises the choices that one has to make in life. All the choices appear to be equally attractive. They are confining too as one cannot foretell the eventual result of one’s choice. Through the years, however, we come to find out that the choices we make and the paths we choose, will make all the difference in our lives.

23. The poet kept the other road for another day. Was he able to travel back on that road? Explain.

Answer- The poet left the first road thinking that he would use it on some other day. However, he was not able to travel back on that road. He could never come back as the road he took led to other roads. He went so far from the first road that he doubted if he would ever come back to walk on it.

24. In the poem ‘The Road Not Taken’, why did the poet feel like travelling both the roads?

Answer- Both the roads lay in front of the poet almost in the same condition. He chose the second road and felt sorry about not choosing the first one. The poet wanted to experience both situations. He was also not sure of the outcome of his choice. So, the poet wanted to travel by both roads.

25. Write a brief note on the theme of Robert Frost’s poem ‘The Road Not Taken’.

Answer-  In the poem, ‘The Road not Taken’, the roads symbolise ‘Choices’ that one has to make in life. Whenever one has to take an important decision in life, one finds oneself coming across a fork in the road, one is travelling upon. No one has to choose the only way to walk upon. Here, one choice leads to another but it remains difficult to go back reiterate.

26. What moral lesson do you get from the poem ‘The Road not Taken’?

Answer- According to the poet, one should not adopt the shortcuts in life. We should choose the daring and experimental path that involves turmoil and tension. These practices ennoble a man for his life. In order to seek the truth, we should not follow the easy, convenient and trodden path. The poet has chosen the other road which is less trodden by the people.

 

 

27. What problem did the poet feel while standing on the intersection of the two roads?

Answer- While standing on the crossing, the poet saw two roads diverged in a yellow forest. For the poet both the roads looked fascinating. One was widely trodden and the other was untrodden. At last, he chose the second road and hoped to travel the first on some other day.

28. Explain “Way leads on to way.”

Answer- Here we can find two meanings. In the first, we find that the poet is undecided to follow the road. Once a choice is made, there is no retreating back even if the choice is wrong. Same is true for our life. We must make a definite choice where there is no turning. Situations do change and may require adjustments but we must not return.

29. Why did the poet keep the first road for another day?

Answer- The poet kept the first road for another day in the hope that he would travel it in future. But all know that our future is uncertain. No one can predict it. One can never hope to return to the original starting point to resume the path.

30. Does the poet believe that he would ever return to the first road?

Answer- No, the poet does not believe that he would ever be able to return to the first road. He is fully aware that one road leads on to another and that still to another. Hence it will not be possible for him to come back to the point where both the roads bifurcate.