The Road Not Taken | Class IX English Chapter 1 Poem | Questions And Answers

1. Where does the traveler find himself? What problem does he have?

The traveler finds himself at a point where two roads diverge in a yellow wood. He cannot decide which road he should take. That is the problem he faces.

2. Discuss what these phrases mean to you.

(i) A yellow wood

The yellow wood is a forest in the autumn season. In autumn leaves turn yellow as trees are about to shed them.

(ii) It was grassy and wanted wear     

There was a thick growth of grass on the road and that is a sign that very few people had taken that road.

(iii) The passing there

Walking on the road

(iv) Leaves no step had trodden black

It means that nobody had walked on those leaves to crush them.

(v) How way leads to way

If people keep going forward, they will always find one road leading to another road.

3. Is there any difference between the two roads as the poet describes them?

(i) in stanzas two and three

In stanza two, the poet describes the second road as grassy and wanting wear. That means very people had taken that road in the past. He does not say what the first road was like.

In stanza three, both roads are described as having equal merit and lying in leaves that had not been crushed by a single step.  

(ii) in the last two lines of the poem

In the last two lines of the poem, the poet says that the road he took was less travelled by.

4. What do you think the last two lines of the poem mean? (Looking back does the poet regret his choice or accept it?)

The last two lines mean that the path we choose at an intersection will decide where we reach in life. As one road leads to another road, it is nearly impossible for us to go back and take the road we had avoided in the past. In other words, our choices make all the difference in our life. The poet does not seem to regret his choice.

You may also like...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *