A ROADSIDE STAND BY ROBERT FROST 21.12.

2019 02
A roadside stand is a poem written by the highly-acclaimed poet, Robert Frost who is regarded for his realistic depiction of rural life using which he
touched several difficult social themes of the time. In this poem, the poet highlights the plight of the deprived villagers who are aching for some money
to lead a prosperous life. The poet is also very critical of the way the city folks treat these villagers who are selling their locally produced goods and
whizzing past them without a sense of empathy.
Lines 1-6
The occupants of the little old house have extended the shed in front, around the edge of the road where traffic passes by. Though it would be unfair to
state that the shack-owners wanted a charity of bread, but nevertheless they seemed to implore the passers-by to stop and buy something from the
shack. These deprived people long for the feel of the cur rency, the circulation of which flourishes the city folks.
Lines 7-15
But unfortunately, the refined traffic whizzed past, unmindful of the shack. Or, if by chance, any stopped, it would be with a feeling of reproach at this
blot on the picturesque landscape. They are very perturbed to see the unimpressive and toppled up signboards. The shack offered for sale wild berries
in a wooden quart (quarter of a gallon). The unqualitative local produce is highlighted with the usage of words like "crook-necked", "squash with silver
warts". The place also offered a blissful stay in the lap of nature for the ones who had money. Angry at the callous attitude of the so-called ‘polished
traffic‘, the poet commands them to move ahead oblivious of the road-side stand.
Lines 16-22
The poet’s concern is not about the blemish on the landscape but regarding the unvented sorrow of the shed-owners. Expressing the view point of
these people, the poet converts their ardent desire to handle some city money, which may perhaps alleviate their sufferings as sometimes promised in
movies. The political party in power actually deprive them of a prosperous life.
Lines 23-31
The poet quotes the news which highlights the evacuation and relocation of the poor villagers to the vicinity of the theaters and the shops. Tall
promises have been made to take good care of them. Outraged at the negligent attitude of the civic authorities, government and even social service
agencies, the poet addresses them as "greedy good-doers" apparently benefactors but actually "beasts of prey" who exploit the innocent village folk
by giving them a short term sense of security, the villagers are not being helped but harmed. They pay a heavy price by losing their land. These
developers, civic authorities, with a calculative strategy "soothe" (silence) and befool the unalloyed heart and minds of these villagers. By ensuring
them a better life and hence good sleep, they actually sleep peacefully themselves and destroy their slumber with anxiety. In the ancient way, people
used to work during day and sleep in nights which has been reversed here where they are not able to sleep at night because they haven’t worked in the
day.
Lines 32-43
The poet is distressed to note the interminable wait on the part of the shed owners for their prospective buyers, he calls it almost a "childish longing
in vain". The shop window is blanketed with an ambience of sadness that surrounds expectancy. It seems these people yearn for the sound of the car
brakes near the shack. One of the "selfish cars" that pass by the shed has perhaps halted to enquire the "farmer’s price" while the other just wanted
to use the backyard to turn. It’s indeed a satire that one of the occupants of the car stops at the shed to get a gallon of gas. It highlights a sense of
alienation that exists between the rural and urban life. Unaware of the villagers plights and engrossed with the pleasure of the material world, these
people are unable to gauge the glaring difference in city and rural life.
Lines 43-52
The poet regrets that the yardstick of gain vested in money, isn’t found in the country-side at all. Money he feels elevates spirits and the lack of it
dampens the villagers’ perspective towards life. They tend to express their grievance about a life bereft of money. At this point of time, the poet is
overwhelmed with emotions and contemplates their pain at one go by changing their lives. But a later logical thought and a poised state of mind tells
him the futility of this rash act. It might compel him to seek purgation of pain from others for his thoughtless decision.
ANALYSIS:
The rhyme scheme of the poem is abab. A number of poetical devices have been used to emphasize on the poem’s theme.
Transferred Epithet:
There are two examples of transferred epithet in “A Roadside Stand.”
1. ‘polished traffic’ referring to the city dwellers who pass by the countryside and sometimes they take out a moment to scrutinize the surroundings
around them.
2. ‘Selfish cars’ is yet another use of a transferred epithet. This refers to the car owners who do stop at the roadside stand but to ask about the police
or the gas stations.
Personification:
“the sadness that lurks behind the open window there…” where sadness is an example of personification. Sadness dwells in the windows of the
farmers because they wait for cars to stop and make a purchase.
Alliteration and Oxymoron: ‘Greedy good doers’ and ‘beneficent beasts of prey’ are examples of both alliteration and oxymoron.
About the Poet: Robert Lee Frost was an American poet. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American
colloquial speech. His work frequently employed settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex
social and philosophical themes. A popular and often-quoted poet, Frost was honored frequently during his lifetime, receiving four Pulitzer Prizes for
Poetry. “A Road Not Taken”, “Mending Wall”, “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening”, “Birches” are some of his most famous poems.
The Roadside Stand by Robert Frost tells the sad plight of economically underfed people who are often fooled by the cunning people who are
responsible for their pathetic existence. The poet cannot bear their sadness so he sympathizes with them.
Stanza 1
The little old house was out with a little new shed
In front at the edge of the road where the traffic sped,
A roadside stand that too pathetically pled…
Meaning
Out with – Extended
Traffic – Vehicles
Sped – Passed in great haste and speed
Roadside stand – a little shed that sells cheap essentials for the passersby
Questions & Answers
Why was the ‘little old house’ extended towards the road?
The little old house, the roadside stand, existed on the roadside to make a living out of the city money. The owners of the roadside stand expected to
attract the rich city men by extending the stand closer to the road.
Which traffic is referred to here? Why are they ‘speeding?’
The traffic referred to here is the cars and other vehicles of the rich people from and to various cities. These rich city men are in great hurry to make
money by doing business in the city.
Why is the Stand’s existence said to be ‘pathetic?’
The roadside stand’s sole expectation is the flow of city-money into their hands. But their expectations are never fulfilled as the rich men are not
considerate about them and hence a pathetic existence for the roadside stand.
Stanza 2
It would not be fair to say for a dole of bread
But for some of the city money, the cash, whose flow supports
The flower of cities from sinking and withering faint…
Meaning
Dole: Piece, City money: Big amount of money
Questions & Answers
Why is it unfair to say that these people are begging for a ‘dole of bread?’
One may think that the poor people at the roadside stand are beggars. But they are not. Unlike the beggars, who beg unconditionally, shamelessly and
sometimes unreasonably, the people of the roadside stand have something to sell, some information to share and a noble reason behind their begging.
What do the poor people really expect from the rich?
The poor people expect a small share of the money from the rich people.
How do the poor people look at the city money?
For the poor people at the roadside stand money is very essential for growth and survival. It boosts the growth of the city and the city people.
What is the flower of the cities? How?
Prosperity/growth is the flower of the cities. As the flower is the crowning glory of a plant, growth becomes the flower of a city.
The city men – rich enough to be insensitive to the sufferers – pass by, in their cars. While passing by the raodside stand, they grow angry and speed
away, cursing the poor lot.
Stanza 3
The polished traffic passed with a mind ahead
Or, if ever aside a moment, then out of sorts
At having the landscape marred with the artless paint
Of signs with S turned wrong and N turned wrong…
Questions & Answers
What do you mean by ‘polished traffic?
Polished traffic portrays the insensitive attitude and gentlemanly appearances of the city-men. They appear to be ‘polished’ outside but their minds do
not understand the sufferings of the poor people.
Explain, ‘passed with a mind ahead.’
The city people who passed by the roadside stand were self-centered and their minds were restless with greed for money and ambitions for great
profits in their business.
What are the usual complaints made by the city men when they stop at the roadside stand?
The rich people to and from the cities usually have the same sets of complaints. Having failed to see the wretchedness of the poor, they complain that
the roadside stand, with its artless paint, ruined the beauty of the nature. Another complaint is that the letters are wrongly written.
How senseless do the rich men’s complaints sound to the poor people?
For the poor people of the roadside stand, the rich men’s complaints, that the landscape is distorted with their poor sense of color, that they sell poor
quality fruits and that they have a low literacy level, sound to be childish and infuriating and senseless.
How did the poor people “mar” the landscape
The poor people mar/ruin the beauty of the landscape by putting up on the roadside. Their houses are painted in the most unprofessional manner with
the most mismatching paint.
What does ‘of signs with S turned wrong and N turned wrong’ convey?
The Roadside STAND has an S and an N in Stand. The owner of the stand is illiterate so he has errected the board with wrong spelling with S and N
inverted.
Stanza 4
Offered for sale are wild berries in wooden quarts
Or crook necked golden squash with silver warts,
Or beauty rest in a mountain scene…
Questions & Answers
What articles are ‘offered for sale’ at the stand?
Wild berries in wooden containers, crook-necked golden squash with silver warts and paintings of mountain scenery are for sale at the roadside stand.
What qualities of the ‘offered articles’ make them unfit for sale?
The articles for sale at the roadside stand are wild and therefore lack the polished look of the similar articles available in the cities. Moreover these
articles are not packaged properly and they are far expensive than those in the cities.
What does, ‘beauty rest in a mountain scene’ mean?
Beauty resting in a mountain scene is probably a scenic painting made by the inhabitants of the roadside stand meant for selling to the rich people.
Will someone change the life of these poor people? Will the city folks ever learn manners? Will they have sympathy for the poor? Will some magic
occur and the life of the poor be different?
It is not very easy to answer all that in a page. You will have to jump to another page from here. Learn all that you need to learn about the poor folks
and decide if the rich are wrong or the poor are wrong.
Stanza 5
You have the money, but if you want to be mean
Why, keep your money (this angrily) and go along.
Questions & Answers
What do the poor people of the roadside stand feel when the citymen decline from buying anything?
When the rich city men decline to buy articles from the roadside stand, the poor runners of the stand feel dejected and angry. They ask the city men to
keep their money with them and leave the roadside stand without further bargain or comments.
How do the rich people behave meanly in front of the roadside stand?
Do you justify the poor people’s growing angry with the rich people’s attitude? Explain your stand.
Stanza 6
The hurt to the scenery wouldn’t be my complaint
So much as the trusting sorrow of what is unsaid:
Questions & Answers
Why is the poet’s complaint different from that of the rich city men?
The rich city men have their hollow complaints that come out of their failure to understand the core level struggles of the poor. But the poet is
concerned for the poor and therefore his complaints are relevant.
What do you mean by the trusting sorrow of the poor people?
The poor people are instinctively sensitive and expectant to the promises of the rich and the mighty. They believe their hollow promises and wait for
their realization. But finally their hopes give way to the miserable realization that the promises made by the rich are not meant to be fulfilled.
What do you understand when the poet says that the trusting sorrow of the poor people is ‘unsaid?’
The poor people place their trust in the fake promises of the rich people and the ruling parties and consequently become sorrowful. The poet
complains that this sorrow of the poor people has not been brought to the serious concern of the concerned authorities, media and the public.
Stanza 7
Here, far from the city we make our roadside stand
And ask for some city money to feel in hand
To try it will (not) make our being expand…
Meaning
Feel in hand: The poor people do not want promises. They want the promises fulfilled. Feel money in hand is different from having money between the
giver and the taker – Being: Life – Expand: Improve
Questions & Answers
What do the people at the roadside stand expect from the rich? What for?
The poor people at the roadside stand expect the generosity of the rich city people. They hope to alleviate their poverty by getting money from the city
people.
How is feeling in hand different from the false promises of the parties?
Feeling in hand means possessing what the parties in power have promised, not owning mere promises. If one feels the promised money in hand, it
means he has acquired it rather than being fooled by the parties that have given them the promises.
What is city money? How is city money expected to help the poor people?
Unlike the meager amount of money possessed by the poor villager, city money is considerably huge. The city money is expected by the poor villager
not only to alleviate his wretched state of poverty, but also to give his a considerable financial rise in life.
Stanza 8
And give us the life of the moving pictures’ promise
That the party in power is said to be keeping from us.
Questions & Answers
What are moving pictures? What kind of life is promised by the ‘moving pictures?
The movies the poor people have watched are full of promises for them. In those movies they saw people who journeyed from poverty to prosperity.
What do ‘the parties in power’ ‘keep from the poor people?
The governments and the corrupted politicians keep the share and the allotted rights of the poor people away from them and use that for their selfish
motives.
How are the rich politicians responsible for the misery of the poor people?
The rich and corrupted politicians keep the money assigned by the government for the poor people in their own malicious hands and make selfish use
of them, thus depriving the poor people of their rights, happiness and all that they deserve.
Stanza 9
It is in the news that all these pitiful kin
Are to be bought out and mercifully gathered in
To live in villages, next to the theater and the store,
Where they won’t have to think for themselves anymore…
Questions & Answers
What is the good news for the poor people?
The media keep on advertising that the governments are planning schemes for the welfare of the poor people.
Do you think the ‘good news’ for the poor people’ ever come true? Why?
No, the promises of the governments for the poor people are not seriously meant and therefore most of them remain just promises and are forgotten.
This happens because these promises are the election baits and the bureaucratic trick to exhort money in the name of the poor people.
Who are the pitiful kin? Why are they called so?
What are the promises made by the politicians?
Stanza 10
While greedy good doers, beneficent beasts of prey,
Swarm over their lives, enforcing benefits
That are calculated to soothe them out of their wits…
Questions & Answers
Who are the greedy good doers? What is the irony in the ‘greedy good-doers?’
The business class and the political parties and leaders are the greedy good-doers mentioned here. A greedy person cannot be a good doer. These
good doers intend to make money out of the poor people by appearing beneficent to them.
What does ‘beneficent beast of prey’ imply?
Similar to ‘greedy good-doers,’ ‘the beneficent beasts of prey’ is also an indication to the greedy people who make money in the name of social and
political and charitable works.
How do the rich ‘enforce benefits’ on the poor?
In business, promises wrapped up in glossy appearances have great value. The rich business people convince the poor of the advantages of their new
schemes and promotions and make them buy their products and be their customers.
What sort of calculation is made to ‘soothe the wits of the poor?’ Does this calculation work? How?
The business minded city people attract the poor people with their well-planned promotional offers and promises. These promises and offers are such
a way calculated that the poor people cannot escape the traps of the rich. The business man’s calculations work well as there is a more efficient brain
behind all these promises.
Stanza 11
And (by) teaching them how to sleep, they sleep all day,
Destroy their sleeping at night the ancient way…
Questions & Answers
Who teach the poor people to sleep? How?
The rich people through their alluring promises of peace of mind and prosperity in life teach the poor people sleep.
Are the poor able to sleep? Why? Who are really able to sleep?
The poor people are unable to sleep as promised by the rich as the promises were not meant to be. On the contrary the rich people are able to sleep
peacefully with the satisfaction of making themselves richer by exploiting the poor.
How do the influential rich destroy the sleep of the poor? How is this done in the ancient times?
The influential rich people give the poor great promises and exploit them to make profit out of them. This destroys the sleep of the poor people. This
method of the rich and mighty is as old as the human civilizations.
Stanza 12
Sometimes I feel myself I can hardly bear
The thought of so much childish longing in vain,
The sadness that lurks near the open window there,
That waits all day in almost open prayer…
Questions & Answers
What is the childish longing? Why is it in vain?
The poor people’s uncertain and futile expectation for the city money is the childish longing. It is in vain as the rich city people do not have the
generosity to help them. OR: Children long to achieve things beyond their reach; but never get them. The poor people’s expectation that the rich people
would give them money is their childish longing. it is in vain because the hard-hearted rich people never give them a penny.
Why can’t the poet bear the childish longing of the poor people?
The poet is a true humanitarian who is genuinely concerned for the poor people’s misfortunes. He wants a solution for their poverty. But seeing how
childish their longings are, the poet feels it unbearable.
What sadness remains at the window of the roadside stand?
There is a sadness of helplessness, of unfulfilled promises and of being fooled by the parties in power remaining near the roadside stand.
What is the prayer of the open window?
The open window is praying for a generous traveler stopping at the stand to buy something and paying a generous amount to alleviate the distress of
the poor people.
Why is the ‘open window’ said to be in ‘open prayer’ for the city people’s generosity?
The open window of the roadside stand has acquired the attitude of poor people of the roadside stand. Just like the people, the window also expects
the city-men to stop their cars to help the poor people.
Stanza 13
For the squeal of brakes, the sound of a stopping car
Of all the thousand selfish cars that pass
Just one to inquire what a farmer’s prices are…
Questions & Answers
How do the poor people react to the squeal of brake in front of the roadside stand?
At the sound of the squeal of brakes, the sound of a stopping car, the poor people at the stand feel their spirits cheered at the possible arrival of a
customer to buy their things.
Why are the cars called ‘selfish cars?
The cars are selfish because the people who travel in them are self centered.
What do you understand by ‘farmer’s prices?’ Who want to know that? Possibly why?
Farmer’s prices refer to the wages for which the farmer could be hired to work in the city. Farmer’s prices can also refer to the prices of the berries,
squash and paintings displayed at the roadside stand for sale.
What make you think that the city men stopped at the roadside stand to hire farmers to work in the city and that farmer’s price refers to the per head
wages to be paid to a farmer for working in the city?
Stanza 14
And one did stop, but only to plow up grass
In using the yard to back and turn around;
And another to ask the way to where it was bound;
And another to ask, “could you sell a gallon of gas?”
Questions & Answers
How do the city men plow up grass in the yard of the roadside stand?
The insensitive and selfish city men drive their cars into the yard of the roadside stand to back and turn it around, leaving a huge cloud of grass
plowed up.
What is the most queer demand of the rich man at the roadside stand? How is it queer?
The insensitive city man demands a gallon of gas at the roadside stand. This is queer because the city man is not aware of the fact that the poor man
cannot provide him with expensive items such as gas.
Why are the poor people angry with the city men when they ask for gas?
The roadside stand has the store of wild berries, squash and paintings which are never bought buy the city men. On the contrary the city men require
a gallon of gas and the roadside stand does not have it for sale. This helplessness make the poor people angry.
Stanza 15
They couldn’t (this crossly), they had none, didn’t it see?
No, in country, money, the country scale of gain,
The requisite lift of sprint, has never been found..
Meaning
They – The villagers
Crossly – Angrily
They had none – They had no gas to sell
Didn’t it see – Haven’t you seen?
Requisite lift of spirit – The most important thing to make one feel confident and safe (money)
Questions & Answers
Why do the people at the roadside stand talk ‘crossly’ with the rich people?
The poor people sometimes become angry with the rich people. The latter refuse to buy the wild berries at the stand at a price demanded by the
owners of the stand. They indulge in bargain and blame the berries and squash. But the poor, who know the rich people are so mean, grow angry at
their unwillingness to help them by parting with a little amount of their money.
How is money important for the village people?
The village people think that money is important for growth in the village. They hope to make improvements in their wretched state of life.
What are the two significant roles of money in the lives of the poor people?
Money is the measuring rode of growth for the village people. They estimate their economic growth by means of the small amount of money at hand.
Similarly, money is necessary for a villager to feel confident. He feels a ‘lift of spirit’ with money in reach.
How does money become the ‘requisite lift of spirit for the country men?
Money is the most important requirement for man in the modern world. If one has money at hand then he feels confident and a feeling of his spirit
being lifted.
Why is money never found in the villages?
It is a common truth that countryside is backward and therefore it remains poor and penniless. Moreover the country folks are easy targets of the
politicians and business-men and therefore they are easily cheated and looted. Besides, if these poor people are given money then they will migrate to
prosperous cities or make a city in the place of their village.
Stanza 16
Or, so, the voice of the country seems to complain.
I can’t help owning the great relief it would be
To put these people at one stroke out of their pain…
Meaning
The voice of the country – Cry of the poor villagers
I can’t help owning the great relief it would be – I keep on feeling an unreal relief of the villagers
At one stroke – Instantly
Questions & Answers
What is the voice of the country?
The voice of the country is that the rich people have no concern for them, and that they are being exploited, cheated and given false promises by the
parties in power, and that there is no end for their miseries.
Why can’t the poet help ‘own’ the relief of helping the poor out of their poverty at one stroke?
The poet wants to see that the poor people are given some kind of help and support by the rich people but he knows that this would not happen. When
he fails to see this, he allows himself to dream that these poor people have been helped by some supernatural powers to alleviate their miseries.
What kind of a relief does the poet dream for the poor people?
The poet dreams of a supernatural help for the poor people, a touch of magic or the like, so that the poor people will be redeemed from their state of
poverty and misery instantly.
Why does the poet seek an unrealistic solution for the poor people’s distress even though he himself blamed them earlier for their ‘childish longing in
vain?’
The poet, unlike the greedy good-doers, genuinely wishes to get the poor people out of their pain, poverty and endless miseries but he is sad and
helpless to see that there is no one to help them come out of their poverty. This helplessness drives the poet to seek an unrealistic solution for the
poor people’s misery.
Stanza 17
And then next day as I come back into the sane,
I wonder how I should like you to come to me
And offer to put me out of my pain.
Meaning
As I come back into the sane – As I come back to my senses/reality
My pain – My pain is the sufferings/plight of the poor people
Put me out of my pain – I hope you the rich promise to open your hands for these poor people
Questions & Answers
What does the poet see when he comes back into his senses?
 The poet sees the city cars still passing without feelings, the helplessness of the poor people and the endless misery of the people at the roadside
stand.
What does the poet want his readers do for him?
The poet is greatly distressed that the poor people are not helped by the government and rich people. He finally resorts to some heavenly help for the
poor by which their poverty would be removed. But soon he realizes how childish his dreams are seeing that the poor haven’t improved. At this point
the poet wants his readers to promise him to help the poor.
What is the poet’s pain?
The poet’s pain is that the poor people are still waiting for the rich people’s generosity and that the rich people never help the poor people. He is also
sad that his insane dreams of the poor people helped by a stroke were only dreams.
How can his readers remove the poet’s pain?
The readers can get the poet out of his pain by offering to help the poor people.
MAIN THEME
Robert Frost, a highly acclaimed American poet, in his poems usually frcused, on the themes of human tragedies and fears and their ultimate
acceptance or their solution. In his poem, ‘A Roadside Stand’ he deals with the lives of poor deprived people of the villages with a clarity that is
perceptive and at the same time portrays his deepest sympathies and his feelings of humanity. The poem also brings in to focus the unfortunate fact
that progress and development is unequal between the cities and the villages leading to feelings of distress and unhappiness among the dwellers of the
latter. In the poem, the poet describes the feelings of the owners of a readside shed who seem to wait interminably for those whizzing past, their
house in their shiny cars, to stop and buy something from the shack-some fruit, some humble vegetables, or even stop and rest in the beautiful
mountainscape. They long for the feel of hard currency that is a symbol of poverty alleviation in their lives of deprivation. It appears to be a vain hope,
however, that those who do glance their way are either reproachful of the blot on the landscape, their shed, that seems to mar the beauty of the
landscape, or stop to ask for directions. Some use the space to turn their cars around unmindful of the damage to their turf. The poect is outraged at
the callous attitude of the government, the civic authorities and the social service agencies who appear to help them but actually end up harming
them, The news says that these poor people are to be relocated to the vicinity of the towns near the theatre and the shops, There they will be well
looked after and will have nothing worrisome to think about, The poet, however regards this as a great disservice to the people who will be thus robbed
of their voices and their freedom and ability to find solutions to their problems. Lulled in to oblivion by this false and perhaps short-lived sense of
security, the villagers will forever lose their abilities to make calculated decisions for themselves and become pawns in the hands of their so called
benefactors who are wating to take over their land. This will finally culminate in a futile sense of dissatisfaction for the villagers. The poet is filled with
sadness to see the almost childish longing that seems to emanate from the roadside shed, for a life that is described in the movies, a life so far
removed from their life in the village. The unthink-ing occupants of a car who stop at the shed to buy a gallon of gas, speaks of the disconnect that
exists in the perceptions of town people with regard to the villagers. They are unable to comprehend that the lives of the villagers are far removed
from theirs, so replete with the comforts that the material world offers. The poet is saddened at the thought that the rural poor have not been able to
experience the satisfaction that comes from a feeling of well being and contentment. He feels that it would be easy to still these complaining voices
once and for all by changing the lives of the villagers but he questions the wisdom of this rash act.
A ROADSIDE STAND BY ROBERT FROST (POETIC DEVICES/FIGURES OF SPEECH)
The use of personal pronoun shows poet’s involvement and draws reader’s concern.
‘didn’t it see’ -The use of ‘it’ for people indicates they are inhuman
Transferred epithet –1)polished traffic (the traffic is not polished, people are polished)
2)Selfish cars
Metaphor/ figurative speech-1) the flower of cities from sinking and withering faint;
2) Swarm over their lives
3) Teaching them to sleep they sleep all day
Oxymoron and Alliteration - Greedy good doers; beneficent beasts of prey
Personification:
· A roadside stand that too pathetically pled(also alliteration)
· Sadness that lurks near the open window there/ that waits all day
· Voice of country
QUESTIONS 01
Extracts for comprehension
Read the following extracts and answer the questions that follow:-
1- The little old house was out with a little new shed,
In front at the edge of the road, where the traffic sped,
A roadside stand that too pathetically pled,
It would not be fair to say for a dale of bread,
But for some of the money, the cash, whose flow supports
The following of cities from sinking and withering faint.
Ques-(i) Why had a new shed put up by the occupants of the little old house?
Ques-(ii) Why does the poet refer to the roadside stand as ‘Pathetic’ ?
Ques-(iii) What is the purpose of the shed ?
2- It in the news that all these pitiful kin
Are to be bought out and mercifully gathered in
To live in village, next to the theatre and the store,
Where they won’t have to think for themselves anymore.
Ques-(i) What does the news proclaim ?
Ques-(ii) Who do these pitiful kin refer to ? Why will they be mercifully gathered in ?
Ques-(iii) Where will one see thesepoor villagers ?
EXTRACTS FOR PRACTICE
Read the following lines and answer with reference to the context:
The hurt to the scenery wouldn’t be my complaint
So much as the trusting sorrow of what is unsaid:
Here far from the city we make our roadside stand
And ask for some city money to feel in hand
To try if it will not make our being expand,
And give us te life of the moving pictures’ promise
That the party in power is said to be keeping from us.
Ques-(i) What do the owners of the shack wish for? 01
Ques-( (ii) How will it help them ? 01
Ques-( (iii) What is the party in power keeping from these rural poor ? 01
Ques-( (iv) What do you think the life of the movie pictures implies ? 01
Read the following lines and answer with reference to the context:
No, in country money, the country scale of gain,
The requisite lift of spirit has never been found,
Or so the voice of the country seems to complain,
I can’t help owning the great relief it would be
To put these people at one stroke out of their pain,
And then next day as I come back in to the same.
I wounder how I should like you to come to me
And offer to put me gently out of my pain,
Ques-( (i) What des the poet mean by the line, ‘ the requisite lift of spirit has never been found’ 01
Ques-( (ii) What does the poet wish he could do for these people ? 02
Ques-( (iii) What makes him change his mind ? 01
SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS 02
Ques- What was the plea of the folk who had put up the roadside stand ?
Ques- What is the childish longing that poet refers to ? Why is it vain ?
Ques- Discuss in brief: “The economic well-being of a country depends on a balanced development of the villages and the cities?
Ques- What should the government do for the rural Poor?
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS
(i) who are the ‘greedy good-doers’ and ‘the beneficent beasts of prey ? Why does the poet refer to them thus ?
(ii) The poet sympathises with the rural poor. How has this sentiment been expressed in the poem ?
QUESTIONS 02
1) The city folk who drove through the countryside hardly paid any heed to the roadside stand or the people who ran it If at all they did, it was to
complain. Which lines bring this out? What was their complaint about?
2) What was the plea of the folk who had put up the roadside stand?
3) The government and other social service agencies appear to help the poor rural people, but actually do them no good. Pick out the words and
phrases that the poet uses to show their double standards.
4) What is the ‘childish’ longing that the poet refers to? Why is it ‘vain’? .
5) Which lines tell us about the insufferable pain that the poet feels at the thought of the plight of the rural poor?
QUESTIONS 03
1. ANSWER EACH OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS IN ABOUT 30-40 WORDS:
Question 1.
Why do the people who run the roadside stand wait for the squeal of brakes so eagerly? (2003 Delhi)
Question 2.
Explain: “soothe them out of them wits” with reference to the poem The Roadside Stand’. (2005 Delhi)
Question 3.
Why does Robert Frost sympathise with the rural poor? (2009 Delhi; 2011 Comptt. Outside Delhi)
Question 4.
What was the plea of the folk who had put up the roadside stand? (2008 Delhi; 2011 Delhi; 2013 Delhi)
Question 5.
What is the ‘childish longing’ of the folk who had put up the roadside stand? Why is it ‘in vain’? (2011
Comptt. Delhi)
Question 6.
Why didn’t the ‘polished traffic’ stop at the roadside stand? (2012 Delhi)
Question 7.
What news in the poem ‘A Roadside Stand’ is making its round in the village? (2013 Outside Delhi)
Question 8.
Why do people at the roadside stand ask for city money? (2013 Comptt. Delhi)
Question 9.
What does Frost himself feel about the roadside stand? (2011 Comptt. Outside Delhi)
2. READ THE EXTRACT AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT FOLLOW:
Question 10.
The little old house was out with a little new shed
In front at the edge of the road where the traffic sped,
A roadside stand that too pathetically pled,
It would not be fair to say for a dole of bread,
But for some of the money, the cash, whose flow
supports
The flower of cities from sinking and withering faint.
Where was the new shed put up? What was its purpose?
Why does the poet use the word ‘pathetic’?
Explain: ‘too pathetically pled’
Who are referred to as ‘the flower of cities’? (2009 Outside Delhi; 2010 Comptt. Delhi; 2012 Comptt. Delhi)
Question 11.
The polished traffic passed with a mind ahead,
Or if ever aside a moment, then out of sorts
At having the landscape marred with the artless paint
Of signs that with N turned wrong and S turned
wrong
Offered for sale wild berries in wooden quarts,
What does the poet mean by ‘with a mind ahead?
What are N and S signs?
Why have these sings turned wrong? (2010 Comptt. Outside Delhi)
Question 12.
Or beauty rest in a beautiful mountain scene,
You have the money, but if you want to be mean,
Why keep your money (this crossly) and go along.
The hurt to the scenery wouldn’t be my complaint
So much as the trusting sorrow of what is unsaid
What attraction does the place offer?
What should one do if one wants to be mean?
What does the poet not complain about?
What do you think is the real worry of the poet? (2010 Outside Delhi)
Question 13.
It is in the news that all these pitiful kin
Are to be bought out and mercifully gathered in
To live in villages, next to the theatre and the store,
Where they won’t have to think for themselves
anymore,
While greedy good-doers, beneficent beasts of prey,
(2000; 2007, Delhi)
Name the poem and the poet.
Explain why merciful have been called ‘greedy good-doers’ and ‘beneficent beasts of prey’?
Why won’t these poor people have to think for themselves any more?
Question 14.
Sometimes 1 feel myself I can hardly bear
The thought of so much childish longing in vain,
The sadness that lurks near the open window there,
That waits all day in almost open prayer
For the squeal of brakes, the sound of a stopping car,
Of all the thousand selfish cars that pass.
What cannot be borne by the poet and why?
What is the ‘childish longing7?
Why the longing has been termed as ‘vain’?
Why do the people driving in the cars stop sometimes? (2004 Delhi; 2011 Outside Delhi)
Question 15.
Sometimes I feel myself I can hardly bear
The thought of so much childish longing in vain,
The sadness that lurks near the open window there,
Why is the longing called childish?
Where is the window?
Why does sadness lurk there? (2012 Comptt. Outside Delhi)
Question 16.
The sadness that lurks near the open window there, That waits all day in almost open prayer For the squeal
of brakes, the sound of a stopping car, Of all the thousand selfish cars that pass,
Just one to inquire a farmer’s prices are.
Which open window is referred to? Why does sadness lurk there?
What does the farmer pray for?
Is the farmer’s prayer ever granted? How do you know? (2012 Outside Delhi)
QUESTIONS 04
Question 1.
The city folk who drove through the countryside hardly paid any heed to the roadside stand or to the people
who ran it. If at all they did, it was to complain, which lines bring this out? What was their complaint about?
Question 2.
What was the plea of the folk who had put up the roadside stand?
Question 3.
The government and other social service agencies appear to help the poor rural people, but actually do
them no good. Pick out the words and phrases that the poet uses to show their double standards.
Question 4.
What is the ‘Childish longing’ that the poet refers to? Why is it vain?
Question 5.
Which lines tell us about the insufferable pain that the poet feels at the throught of the plight of the rural
people?
Question 6.
Where was a little new shed situated ?
Question 7.
What is the demand of the roadside stand ?
Question 8.
What attitude does the polished traffic show ?
Question 9.
What is sold by the roadside stand sellers ?
Question 10.
What is the complaint of the poet ?
Question 11.
What is in the news ?
Question 12.
What is the Childish longing of the poet ?
Question 13.
Why those cars are named as ‘selfish’ ?
Question 14.
Why do the cars stop there occasionally?
Question 15.
How does the poet feel himself helpless?

EXTRA QUESTIONS
Question 1.
Write in brief the summary of the poem.
Question 2.