Written Work:

Class Work

1. What was the poet’s dilemma?

 To take which road as both seemed the same

 Difficult decision to take and not an easy choice

2. What was the speaker’s opinion about the two roads?

 Both the roads were same

 There was no difference between the two
 The road he chose was grassy and wanted wear
 Covered with autumn leaves
 However in the last two lines of the poem he says, he took the road less travelled by
people and that has made all the difference in his journey of life

3. Why did the speaker give a sigh?

 To express his decision of taking the road he desired

 May be sigh of relief and that he was happy to have made that choice
 Or sigh of pain and that he was disappointed to have made that choice

4. What do you think the last two lines of the poem mean?

 “I took the road less travelled by,

and that has made all the difference.”
This means that the choice made by him has made all the difference- may be for
good or bad.
 Neither the difference is specified nor its nature
 He could either be regretting or rejoicing the aftermath of his choice

5. Was the speaker certain to come back on the road he had left for another day? Give reasons.

 The speaker was doubtful

 It often happens that the road that is left once, is left for over
 Rarely do we come on to that road again
 One way leads to another

6. How does the outcome of our life depend on the choice we make to reach our destinations?

 Life is full of complexities

 Provides us with different choices and options
  To make a choice is not easy
 Mostly people choose the most frequented path
 However there are many who are bold and adventurous e.g. the poet who has
taken the road which is less frequented
 This shows he is an individualist and does not conform to the usual ways of life
 However a road once taken cannot be changed
 As one way leads to the other
 Our success or failure depends on the choice that we make

7. Answer the following questions with reference to the context:

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”

i. What do the two roads signify?

 Different choices in a man’s life(poet is metaphorically comparing the roads in wood to

the choices one must make in life) which when taken will make a difference in his life

ii. Find a word from the extract which means as ‘separated from another’.

 diverged

iii. Why did the poet take a long time to decide which road to take?

 He wanted to be sure of his choice so that there is no regret in the future

iv. What does ‘yellow’ signify?

 Yellow leaves signify autumn season

b. “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 the poet mean when he says ‘no step had trodden black’?
  No decay has been caused to the fallen leaves
 No traveller has walked the way

ii. What was the doubt the speaker had?

 He was doubtful whether he would ever be able to walk the other road in the future

iii. What does both refer to in the above lines?

 Two roads that fork into the forest

d. Why does the speaker exclaim, ‘Oh, I kept the first for another day!’?

 Poet is either consoling himself or gratified that he has eventually taken a decision
 He adds that he would perhaps tread the other on another occasion

QUESTION BANK QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

The Road Not Taken (poem)

Answer with reference to the context:
1. 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;
a) Why did the poet feel sorry?
b) What does ‘yellow wood’ stand for?
c) What do ‘roads’ represent?
d) What was poet’s plight on choosing the road?

2. Then took the other, 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.
a) Which road did the poet take?
b) Why did he take the second road?
c) What does it imply by ‘because it was grassy and wanted wear’?
d) What does the phrase ‘perhaps the better claim’ mean?

3. 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) What does ‘both’ stand for in the first line?
b) What does the poet think about the first road?
c) What was the doubt that he had?
d) What does the phrase, “leaves no step had trodden black” mean?

Answer the questions briefly:

1. Where does the traveller find himself? What problem does he face?
2. Which of the two roads did the poet choose and why?
3. Where was the poet standing? Why did he feel sorry?
4. Why did the poet have the feelings of ‘doubt’?
5. What did the poet decide about the first road?
6. What is the significance of the fact that the road ‘bent in the undergrowth’?
7. Do you think the poet is happy with his choice? Why /Why not?
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