NCERT Solutions Class 9 English (Beehive (Poem))
The NCERT Solutions in English Language for Class 9 English (Beehive (Poem)) Poem – 1 The Road Not Taken has been provided here to help the students in solving the questions from this exercise.
Poem – 1 (The Road Not Taken)
The Road Not Taken
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;
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.
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 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.
– ROBERT FROST
Thinking about the Poem
I. 1. Where does the traveler find himself? What problem does he face?
Answer – The traveler finds himself at a point in the woods where two roads diverge. The problem is that he cannot travel both the roads and thus he has to choose one between them.
2. Discuss what these phrases mean to you.
(i) a yellow wood
(ii) it was grassy and wanted wear
(iii) the passing there
(iv) leaves no step had trodden black
(v) how way leads on to way
Answer –
(i) The phrase “a yellow wood” indicates a forest during the autumn season.
(ii) The phrase “it was grassy and wanted wear” means that the road was full of grass as it has been less travelled. As people haven’t walked on it, it is yet to wear out.
(iii) The phrase “the passing there” refers to people walking on that road.
(iv) “Leaves no step had trodden black” indicates that the fallen leaves had not been crushed under the feet of the travelers.
(v) The phrase “how way leads on to way” means that one road leads to another. So once the poet has made a choice between the two roads, he wonders if he will ever be able return to the same spot and choose the other road.
3. Is there any difference between the two roads as the poet describes them:
(i) in stanzas two and three?
(ii) in the last two lines of the poem?
Answer –
(i) No, there is no difference between the two roads as the poet describes them in stanzas two and three as he says “the passing there had worn them really about the same” and that “equally lay in leaves no step had trodden black…”
(ii) In the last two lines of the poem, the poet indicates a difference between the two roads as he says that he took the road that was less travelled by and that has made a huge difference in his journey.
4. What do you think the last two lines of the poem mean? (Looking back, does the poet regret his choice or accept it?)
Answer – The poet makes a different choice by choosing the road that was less used by other people which he feels has been responsible for shaping his journey and bringing about a change in his life. No, he does not regret taking such a decision and instead accepts the reality of the challenging path he chose to walk on.
