NCERT CBSE Class 9th THE ROAD NOT TAKEN Summary, Explanation, Poetic Devices
Stanza wise Explanation & Poetic Devices of the poem "THE ROAD NOT TAKEN"
Stanza 1
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I couldn't 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;
Stanza 1 Explanation:
The Poet is saying that he stands at the junction of two roads. He says that the roads go into the woods and yellow wood means that it is the time of autumn. Further he says that he cannot travel both the roads at the same time so he stood there at the junction for a long time to decide which road he should travel on. He tries to look at the road as far as he could before making the final move.
Explanation in Hindi:
कवि कह रहा है कि वह दो सड़कों के जंक्शन पर खड़ा है। उनका कहना है कि सड़कें जंगल में जाती हैं और पीली लकड़ी का मतलब है कि यह पतझड़ का समय है। आगे उनका कहना है कि वह एक ही समय में दोनों सड़कों पर यात्रा नहीं कर सकते, इसलिए वह जंक्शन पर यह तय करने के लिए काफी देर तक खड़े रहे कि उन्हें किस सड़क पर यात्रा करनी चाहिए। अंतिम कदम उठाने से पहले वह जहां तक हो सके सड़क को देखने की कोशिश करता है।
1.Symbolism: The road represents the journey or life choice that the poet makes.
The yellow wood also symbolizes the mature age in which the poet has to make decisions for himself.
2.Metaphor: The word undergrowth refers to a future the poet cannot see.
3.Metaphor: The road is a metaphor for the choices we make in life.
Stanza 2
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
Stanza 2 Explanation:
After waiting for a long time at the junction of the two roads finally the poet decided to took one of the roads and started walking on it because to him both the roads were equally good and this path was better for him. Further he adds that this path that he took was grassy and wanted wear which means that it was unused and probably not many people had taken this path. After walking on that path for some time he realized that both the paths were similar and worn out.
Explanation in Hindi:
दोनों सड़कों के जंक्शन पर लंबे समय तक इंतजार करने के बाद आखिरकार कवि ने उनमें से एक सड़क लेने का फैसला किया और उस पर चलना शुरू कर दिया क्योंकि उसके लिए दोनों सड़कें समान रूप से अच्छी थीं और यह रास्ता उसके लिए बेहतर था। आगे वह कहते हैं कि यह रास्ता जो उन्होंने अपनाया वह घास वाला था और टूट-फूट चाहता था जिसका मतलब है कि यह अप्रयुक्त था और शायद बहुत से लोगों ने इस रास्ते को नहीं अपनाया था। कुछ देर तक उस रास्ते पर चलने के बाद उसे एहसास हुआ कि दोनों रास्ते एक जैसे और घिसे-पिटे हैं।
Poetic Devices:
1.Alliteration: Repetition of 'gh' sound in 'then' and 'the'.
2.Repetition of the 'w' sound in 'wanted' and 'ware'.
3.Simile: The two roads are compared to each other using the words 'as appropriate'.
4.Personalization: The road here is expressed as the desire of the human being to travel on his own path.
Stanza 3
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first one for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
Stanza 3 Explanation:
To the poet both the roads were infront of him, both were still untrodden - means no one had walked on those roads, both the roads were looking the same. There were leaves on the both the roads and no-one had walked on them. He starts walking on one of the roads and kept the other road for some other day. He further says that he knows that one way leads to another way and he will never come back on that path that he left for some other day. The poet is trying to give a message through this stanza that in our lives we also sometimes come at a junction where we need to decide and choose a path and we must keep moving on that path.
Explanation in Hindi:
कवि के लिए दोनों सड़कें उसके सामने थीं, दोनों अभी भी अछूती थीं - यानी उन सड़कों पर कोई नहीं चला था, दोनों सड़कें एक जैसी दिख रही थीं। दोनों सड़कों पर पत्तियाँ थीं और उन पर कोई नहीं चला था। वह एक सड़क पर चलना शुरू कर देता है और दूसरी सड़क को किसी और दिन के लिए छोड़ देता है। वह आगे कहता है कि वह जानता है कि एक रास्ता दूसरे रास्ते की ओर जाता है और वह उस रास्ते पर कभी वापस नहीं आएगा जिसे उसने किसी और दिन छोड़ दिया था। कवि इस छंद के माध्यम से यह संदेश देने का प्रयास कर रहा है कि हम भी अपने जीवन में कभी-कभी ऐसे मोड़ पर आते हैं जहां हमें निर्णय लेने और एक रास्ता चुनने की जरूरत होती है और हमें उस रास्ते पर आगे बढ़ते रहना चाहिए।
1.Alliteration: Repetition of the 'f' sound in 'first' and 'for'.
2.Repetition: The word 'way' is repeated twice.
3.Imagery: The poet has beautifully described both the routes that morning. He says that they remain equal, no leaf is blackened by the steps of a passerby.
Stanza 4
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 traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Stanza 4 Explanation:
The poet says that in the future he will tell this instance to his future generations with a deep breath that once upon a time in his life he reached at such a point in life that he had two options infront of him and chose the path which was less travelled or explored by people and that decision of choosing that path marked his future. Similarly, you can also tell this to your future generations that at one point in life you also came across two roads and you chose the one that was less travelled and that decision in life has created all the difference means because of that decision you are what you are today.
Explanation in Hindi:
कवि कहता है कि भविष्य में वह गहरी साँस लेते हुए अपनी आने वाली पीढ़ियों को यह उदाहरण सुनाएगा कि एक समय वह जीवन में ऐसे मोड़ पर पहुँच गया था कि उसके सामने दो विकल्प थे और उसने वह रास्ता चुना जो था लोगों द्वारा कम यात्रा की गई या खोजबीन की गई और उस रास्ते को चुनने के निर्णय ने उनके भविष्य को चिह्नित किया। इसी तरह, आप अपनी आने वाली पीढ़ियों को भी यह बता सकते हैं कि जीवन में एक समय आपके सामने भी दो रास्ते आए थे और आपने वह रास्ता चुना जिस पर कम सफर करना पड़ा और उस फैसले ने जीवन में सारा फर्क पैदा कर दिया यानी उस फैसले की वजह से ही आप हैं। आप आज हैं.
Literary Devices:
1.Repetition: The word 'ages' is repeated twice in the second line.
2. Anaphora: 'two paths diverged' is repeated.
Q1 Where does the traveller find himself?What problem does he face?
Q2 Discuss what these phrases mean to you.
1.a yellow wood
2.it was grassy and wanted wear
3.the passing there
4.leaves no step had trodden black
5.how way leads on to way
Q3 Is there any difference between the two roads as the poet describes them?
1.in stanzas two and three?
2.in the last two lines of the poem?
1. There is no distinction between the two roads in verses two and three
2. In the last two lines of the poem, the poet states that the path he has chosen is the one less travelled.
