CBSE Class 9 English Chapter 7 The Road Not Taken Summary, Explanation along with Difficult Word Meanings and Literary Devices from Literature Reader (Communicative) Book
The Road Not Taken Class 9 – CBSE Class 9 English Literature Reader (Communicative) Book Chapter 7 The Road Not Taken Summary and Detailed explanation of the lesson along with the meanings of difficult words. Also, the explanation is followed by a Summary of the lesson.
The Road Not Taken Class 9 English Chapter 7
by Robert Frost
- The Road Not Taken Introduction
- The Road Not Taken Summary
- The Road Not Taken Summary in Hindi
- Video Explanation of The Road Not Taken
- The Road Not Taken Lesson Explanation
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The Road Not Taken Introduction
In this poem the poet talks about a choice he has to make between two roads. The road is compared to the different career options we face in our life and have to choose any one.
The poet wants to convey an important message to us – Our future depends on our present. The career option we choose today will determine what we become tomorrow. We must be careful as we do not get the privilege to go back on the option once left.
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The Road Not Taken Summary
The poet was walking down the woods when he faced the option of two different paths. He could not walk down both. He inspected the path till where it was visible under the dense trees to determine which one was better. Finally, he took the other path which appeared to be greener and less walked upon. Later on, after walking a few steps, he realised that both the paths were similar and this one was also worn out.
He realises that his decision of walking down the other path some other day would never materialise as one path leads to another (more options and further choices) and so on. The privilege of going back to the previously left path would never be available to him.
He thinks of the future, after many years, he will say that he walked down the path which seemed greener and less travelled.
His choices in the past will matter the most and will make him what he becomes in the future.
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The Road Not Taken Summary in Hindi
कवि जंगल में घूम रहा था जब उन्हें दो अलग–अलग रास्तों के विकल्प का सामना करना पड़ा। वह दोनों रस्तो में नहीं चल सकते थे। उन्होंने उस रास्ते का निरीक्षण किया जहाँ तक घने पेड़ों के नीचे रास्ता दिख रहा था ताकि पता चल सके कि कौन सा रास्ता बेहतर है। अंत में, उसने दूसरा रास्ता अपनाया जो अधिक हरा–भरा और कम लोगों द्वारा इस्तेमाल हुआ प्रतीत होता था। बाद में कुछ कदम चलने के बाद उन्हें एहसास हुआ कि दोनों रास्ते एक जैसे हैं और यह भी उसकी तरह घिसा–पिटा है।
उन्हें एहसास होता है कि किसी और दिन दूसरे रास्ते पर चलने का उनका निर्णय कभी पूरा नहीं होगा क्योंकि एक रास्ता दूसरे रास्ते (अधिक विकल्प और आगे के विकल्प) की ओर ले जाता है। पहले छोड़े गए रास्ते पर वापस जाने का सौभाग्य उसे कभी उपलब्ध नहीं हो सकेगा।
वह भविष्य के बारे में सोचता है, कई वर्षों के बाद, वह कहेगा कि वह उस रास्ते पर चला जो हरा–भरा और कम यात्रा वाला लगता था।
अतीत में उसकी पसंद सबसे अधिक मायने रखेगी और भविष्य में वह जो बनेगा, उसका श्रेय उसके निर्णय को जाएगा।
Video Explanation of The Road Not Taken
The Road Not Taken Poem Explanation
Poem :
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;
Word Meaning :
diverged: go separate ways
yellow wood: the forest is full of yellow coloured leaves in autumn
undergrowth: dense growth of trees
Explanation of the Poem – The poet talks of a time when he was travelling on a single path. Then he saw that the road separated into two roads. He was surrounded by a forest full of yellow coloured leaves, indicating that it was autumn. The poet says that he had to choose to walk on one specific path. However, he stood still and looked down as far as he could, trying to figure out which one was the most suitable path for him to take. He was sad and felt sorry for himself that he could not travel both the paths. He tried to look far while trying to see if the two paths would ever meet in the future. However, he could not tell where the road would go because of the dense growth of the forest. This para tells us about real life and how there comes a certain point in our life when we have to choose one thing out of the given options. We try to predict where it could lead us, but the truth is that no one can fully and correctly predict where it would lead us to. The future is unknown to everyone. Sometimes, we get confused between two or more options because of our varied interests. This is similar to how confused we become when we are interested in two or more careers in different streams. We try different techniques and ultimately, we wish that we could see the future in order to pick the most suitable career. However, this is impossible.
Poem :
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 the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
Word Meaning :
fair: something which is equal or same
claim: something that one asked to be given to her/him
wear: usage
worn: damaged
Explanation of the Poem – The poet finally chose a path to walk on, even though both the paths looked quite the same. He assured himself that the path he took was the better and more suitable path for him because it looked more grassy, beautiful and was less used by the other people. Often while choosing a career, some people choose a career which is not too popular. However, the poet later discovered that both the paths were equally travelled. This is similar to how students do not do the full research on a particular career and they take up that goal based on their few assumptions.
Poem :
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.
Word Meaning :
trodden: the action of stepping onto something
Explanation of the Poem – The poet tells us that when another morning came and it was broad daylight, he discovered that both the paths had the same amount of footprints on them. Hence, he realised that the path he had not taken was a path that was comparatively better than the path he had taken. He kept that path for another day, meaning that he believed that he could start over again at the fork and he could go back and use the second road. He did not know where the current road would lead him, and even though he wished to go back to the other road, he doubted if he could actually do that. He felt like there was a huge possibility that he would not be able to go back to the other road.
Poem :
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.
Explanation of the Poem – The poet says that from that point onwards, he knew that there would come a time when he would narrate this incident of his life with a sigh after many years had passed away. Sigh here means that he would narrate the story with regret in his voice. The ending of the poem is that the once upon a time, the poet saw that this road once divided into two roads in a forest full of autumn leaves and he took the road which he thought was not as popular as the other road. This decision was life-changing and hence it made all the difference in his life. In the end, he says that we should accept the difference and learn the life lesson that comes with it. We should move on and make the best out of our decisions instead of staying stuck at one spot and thinking about the mistakes of the past.
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Literary Devices
Stanza 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;
Rhyme Scheme: wood, both, stood, could, undergrowth – abaab
Anaphora: In lines 2, 3 and 4 of the stanza
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
Metaphor: yellow wood symbolises autumn season
Visual imagery: We can imagine a scene where a person is standing on a road. In front of the person, the road is splitting into two parts. The person is standing in a forest-like place and the ground was covered with fallen autumn leaves.
Symbolism: ‘Two roads’ symbolise the different choices in our 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 the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
Rhyme Scheme: fair, claim, wear, there, same – abaab
Alliteration: wanted wear
Simile: as just as fair
Personification: In the third line of the stanza, the road is personified as a human because it ‘wanted’ wear.
Visual Imagery: We can imagine a path looking grassy, new, and pleasant-looking.
Stanza 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.
Rhyme Scheme: lay, black, day, way, back – abaab
Onomatopoeia: ‘Oh’ in the third line
Visual imagery: We can imagine a landscape with the sun shining bright and two paths being illuminated by that light.
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 travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Rhyme Scheme: sigh, I, by, hence, difference – abaab
Symbolism: ‘Two roads’ symbolise the different choices in our life
Repetition: “Two roads diverged in a wood” is repeated in Stanza 1 and 4
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