The Road Not Taken

Rhyme scheme: abaab cdccd efeef ghggh

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;

The poet has come to a diversion in the road. There are

two paths that he now has to choose from. Being a single
traveller, he can take only one path. So he stands and
looks down one road as far as it bends in the
undergrowth. Similarly, we can compare this in our
lives when we are facing a difficult decision to choose
between two paths or options.

Poetic Devices:
1. Assonance: There is a repetition of the 'o' sound in the
words 'roads' and 'yellow'.
2. Symbolism: The road is a representation for the
journey or the life choice that the poet makes.
The yellow wood also symbolises the ripe age at which the
poet has to make decisions for himself.
3.Consonance: Repetition of 'd' sound in the words 'roads',
'diverged' and 'wood'
4.Anaphora: Repetition of 'And' at the beginning of lines 2,
3, and 4.
5.Metaphor: The word undergrowth stands for the future
into which the poet cannot see.
6.Enjambment: Lines 3, 4, and 5 have a continuous flow
with any punctuation mark.
7.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 the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

The poet then decides to take the road which many people
had not walked on. It seems more appealing to him as it was
grassy and thereby thinks it is the better option. After taking
the road, he realizes that the grassy road had been trodden
on equally like the other road. Both the roads were worn out
just the same. In the same way, in life we may take a
decision thinking it to be a better option, but the truth is that
the grass isn't greener on the other side. Both options have
equal advantages and disadvantages.

Poetic devices:
1. Alliteration: Repetition of 'd' sound in 'then' and 'the'.
Repetition of 'w' sound in 'wanted' and 'wear'.
2. Simile: Both the roads have been compared to each
other using the words 'as just as fair'
3. Personification: The road here is personified as
wanting humans to travel down its path.
4. Enjambment: Line 4 follows into line 5 without any
punctuation mark.
5. Imagery: The poet gives us a visual description of the
two roads. He says that one was grassy as there were
hardly any travellers walking down that road.

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.

The poet says that the roads were similar. The leaves were
fresh and had not been stepped on either road. But since he
journeyed down the chosen path, he kept the other road for
another day. The poet knew that by choosing his desired
path it would definitely lead further to another path.
Therefore, he doubts that he would ever be able to take the
path which he left for another day. Sometimes in life, we
are faced with a decision to make. We choose one option
but wonder what it would be like to have chosen the other.

Poetic Devices:
1. Alliteration: Repetition of 'f' sound in 'first' and 'for'.
2. Repetition: The word 'way' has been repeated twice.
3. Imagery: The poet gives a beautiful description of both
the roads that morning. He says that they lay equal
with none of the leaves turned black by the footsteps of
a passerby.
4. Enjambment: Line 1 continues into line 2 without any
punctuation.

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.

The poet now looks back at the decision he made and with a
sigh says that ages ago there were two roads which
diverged in a wood, and he chose to take the one with the
least amount of travellers. This decision of his has made all
the difference in his life. Likewise, our choices and options
are what make us and shape our future.

Poetic Devices:
1. Repetition: The word 'ages' has been repeated twice in
the second line.
The line 'Two roads diverged in' has been repeated here
again.
2.Assonance: Repetition of 'a' sound in 'ages', 'and', and
'ages'.
3.Enjambment: Line 1 continues into line 2 without any
punctuation.

The Rain On The Roof

Rhyme Scheme: abcbdefe abcbdefe abcbdefe

Stanza 1:

When the humid shadows hover

Overall the starry spheres
And the melancholy darkness
Gently weeps in rainy tears,
What a bliss to press the pillow
Of a cottage-chamber bed
And lie listening to the patter
Of the soft rain overhead!

Poetic Devices

i. Alliteration - It is the repetition of a letter at the start

of closely placed words. The repetition of the letter:
1. ‘H’ in humid shadows hover.
2. ‘S’ in starry spheres.
3. ‘P’ in press the pillow.
4. ‘L’ in lie listening.
ii. Onomatopoeia - The poet has used the word ‘patter’
which is the sound of the raindrops falling on
something.
iii. Personification - The poet has personified darkness
by using the words like ‘melancholy’ and ‘weeping’ for
her.
iv. Transferred Epithet - The poet has used the word
‘melancholy’ to refer to the people who are sad.
v. Imagery - The poet has enhanced the beauty of the
poem and gave the readers visual descriptions by
using the phrase such as ‘starry spheres’, ‘melancholy
darkness’ and ‘rainy tears’.
vi. Assonance - The prominent use of the vowel ‘o’ in
the line - Of the soft rain overhead.
vii. Enjambment - The sentences are being continued
to the next line without a break. It can be observed
throughout the stanza.
Meanings
Hover - move around something
Melancholy - sad
Patter - sound of raindrops falling on the roof

Explanation

Here, the poet says that when the dark, moisture

laden clouds hover above the sky and covers the starry
sky, the sad and melancholic darkness of the night is
wiped off by the raindrops which are like tears falling
from the sky. A comparison is made between
raindrops and tears. When the dark sky is sad, it cries
and the raindrops are tears shed by it. The poet tells
us that it is a blessing to lay in his room and put a
pillow below his head and hear the sounds of
raindrops falling on the roof.

Stanza 2:

Every tinkle on the shingles

Has an echo in the heart;
And a thousand dreamy fancies
Into busy being start,
And a thousand recollections
Weave their air-threads into woof,
As I listen to the patter
Of the rain upon the roof.

Poetic Devices

i. Alliteration - It is the repetition of a letter at the start

of closely placed words. The repetition of the letter:
1. ‘B’ in busy being.
2. ‘Th’ in their air-threads.
3. ‘R’ in rain upon the roof.
ii. Onomatopoeia - The poet has used the words
‘patter’ and ‘tinkles’, both the words are used for the
sound of the raindrops falling on something.
iii. Personification - The poet has personified
recollections by using the phrase ‘weave their air-
threads into woof’ for it.
iv. Hyperbole - The poet has used the word ‘thousand’
for dreamy fancies and recollections which is the
exaggeration done by him.
v. Repetition - The poet has repeated the word
‘thousand’.
vi. Enjambment - The sentences are being continued
to the next line without a break. It can be observed
throughout the stanza.
Meaning
Tinkle - light ringing sounds
Woof - weft

Explanation

The poet says that every tinkle on the roof has an echo
is in heart. The sounds of rain on the rooftop repeats
in his heart and he has fanciful dreams. The sounds of
raindrops on the roof creates different dreams in his
sleep. He recollects different memories in his dreams;
he has many new dreams in his mind and the
memories of the past come back in the form of
dreams.

Stanza 3:

Now in memory comes my mother,

As she used in years agone,
To regard the darling dreamers
Ere she left them till the dawn:
O! I feel her fond look on me
As I list to this refrain
Which is played upon the shingles
By the patter of the rain.
Poetic Devices

i. Alliteration - It is the repetition of a letter at the start

of closely placed words. The repetition of the letter:
1. ‘M’ in memory comes my mother.
2. ‘D’ in darling dreamers.
ii. Onomatopoeia - The poet has used the word ‘patter’
which is the sound of the raindrops falling on
something.
iii. Enjambment - The sentences are being continued
to the next line without a break. It can be observed
throughout the stanza.
iv. Assonance - The prominent use of the vowel:
1. ‘E’ in Ere she left them.
2. ‘O’ in O! I feel her fond look on.
Meaning
Ere - old poetic word for ‘before’
Refrain - sound of the rain

Explanation

In this stanza, the poet tells us about his mother. Since

the sound of raindrops bring back different memories
from the past, he now dreams of his mother who is no
longer alive. He tells us that his mother loved him a lot
and would often let him sleep till day break and have
sweet dreams. The poet feels that his mother is
watching him as he hears the sound of the raindrops.
The poet is thinking and relating his past and present.
Whenever he hears this sound, he remembers his past
and thinks of his mother.

Wind
Rhyme Scheme: There is no rhyme scheme. The poem
is written in free verse.
Stanza 1

Wind, come softly.

Don’t break the shutters of the windows.
Don’t scatter the papers.
Don’t throw down the books on the shelf.
There, look what you did — you threw them all down.
You tore the pages of the books.
You brought rain again.

You’re very clever at poking fun at weaklings.

Poetic Devices

i. Anaphora - It is the repetition of a word at the start

of two or more consecutive lines:
1. The line two, three, and four begin with - Don’t.
2. The line six, seven and eight begin with - You.
ii. Personification - The poet has personified the wind
by using the pronoun ‘you’ for it.
Explanation

The poet asks the wind to come softly. As he talks to

the wind, he tells the wind to be soft. When the strong
wind comes the shutter of the windows break and the
papers all scatter. The books kept on the shelf fall
down because of the wind’s violence. The poet is
asking the wind to look at what all it did. The wind
tore the book’s pages and it even brought rain with
it. Whenever the wind is strong, all delicate things get
scared and even get hurt. The poet describes the
power of wind.

Stanza 2

Frail crumbling houses, crumbling doors, crumbling

rafters,
crumbling wood, crumbling bodies, crumbling lives,
crumbling hearts —

the wind god winnows and crushes them all.

Poetic Devices

i. Repetition - The poet has repeated the word

‘crumbling’ throughout the stanza.
ii. Alliteration - It is the repetition of a letter at the
start of closely placed words. The repetition of the
letter:
1. ‘W’ in wind god winnows.
2. ‘C’ throughout the stanza.
Explanation

During the initial part, the poet is telling the wind to

come like a small child, but in the later part, he
compares the wind to the youth - full of violence and
energy. The crumbling is used a few times to lay
emphasis on the fact that everything breaks and gets
damaged when the wind comes. The weak houses,
doors, the beams which support the roofs of the
houses fall. All wooden structures, weak bodies and
lives fall too. The poet says that no weak thing can
withstand the strong wind. The meaning behind it is
that when a weak person faces any adversity, s/he falls
and breaks.

Stanza 3

He won’t do what you tell him.

So, come, let’s build strong homes,
Let’s joint the doors firmly.
Practice to firm the body.
Make the heart steadfast.
Do this, and the wind will be friends with us.
Poetic Devices

i. Alliteration - It is the repetition of a letter at the start

of closely placed words. The repetition of the letter:
1. ‘W’ in won’t do what.
2. ‘W’ in wind will be friends with.
ii. Assonance - There is a prominent sound of the
vowel ‘i’ in - this, and the wind will be friends with.
iii. Symbolism - Here, the poet has used the word
‘wind’ as a symbol of the challenges that we face in our
lives.
iv. Personification - The poet has personified the wind
by using the pronoun ‘he’ for it.
Explanation

The poet addresses the wind as ‘wind god’ - all the

weak people bow down and break in front of it. They
cannot withstand it. A comparison is made between
wheat and people. Just like we winnow the wheat to
separate the grain from chaff, the strong wind
separates the strong people from the weak. The poet
wants us to befriend the wind. The poet says that the
wind will not listen to us anyway, so we must build
strong homes to protect ourselves. We must keep our
door shut tightly so that the strong cannot enter. The
meaning behind the lines is that we must always be
strong and prepare ourselves to face the adversities
and challenges of life.

Stanza 4

The wind blows out weak fires.

He makes strong fires roar and flourish.
His friendship is good.
We praise him every day.
Poetic Devices

i. Alliteration - It is the repetition of a letter at the start

of closely placed words. The repetition of the letter:
1. ‘W’ in wind blows out weak.
2. ‘F’ in fires roar and flourish.
ii. Consonance - There is a prominent sound of the
consonant
1. ‘R’ in - strong fires roar and flourish.
2. ‘W’ in wind blows out weak.
iii. Symbolism -
1. Here, the poet has used the word ‘wind’ as a symbol
of the challenges that we face in our lives.
2. Here, ‘weak fires’ has been used as a symbol of
people with weak will power.
3. Here, ‘strong fires’ has been used as a symbol of
people with strong will power.
iv. Personification - The poet has personified the wind
by using the pronoun ‘he’ for it.
Explanation

The poet wants us to know that all that is weak and

timid gets blown away or damaged when the strong
winds comes. Wind is god and we praise wind
everyday. While the weak gets blown away, the strong
remains, grows and flourishes. The poet gives us the
message that we should not feel bad about the
problems in our life. Instead, we must take the
challenges and adversities as opportunities to grow
and do better in life.