Poem - The Road Not Taken Class 9 Worksheet English Chapter 1

Q1: What is the tone of the poem The Road Not Taken?
(a) Sad
(b) Hesitation
(c) Reflective
(d) Happy

Correct Answer is Option (c)
The poem reflects on the choices that people make in their life and the outcome that they face.

Q2: How many roads diverged into the yellow woods?
(a) 4
(b) 3
(c) 2
(d) 1

Correct Answer is  Option (c)

Q3: Why is the poet asking to be wise while choosing a pathway?
(a) Because it is a one-sided road
(b) None of these
(c) Because it is the only one road
(d) Because there is no Going Back option

Correct Answer is  Option (d)

Q4: Which thing decides a person's future according to this poem?
(a) Success
(b) Path one leaves behind
(c) Path one chooses to walk
(d) Regrets

Correct Answer is  Option (c)

Q5: Read the text carefully and answer the question:

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.

(i) What does grassy mean in the poem?
(a) the road which is not used by anyone
(b) the road with all the luxuries
(c) the comfortable road
(d) well-built road

Correct Answer is  Option (a)

(ii) Why was the poet looking at the path?
(a) to decide whether it was suitable for him
(b) to see how long it was
(c) to check the road
(d) none of these

Correct Answer is  Option (a)

Q6: What is the message of this poem?
(a) Road is nothing but a pathway
(b) All of these
(c) Be wise while choosing and taking decisions
(d) Two roads are confusing

Correct Answer is  Option (c)

Q7: Why did the poet title his poem as The Road Not Taken?
(a) because he regretted not having chosen the other road.
(b) because he thought it better to say about the road not taken.
(c) because he found the title interesting.
(d) because he couldn't find a suitable title for his poem.

Correct Answer is  Option (a)
The poet chose to walk down the path less trodden by which had probably led him to despair and suffering and he, therefore, regretted about the road that he had not taken that would presumably lead him to prosperity and happiness.

Q8: What is the rhyme scheme of the poem The Road Not Taken?
(a) ababab cdcdcd efefef ghghgh
(b) abbaa cddcc effee ghhgg
(c) abaab cdccd efeef ghggh
(d) abbab cddcd effef ghhgh

Correct Answer is  Option (c)
The rhyme scheme followed in the poem is abaab, cdccd, efeef, ghggh.

Q9: What has made all the difference in the poet’s life?
(a) Choosing a travelled road
(b) Choosing a less travelled road
(c) By not choosing any road
(d) By not being weak

Correct Answer is  Option (b)
Choosing a less travelled road has made all the difference for the poet.

Q10: Where does the poet find himself?
(a) on the road
(b) on a bus
(c) on a muddy road
(d) on a fork

Correct Answer is Option (d)

Reference Based Questions 

Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.

Q1:
‘‘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) What does the narrator mean by “a yellow wood”?
Ans: By “yellow wood” the poet means a forest where the trees have yellowing and falling leaves.

(b) What choice did the narrator have to make?
Ans: The narrator had to choose between the two roads.

(c) Which road did the narrator take?
Ans: He took the road that was less travelled upon.

(d) What does the narrator regret?
Ans: The narrator regrets the fact that he cannot travel on both the paths. He also regrets the fact that he cannot come back to the start once he makes a choice.

Q2: 
“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 I could;
To where it bent in the undergrowth, ”

(a) What did the narrator see in the wood?
Ans: The narrator saw two paths diverging in the forest.

(b) Why did the narrator stand there for “long”?
Ans: The narrator stood there for long because he could not make up his mind which path to take.

(c) How were the two roads different?
Ans: While one of the roads was frequently taken, the second road appeared to be less travelled.

(d) The poet here is using “roads” as symbols of:
Ans: Choices one makes in life.

Q3: 
“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, ”

(a) What does “other” refer to in the above lines?
Ans: In the above lines “other” refers to the road that was grassy and less travelled upon.

(b) Which road did the narrator choose?
Ans: The narrator chose the one that was grassy and less travelled upon.

(c) Explain “grassy and wanted wear”?
Ans: The road was covered with grass as not many people had walked this road so it was more inviting.

(d) What did the narrator decide about the road he did not take?
Ans: He decided to walk down that road another day.

Q4:
‘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” refer to?
Ans: In the given lines “both” refers to the two roads that forked out in different directions.

(b) Explain the line “In leaves no step had trodden back”.
Ans: The given line means a path not commonly used so the dried leaves that lay on the ground and had not been trampled upon.

(c) Why did the narrator wish to come back?
Ans: He wanted to walk down the road he had left.

(d) What made the narrator doubt whether he “should ever come back”?
Ans: The fact that one road generally leads to another made the narrator doubt that he should ever come back.

Q5:
“I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference ”

(a) Where was the narrator walking one day?
Ans: He was walking in the woods.

(b) Which road did the narrator leave?
Ans: The narrator left the road on which most people travelled.

(c) When will the narrator look back on his life?
Ans: The narrator will look back on his life after a very long time – when he is an old man.

(d) Why do you think the narrator says this “with a sigh”?
Ans: The narrator is regretful; he could not return and take the road he had left behind to travel on another day. OR He is content as the road he took led him on to glory and a better life.

Q6:
“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 ”

(a) Where is the narrator standing?
Ans: The narrator is standing at a place where the road forked into two.

(b) Why was the narrator sorry?
Ans: The narrator was sorry because he could not travel both roads.

(c) Which road did the narrator finally decide to take and why?
Ans: The narrator finally decided to take the road that not many people had walked on because it seemed more adventurous than the route everyone seemed to take.

(d) Whom will he tell this with a sigh?
Ans: The narrator will tell this to the people with whom he is sharing the story of his life.

Q7: 
“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. ”

(a) What will the narrator tell “with a sigh”?
Ans: The narrator will tell about the fork that he had come to in the woods and the choice he had to make; the fact that he had taken the road less frequented by people.

(b) Why does the narrator say, “And that has made all the difference”?
Ans: The narrator said that later in life he shall be retrospectively telling people how his life has been different due to the choices he had made long ago.

(c) What did the narrator wish to do when he takes the road that he has not been able to do?
Ans: The narrator wanted to come back and take the other road.

(d) What difference did the road he took make to his life?
Ans: The road he took led him on to glory and a better life.

Q8:
“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 “

(a) What is the theme of the poem?
Ans: The theme of the poem is the various problems we face in life and the choices we make.

(b) Which poetic device defines the roads in the wood?
Ans: A metaphor has been used to define the two roads in the wood.

(c) What is the tone of the narrator in the last stanza?
Ans: The narrator adopts a reflective tone in the last stanza.

(d) Where is the narrator when he makes the choice?
Ans: While out for a walk in the woods, the narrator comes to a fork in the road and has to decide which path to take.