Poem 5 - A ROADSIDE STAND

A poem by Robert Frost

THEME

In ‘A Roadside Stand’, the poet Robert Frost describes the miserable condition of the people living in the countryside. The city people who drive through the countryside hardly stop at the roadside stand nor do they care tor the people who run it. If at all they do stop, they do so to criticise the place and the people. Frost describes the lives of the poor people with pitiless clarity and with deepest sympathy and humanity.

The poem implies that even seemingly insignificant things, like a tiny fruit shop, can have profound beauty and significance. It also considers the innocence and ignorance of these poor people and how they expect from the rich. The poem also discusses the idea of how the government agencies befool them.

POETIC DEVICES

(as given in class)

READ THE EXTRACT AND ANSWER THE FOLLOWING WITH REFERENCE TO THE CONTEXT:

1. “No, in country money, the country scale of gain, The requisite lift of spirit has never been found, Or so the voice of the country seems to complain, I can’t help owning the great relief it would be To put these people at one stroke out of their pain. And then next day as I come back into the sane, I wonder how I should like you to come to me And offer to put me gently out of my pain.”

2. The ‘country money’ contextually here refers to A) money kept aside for rural development. B) wealth accumulated by the whole country. C) meager income earned by the countryside people. D) riches collected by the ancestral farmers over time.

3. Pick the option that mentions elements justifying the monetary aspect as the ‘requisite lift of spirit’.

4. Confidence

5. Ego

6. self-esteem

7. status

8. fame

A) 1, 2, 4

B) 2, 4, 5

C) 1, 3, 4

D) 1, 3, 5

3. Choose the correct option with respect to the two statements given below.

Statement 1: The poet is agitated and depressed. Statement 2: The poet realizes the futility of his thought about giving up

A) Statement 1 can be inferred but Statement 2 cannot be inferred. B) Statement 1 cannot be inferred but Statement 2 can be inferred. C) Statement 1 and Statement 2 can be inferred. D) Statement 1 and Statement 2 cannot be inferred

4. Choose the option that correctly paraphrases the given lines from the above extract.

1. “I can’t help owning the great relief it would be To put these people at one stroke out of their pain.”

A) The poet wants to kill the impoverished people. B) The poet feels that death is better than living such a miserable life. C) The poet wants to eliminate poverty from society. D) The poet states that it is important that these people become rich

1. It is in the news that all these pitiful kin Are to be bought out and mercifully gathered in To live in villages, next to the theatre and the store, Where they won’t have to think for themselves anymore, While greedy good-doers, beneficent beasts of prey, Swarm over their lives enforcing benefits That are calculated to soothe them out of their wits, And by teaching them how to sleep they sleep all day, Destroy their sleeping at night the ancient way.

2. What is the tone of the poet in the above lines? (i) aggressive (ii) tolerant (iii) sarcastic (iv) resigned (v) sentimental Choose the most appropriate option. A. Only (i) B. (ii) and (iii) C. (i), (iv) and (v) D. Only (iii)

3. Identify the phrase from the extract, that suggests the following: No one bothers to take ‘their’ consent before pushing the promise of a better life, their way.

4. What quality of the villagers can be inferred through these lines?

A. gullible B. futuristic C. hypocritical D. ambitious

1. Complete the following analogy correctly. Do NOT repeat from used example. greedy good doers: alliteration ::…………………………….. Oxymoron

2. On the basis of the extract, choose the correct option with reference to (1) and (2) given below. (1) The city dwellers make promises for the betterment of the villagers. (2) The city dwellers have ulterior motives.

A. (1) is true but (2) is false.

B. (2) is true but (1) is false.

C. (2) is the reason for (1).

D. Both (1) and (2) cannot be inferred from the extract.

1. Fill the blank with an appropriate word, with reference to the extract. ‘… calculated to soothe them out of their wits’ implies that ‘them’ are being.

ANSWER IN ABOUT 30 – 50 WORDS EACH:

1. Explain: “soothe them out of them wits” with reference to the poem ‘The Roadside Stand’.

2. Who do these pitiful kin refer to? Why will they be mercifully gathered in?

3. Why does Robert Frost sympathize with the rural poor?

ANSWER IN ABOUT 120-150 WORDS:

1. Imagine a car stops and actually buys from the roadside stand. Keeping in mind the reaction you think the peasants would have, write a diary entry as the farmer describing not only your immediate experience but also your after-thoughts on being able to earn “city-money”.

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