Class 12 English Notes Poetry 5 (Poetry 5) – Flamingo Book

Detailed Notes with MCQs of the fifth poem in your Flamingo textbook, 'A Roadside Stand' by Robert Frost. This poem is significant not just for your board exams but often features in competitive government exams due to its poignant social commentary. Pay close attention.

Poem 5: A Roadside Stand by Robert Frost

1. About the Poet:

• Robert Frost (1874-1963): An acclaimed American poet, highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life in New England during the early 20th century.
• Style: Known for using simple, colloquial language to explore complex social and philosophical themes. His poems often feature natural settings and depict the struggles and resilience of ordinary people. He masterfully blends observation with deep emotional insight.

2. Introduction and Context:

• The poem presents a stark picture of the lives of impoverished rural people who set up a small, makeshift stand by the roadside, hoping to sell their produce (like wild berries or squash) or simple crafts to the affluent city dwellers driving past in their cars.
• It highlights the deep economic divide and the lack of connection and empathy between the urban rich and the rural poor. The stand symbolizes the desperate hope of the poor for a share in the prosperity enjoyed by the city folk.

3. Summary and Analysis:

• The Stand's Appearance: The poem begins by describing the "little new shed" put up by the farmer, an extension of his house, right near the highway. It's described as "pathetic" because it seems to plead, almost desperately, for customers, not for charity ("dole of bread"), but for a chance to earn some "city money." This money represents a better life, the kind they see depicted in movies ("moving pictures' promise").
• The Passing Traffic: Thousands of cars ("polished traffic") speed past. The occupants rarely stop. If they do, it's often not to buy anything but perhaps to ask for directions, complain about the poorly painted signs (N turned wrong, S turned wrong), or to use the space to turn around, disturbing the grass. This highlights the indifference and sometimes outright annoyance of the city people towards the rural folk and their humble enterprise.
• What's Offered vs. What's Wanted: The stand offers simple, natural products like "wild berries" in wooden quarts or "crook-necked golden squash." However, the city people, accustomed to standardized, perhaps more aesthetically pleasing goods, find these offerings unappealing or unworthy. The poet emphasizes that the rural folk aren't asking for charity; they desire the "cash, whose flow supports / The flower of cities from sinking and withering faint." They want to experience some of that economic vitality.
• The Poet's Perspective and Empathy: Frost expresses deep empathy for the farmers. He feels their "childish longing in vain," their constant, hopeful waiting by the open window, listening for the "squeal of brakes" that rarely comes for them. He understands their "trusting sorrow," the sadness born from unfulfilled hopes and the feeling of being ignored and undervalued.
• Critique of False Promises: The poem criticizes the so-called "greedy good-doers" and "beneficent beasts of prey" – politicians, social agencies, or opportunistic individuals who promise to relocate these poor people to villages near theatres and stores, supposedly for their betterment. Frost sees through this facade, suggesting these plans are designed to exploit the poor ("soothe them out of their wits") and ultimately benefit the planners, robbing the villagers of their independence and ability to think for themselves, leading to a loss of their traditional way of life without providing genuine upliftment.
• Poet's Conflicting Emotions: The poet feels the pain of the stand owners so intensely that he momentarily entertains the dark thought of putting them "at one stroke out of their pain." This extreme reaction underscores the depth of their suffering and his frustration with the situation. However, he quickly recoils from this thought, realizing the complexity and perhaps the resilience of their hope, even as he struggles to reconcile their plight with the indifference surrounding them.
• Central Contrast: The core of the poem lies in the stark contrast between the aspirations and hardships of the rural poor and the oblivious, fast-paced, materialistic life of the city dwellers.

4. Key Themes:

• Rural Poverty and Economic Disparity: The central theme is the struggle of the rural poor and the vast economic gap between them and the urban rich.
• Urban Indifference and Lack of Empathy: The poem strongly criticizes the insensitivity and lack of concern shown by the city people towards their rural counterparts.
• Hope vs. Disappointment: The roadside stand represents hope, but the poem predominantly depicts the disappointment and sadness resulting from that hope being constantly crushed.
• Loss of Traditional Life: There's an underlying critique of modernization and urbanization that displaces and often exploits rural communities under the guise of progress.
• Critique of Exploitation: Frost targets those who exploit the poor under the pretense of helping them.

5. Literary Devices:

• Transferred Epithet: "Polished traffic" (people in the cars are polished/refined, not the traffic itself), "selfish cars" (occupants are selfish).
• Personification: "The sadness that lurks near the open window there," the shed "trustingly sorrowful," the stand that "too pathetically pled."
• Metaphor: "Flower of cities" (refers to the economic prosperity and vibrancy supported by money).
• Oxymoron: "Greedy good-doers," "beneficent beasts of prey" (highlighting the contradictory and harmful nature of those pretending to help).
• Alliteration: "Beneficent beasts," "greedy good-doers."
• Imagery: Vivid descriptions of the stand, the passing cars, the offered goods, the waiting farmers.
• Tone: Empathetic, critical, sorrowful, indignant, frustrated.

6. Important Lines for Interpretation:

• "The little old house was out with a little new shed"
• "...too pathetically pled, / It would not be fair to say for a dole of bread, / But for some of the money, the cash, whose flow supports / The flower of cities from sinking and withering faint."
• "The polished traffic passed with a mind ahead,"
• "Or if ever aside a moment, then out of sorts / At having the landscape marred with the artless paint"
• "Here far from the city we make our roadside stand / And ask for some city money to feel in hand"
• "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,"
• "While greedy good-doers, beneficent beasts of prey, / Swarm over their lives enforcing benefits"
• "Sometimes I feel myself I can hardly bear / The thought of so much childish longing in vain, / The sadness that lurks near the open window there,"
• "I wonder how I should like you to come to me / And offer to put me gently out of my pain."

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs):

1. What does the roadside stand "pathetically plead" for, according to the poet?
   a) A dole of bread (charity)
   b) Some city money (cash)
   c) Directions to the city
   d) Recognition for their art

2. The phrase "polished traffic" is an example of which literary device?
   a) Metaphor
   b) Personification
   c) Transferred Epithet
   d) Oxymoron

3. Why do the city dwellers sometimes stop at the roadside stand, as mentioned in the poem?
   a) To buy wild berries and squash
   b) To admire the rural scenery
   c) To ask for directions or turn their car around
   d) To offer help to the poor farmers

4. What does the "flower of cities" metaphorically represent in the poem?
   a) The gardens and parks in urban areas
   b) The beauty of city women
   c) The economic prosperity and vitality of cities
   d) The pollution generated by cities

5. Who are referred to as "greedy good-doers" and "beneficent beasts of prey"?
   a) The owners of the roadside stand
   b) The occupants of the passing cars
   c) Government officials and social agencies offering relocation
   d) The poet himself

6. What is the "childish longing" that the poet finds hard to bear?
   a) The children's desire for toys
   b) The farmers' naive hope for customers and city money
   c) The poet's own desire to return to childhood
   d) The city dwellers' longing for rural peace

7. What is the dominant tone of the poet towards the plight of the rural poor?
   a) Indifference
   b) Amusement
   c) Empathy and Frustration
   d) Jealousy

8. What promise, mentioned in the news, does the poet criticize?
   a) The promise of free food for the poor
   b) The promise of building better roads
   c) The promise of relocating the poor to villages near amenities
   d) The promise of giving cars to the farmers

9. The "selfish cars" primarily symbolize:
   a) The speed and efficiency of modern transport
   b) The wealth and status of the car owners
   c) The indifference and self-absorption of the city people
   d) The environmental damage caused by vehicles

10. What extreme thought crosses the poet's mind out of despair for the farmers' situation?
    a) To give them all his money
    b) To help them rebuild their stand
    c) To put them "out of their pain"
    d) To write a letter to the government

Answer Key:

1. b
2. c
3. c
4. c
5. c
6. b
7. c
8. c
9. c
10. c

Study these notes carefully. Understand the contrast Frost draws and the social critique he offers. Good luck with your preparation!