A Roadside Stand

Robert Frost

ROBERT FROST

• Born in March 1874 in California, US he is a highly acclaimed American poet of the 20th century. He wrote about rural life of New England, the place where he belonged to ancestrally.
• His poems are about complexities and tragedies of human life. He also loved to write about nature and drew lessons for human kind to learn from nature. For him nature is not only for pleasure but also an inspiration for human wisdom.
• This poem is his protest against urbanization and its effect on the people who live in the countryside.

BACKGROUND OF THE POEM

• The poem was first published in June 1936 in the issue of Atlantic Monthly and then further with a subtitle ‘On Being Put Out of Misery’. At one time he also considered the title ‘Euthanasia’ (mercy killing) for the poem.
• The poem was written as a sort protest against urbanization. He resists the contemporary encroachment as he did in his other poems like ‘The Line Gang’ (against the telephone) and ‘Lines Written in Dejection On the Eve Of Great Success’ (against US space program)
• It is a sad symbol of a fast fading past.

Theme

• The poem highlights decline in agricultural prosperity evident from the fact that people have to resort to other ways of earning - having a roadside stand.

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• Socio economic disparity and everyday struggle for survival is highlighted by the portrayal of the life of poor and deprived. This is the direct result of unequal distribution of wealth and resources.

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• Poem also highlights the apathy and insensitivity of the rich and affluent city dwellers towards the simple poor countryside folks.

The little old house…….withering faint.

The poem starts with a tone of sadness, grief and helplessness. A poor farmer / villager has added a new extension to his old house, in the form of a roadside stand with the aim of earning some money. This stand is like a pitiful cry to the passing traffic. The city folk might think the stand is to ask for charity, instead the owner who is poor is not devoid of self respect and has clean intentions of earning money with hard work. He simply wants a little of the city money which can come to him only if one of the city folks passing by his stand makes a purchase from him. He is aware of the fact that this city money is the tool which helps people enjoy life.

The polished traffic ……… go along.

The poet laments the insensitivity of the city people who pass by speedily in their swanky, expensive cars without giving these stands as much a cursory look. They race ahead with a focus on their destination and if they care to look at these stands they dismiss them as a blot on the beautiful landscape or comment on the tasteless way these have been painted or only to find out errors on the badly painted signboards.

He also complains that the cityfolk don’t approve of the products that are offered for sale at these roadside stands as these aren’t of good quality - wild berries, unappealing squash with warts on it and pictures of mountain scenes.

The poet asks the city people why they are so mean as to not spend even a little bit and help in survival of these people.

The hurt to ………………..keeping from us.

The poet emphatically says that what pinches him most is the endless sorrow of these poor stand owners. The sorrow which is unspoken but loudly and clearly visible in their eyes perhaps. He says that poor villagers want to feel the touch of money in their hands. They want to prosper and realise the dreams presented to them by movies. Their wish for a taste of comfortable city life as is presented in movies and which is possible only with the help of money isn’t fulfilled because of govt apathy towards them. The party in power forgets the promises made to the deprived section till the next elections.

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It is news that …………… the ancient way.

The poet informs what everybody knows : as an act out of pity the poor villagers will be bought by an offer of a price for their lands which will then be used to construct magnificent malls and tell tale theatres and they will be offered jobs perhaps in these so that they are spared of the misery of being unable to earn for themselves. The ‘greedy good doers’ (refers to capitalists and businessmen) and ‘beneficent beasts of prey’ (is used for corrupt govt officials and bureaucrats) will cloud their minds with benefits and schemes that they have planned for them once the sale is sealed, so much so that the poor innocent villagers will be trapped in the false dreams of a lot of money and a life full of comfort or maybe even luxury. It is ironic that the people are being deliberately exposed to vices and habits that would dull their minds to reality, thus ignoring the acts of omission and neglect by the party in power. The party in power is enforcing benefits that are meant to blind the people to the gross neglect committed by the party in power. The party in power destroys the lives of the poor people by making them stay awake the whole night (probably drinking and partying) so that they sleep the whole day!

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Sometimes I feel …………………………didn’t it see?

The poet expresses his anguish at the helplessness of these people - the endless sorrow of waiting for a customer like a stubborn child who longs for something in vain. The dejected faces who look day in and day out at the passing selfish cars (refers to mean and selfish wealthy people) in the hope and prayer that at least one stops at their stand, if not to buy anything then at least to enquire about the prices of their produce.

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He expresses his anger when a car stops but only to use the yard in front to back and turn around and in the process uproots the grass in the yard. Sometimes when a car stops by, raising hopes of the stand owners only to be dashed again when the driver simply asks for directions to a place or sometimes to ask if they sold car fuel. This really makes him furious because it is very obvious that car fuel is not sold there.

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No, in country…………. gently out of my pain.

He feels that although no one can calculate the exact amount of money that is required to lead a happy life, one thing is certain that village doesn’t offer the kind of opportunities required to earn sufficiently.

Ultimately the pain and frustration of the poet becomes unbearable. He expresses his helplessness at being unable to do something for these poor people and can’t see a way out of their situation. He feels that all the poor people should be killed and relieved of their misery but then when he is in a little control of his emotions and gains sanity he realises the irrationality of the solution he is offering. He regrets and retracts the harsh solution he provided and instead rationalises how would he feel if someone had offered to put his life to an end and thus put his mind to rest!

Figures of Speech Used

1. Transferred Epithet : Polished traffic , Selfish cars

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• Personification : Sadness that lurks near the window , roadside stand that too pathetically pled

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• Alliteration : greedy good doers, beneficent beasts of prey

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• Oxymoron : greedy good doers, beneficent beasts of prey

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Symbols

1. Roadside Stand: It is a symbol of the pathetic condition of the people living in the countryside.

2. Polished Traffic: It symbolises the more affluent people of the city passing by.

3. Theatre and Store: They both symbolise vices and a culture that is hollow, addictive and meant to befuddle and divert the attention of the youth from their actual socio-economic condition.

4. Flower of cities: City people that have been pampered and supported with surplus cash.

Thank You

Jyoti Sharma

PGT Eng

K V Yol Cantt