A Roadside Stand
Robert Frost • Class 12 English Flamingo Poem
A plea for city money: The humble roadside stand.
Think It Out
Q1. Have you ever stopped at a roadside stand? What have you observed there?
The poet believes that encountering something lovely, even for a moment, leaves an indelible joyful imprint on us. It encourages us to live with hope. At a roadside stand, one usually observes rural people selling wild berries, golden squash, or paintings of mountain scenes, waiting hopefully for city cars to stop.
Q2. The city folk hardly paid any heed to the roadside stand. What was their complaint?
The “polished traffic” mostly sped past with a mind ahead. If they stopped, it was usually to complain. Their complaint was that the “artless paint” and clumsy signboards (with N and S turned wrong) ruined the scenic charm of the landscape.
Q3. What was the plea of the folk who had put up the roadside stand?
The rural folk did not ask for charity or bread. Their plea was for some city money (cash) to flow into their hands. They wanted to feel the purchasing power that supports the city lifestyle, hoping it would improve their own existence.
Q4. How does the poet show the double standards of government and social agencies?
The poet uses harsh irony to expose their hypocrisy.
- “Greedy good-doers” & “Benevolent monsters of prey”: They pretend to help but actually exploit the rural poor for their own gain.
- “Swarm over their lives”: They take control, forcing benefits that lull the farmers into a passive state (“sleep all day”), destroying their independent way of life and peace of mind.
Q5. What is the ‘childish longing’ that the poet refers to? Why is it ‘vain’?
The ‘childish longing’ is the desperate, almost naive waiting for a customer. Like children, they wait near the open window for the squeal of brakes or the sound of a stopping car.
It is ‘vain’ (useless) because the cars that do stop only ask for directions, turn around, or ask for gas—never to buy anything. Their hope is consistently crushed.
It is ‘vain’ (useless) because the cars that do stop only ask for directions, turn around, or ask for gas—never to buy anything. Their hope is consistently crushed.
Q6. Which lines tell us about the insufferable pain the poet feels?
The poet is deeply moved by their plight. The lines are:
“Sometimes I feel myself I can not stand / The thought of so much infantile longing in vain, / The melancholy that lurks beside the open window there…”
He even fantasizes about putting them out of their pain at one stroke, realizing later how irrational that thought is.
“Sometimes I feel myself I can not stand / The thought of so much infantile longing in vain, / The melancholy that lurks beside the open window there…”
He even fantasizes about putting them out of their pain at one stroke, realizing later how irrational that thought is.
Benefits of NCERT Solutions
Why study ‘A Roadside Stand’ with these solutions?
- Theme Clarity: Helps understand the divide between the city rich and rural poor.
- Poetic Analysis: Explains complex phrases like “polished traffic” and “greedy good-doers.”
- Exam Prep: Encourages practice in writing empathetic and analytical answers required for board exams.
- Comprehensive: Covers punctuation, grammar context, and thematic summaries.