Class 6 :: English Literature :: The Way through the Woods by Rudyard Kipling (Roots)
The Way through the Woods
by Rudyard Kipling (Roots)
The Poem :
"They shut the road through the woods
Seventy years ago.
Weather and rain have undone it again,
And now you would never know
There was once a path through the woods
Before they planted the trees:
If is underneath the coppice and heath,
And the thin anemones.
Only the keeper sees
That, where the ring-dove broods
And the badgers roll at ease,
There was once a road through the woods.
Yet, if you enter the woods
Of a summer evening late,
When the night-air cools on the trout-ringed pools
Where the otter whistles his mate
(They fear not men in the woods
Because they see so few),
You will hear the beat of a horse's feet
And the swish of a skirt in the dew,
Steadily cantering through
The misty solitudes,
As though they perfectly knew
The old lost road through the woods...
But there is no road through the woods."
Summary of the Poem :
The road through the woods was shut seventy years ago. It is opened again due to the weathering process. It is impossible now to recognize the path through the woods. They have planted various trees where the path supposed to be. It is beneath the coppice, heath and the thin anemones. Only the guard knows the place where the ring-dove hatches its eggs. The badgers comfortably roll where the path had used to be through the woods.
The poet describes the scene of the woods in a late evening of summer. The night-breeze cools the pools full of trout fish. The otter converses with his mate by whistling. They are not scared of men as they had not seen many of them. Beat of a horse's feet can be heard. The soft rustling sound of a fast but comfortably moving skirt can also be heard in the dew of the uninhabited place. All these movements show that as if they knew about the old lost road through the woods for sure. But in reality, there is no existence of the path through the woods.
Comprehension
1. The road through the woods
a. was left undisturbed because of rain. [ ]
b. is hidden from human eyes. [ ]
c. was given away for planting trees. [✓]
2. "Only the keeper sees
That, where the ring-dove broods,
And the badgers roll at ease,
There was once a road through the woods."
These lines sound like the beginning of a fairy tale. Do you agree? Why or why not?
= Yes, I agree with the fact that these lines sound like the beginning of a fairy tale. There is the reference of a guard who keeps watch on the animals. There is the reference of the ring-dove and the badgers. The ring-dove hatches its eggs and the badgers comfortably rolls. There used to be a road through the woods. There is no clear presence of the road now. It has turned into a jungle. This ambience gives us a feeling of a fairy tale.
3. "As though they perfectly knew
The old lost road through the woods."
a. Who does 'they' refer to?
= 'They' refers to the night-air, the otter, the beat of a horse's feet, and the swish of a skirt in the dew.
b. What did 'they' do on the road?
= The night-breeze cools the pools full of trout fish. The otter converses with his mate by whistling. They are not scared of men as they had not seen many of them. Beat of a horse's feet can be heard. The soft rustling sound of a fast but comfortably moving skirt can also be heard in the dew of the uninhabited place.
c. Are the roads, sounds and people described in the poem real or imaginary? Why?
= The roads, sounds and people described in the poem are imaginary. This poem is a part of Rudyard Kipling's historical fantasy book, Rewards and Fairies. The poet describes an abandoned road in the woods through small details, creating a sense of quiet mystery. The coppice, heath, anemones, keeper, ring-dove, otters and trout are the imaginary characters to create a supernatural theme. The night-air, the beat of a horse's feet, and swish of a skirt can never happen all together at the same time at the same place. These are the mere imagination of the poet to make the readers feel mystery.
4. How does the poem's last line make you feel?
= The poem's last line makes the readers feel the thrill and mystery. The poet describes the scene of the woods in a late evening of summer. The night-breeze cools the pools full of trout fish. The otter converses with his mate by whistling. They are not scared of men as they had not seen many of them.
Beat of a horse's feet can be heard. The soft rustling sound of a fast but comfortably moving skirt can also be heard in the dew of the uninhabited place.
All these movements show that as if they knew about the old lost road through the woods for sure. But the last line reveals that at present, there is no existence of the path through the woods. The last line brings the readers from resonance to emptiness. This is the essence of the poem which makes us feel the presence of relativity of our existence.
About the Poet :
Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), born in Mumbai, India, was an English short story writer, poet and novelist. His most celebrated work, The Jungle Book, became a children's classic all over the world and has been adapted into several films. Kipling's time and experiences in India influenced the short stories he published early on in his writing career. Kipling was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970.