7+ Questions with Answer form "Travelling Through The Dark" and Board Question Class 12 English

UNIT TWO : ECOLOGY AND CHANGE
TRAVELING THROUGH THE DARK
ENGLISH | THE HERITAGE OF WORDS
William Stafford

Some Solved Questions

1. Explain the title of the poem. Who are all those travelling through the dark?

Ans. The poem is about a travel or mountain trip made by a group of men who are probably nature travelers. It is night time and the car is passing through the mountain road.

2. Show how the action develops stanza by stanza.

Ans. The action moves from physical to mental as the poem progresses. In the first stanza, the speaker sees a dead deer on the road and wants to avoid driving around it. Then, we see the speaker stop his car and get out of it. He walks backward to notice a recently killed pregnant doe. He also drags it to the side of the road. After that, the speaker feels for the ill-fated unborn deer and remains undecided as to what action to take. The penultimate stanza describes the car and its activities in the wilderness. And, in the final stanza, the speaker finally pushes the dead deer into the river after much thinking.

3. How do the last two lines complete both types of action?

Ans. There are two types of action – physical and mental – in the poem. These two actions come together in the last two lines. The speaker contemplates (thinks deeply) the possible course of action to be taken on behalf of his group members as regards to the dead doe, and finally throws it into the river. Thus, after deep thought he pushes the dead deer.

4. Explain the meaning of the word "swerve" in line 4 and line 17. Does the speaker "swerve"?

Ans. Swerve in line 4 means "change direction suddenly" and it has a physical meaning. In line 17 it means "mind movement from one idea, thought to another" and it has a mental meaning. In the first instance neither the speaker nor the car swerves, because if that is done than there would be more casualties on the narrow mountain road besides the dead pregnant doe. In the second instance the poet swerves between the easy course of action (pushing the deer into the river) and the more difficult, but better course of action (trying to save the unborn baby deer). He chooses the easy course.

5. Stanza 4 is a break in the narrative. How do you explain its significance in the poem?

Ans. Stanza 4 describes the car, its dim lights, the purring of the engine and the smoke coming out of its exhaust pipe. This description contrasts with the earlier stanzas as he had been describing the occasion of the dead deer knocked down by an unknown passing vehicle and the possible courses of action available to him. The break in the narrative of the poem has an ironic significance as we come to learn that the car is more alive than the deer carrying a live baby inside it. We also see the contrast in that the smoke is "warm" but the doe is stiff and cold. The car seems to be urging the speaker to make quick decision, and hence the physical action of the first three stanzas is replaced by mental action in the fifth stanza that eventually results in the disposal of the dead deer.

6. What is the tone of the poem: ironical, sympathetic, indifferent?

Ans. The speaker seems to combine various moods in the poem. He shows sympathy towards the unborn baby deer, not he doe. However, he is not indifferent as he makes a decision at the end to roll the deer into the river. I feel the tone is mostly ironical. This is so because the speaker thinks one thing and takes another course of action. We think he will rescue the unborn baby but he doesn't. He could have taken the deer to a nearby animal hospital and rescued the baby, but he doesn't do so. The speaker is, indeed, in two minds. This is the irony of life as we can't do all the good things we are taught and brought up to believe and practice. The speaker takes the ugly course of action – pushing the deer. It is ironical also that we kill innocent animals and not decide clearly what appropriate action to make.

7. What is the central idea of the poem?

The poet seems to explore the conflict that goes on in the human mind between ugly virtuous actions, like responsibility, duty, etc one is taught to believe in and practice in day to day life and the difficulty of executing them at crucial times. In this poem the speaker is in an ironical situation as he is made to think deeply to do something to save the unborn deer for which he is not responsible. Sorrowfully, he can do nothing. He is a representative helpless man. He does the unthinkable – pushing the pregnant dead deer off the edge of the road. He also seems to advocate for the protection of innocent animals that are killed by careless driving in the narrow mountain road.

Board Questions

• What is the central idea of the poem "Travelling Through the Dark"? (2057)
• Show how the action develops stanza by stanza in the poem "Travelling Through the Dark"? (2060)
• Do you agree with what the narrator did? Why? (2063)