ALONG THE
ROAD
I walked a
mile with pleasure;
She chatted
all the way,
But left me none the wiser
For all she
had to say.
I walked a
mile with sorrow
And ne'er a
word said she;
But oh, the
things I learned from her
When Sorrow
walked with me!
Robert
B. Hamilton (1880)
As we know that I.A. Richards
‘Figurative Language’. In this theory he gave more importance to words than
author and age related the poem. How poet use words that is important for
example figurative words, words in context, metaphor, value of personification,
visual memory, etc. So here I try to evaluate this poem on that way.
‘Along the road’ it is very short poem
that we can say while seeing. But in meaning it may be large. And if we do
verbal study in this poem so we not down some points. There are some riming
words like way – say, she – me. Along the road on surface level we can say with
the road. And road means way for walking made by man. Then other words
are sorrow and joy so these words are connected with our life. So here poet use
road as metaphor as journey of life. During this journey we are passing through
these situations. Then first line is that ‘I walk a mile with pleasure but it
not left any wiser’. It means not walk but in our life when we passing through
in the pleasurable time at that time we learnt nothing and we only enjoying
this time. But when we walk with sorrow, it not speaks single word yet it teaches
us many things. So over all we can say that difficulty teach us more things
than pleasure. Then if we take other meaning also that through this poem we can
say that our life is combination of joy and sorrow, we can’t separate it. And
why poet use ‘Road’ as metaphor for life. As my view I think that road is so
long as same our life and as the cycle of Nature we can believe that after
death we take new birth. And it is endless journey of life. So as same road is
also endless, and perhaps that’s why poet uses the word road. So it is other
meaning and ‘ poetry has a meaning not the meaning’. So it has different perspective
looking towards poem.
