“The Road” Introduction

• Read the full text of “The Road”

“The Road” Summary

“The Road” Themes

• 

  Life, Death, and Time

  Where this theme appears in the poem:

  • Lines 1-20
• 

  The Power of Hope

  Where this theme appears in the poem:

  • Lines 1-20

Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Road”

• Lines 1-2

  I made the ...
  ... the shouldering hill,

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

• Lines 3-4

  I raced along ...
  ... itself stood still.

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

• Lines 7-8

  I could have ...
  ... back to day.

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

• Lines 9-12

  And like a ...
  ... ahead was bright.

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

• Lines 13-16

  The fence-posts whizzed ...
  ... into the past.

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

• Lines 17-20

  And light and ...
  ... towards the sun.

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

“The Road” Symbols

• 

  The Road

  Where this symbol appears in the poem:

  • Line 3: “eastern track”
  • Lines 13-14: “The fence-posts whizzed along wires / like days that fly too fast,”
  • Lines 15-16: “telephone poles loomed up like years / and slipped into the past.”
  • Line 17: “sky and road”
• 

  The Sun/Light

  Where this symbol appears in the poem:

  • Lines 7-8: “I could have made the sun arise, / and night turn back to day.”
  • Line 12: “but all ahead was bright.”
  • Line 20: “I drove towards the sun.”
• 

  Night/Darkness

  Where this symbol appears in the poem:

  • Lines 1-2: “I made the rising moon go back / behind the shouldering hill,”
  • Line 5: “The stars swarmed on behind the trees,”
  • Lines 9-11: “And like a long black carpet / behind the wheels, the night / unrolled across the countryside,”

“The Road” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Simile

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  Where simile appears in the poem:

  • Lines 9-11: “And like a long black carpet / behind the wheels, the night / unrolled across the countryside,”
  • Lines 13-16: “The fence-posts whizzed along wires / like days that fly too fast, / and telephone poles loomed up like years / and slipped into the past.”

• Anaphora

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  Where anaphora appears in the poem:

  • Line 1: “I made”
  • Line 3: “I raced”
  • Line 6: “but I sped”
  • Line 7: “I could”
  • Line 8: “and night”
  • Line 9: “And like”
  • Line 15: “and telephone”
  • Line 16: “and slipped”
  • Line 17: “And light”
  • Line 18: “and life”
  • Line 20: “I drove”

• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  Where alliteration appears in the poem:

  • Lines 3-4: “track / till time”
  • Line 4: “itself stood still”
  • Line 5: “stars swarmed”
  • Line 9: “like,” “long,” “black”
  • Line 10: “behind”
  • Line 11: “across,” “countryside”
  • Line 12: “but,” “ahead,” “bright”
  • Line 13: “whizzed,” “wires”
  • Line 14: “fly,” “fast”
  • Line 15: “loomed,” “like”
  • Line 17: “light”
  • Line 18: “life”

• Enjambment

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  Where enjambment appears in the poem:

  • Lines 1-2: “back / behind”
  • Lines 3-4: “track / till”
  • Lines 9-10: “carpet / behind”
  • Lines 10-11: “night / unrolled”
  • Lines 13-14: “wires / like”
  • Lines 15-16: “years / and”
  • Lines 17-18: “road / and”

• Juxtaposition

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  Where juxtaposition appears in the poem:

  • Lines 3-4
  • Lines 9-12
  • Lines 13-16
  • Lines 17-20

• Imagery

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  Where imagery appears in the poem:

  • Lines 1-2: “I made the rising moon go back / behind the shouldering hill,”
  • Line 5: “The stars swarmed on behind the trees,”
  • Lines 9-12: “And like a long black carpet / behind the wheels, the night / unrolled across the countryside, / but all ahead was bright.”
  • Line 13: “The fence-posts whizzed along wires”
  • Line 15: “and telephone poles loomed up like years”

“The Road” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Shouldering
• Eastern track
• Swarmed
• Whizzed
• Loomed

• (Location in poem: Line 2: “behind the shouldering hill”)

Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Road”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“The Road” Speaker

“The Road” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “The Road”

More “The Road” Resources

• External Resources

  • Australian Literature in the Mid-20th Century — Learn more about important figures and events in Australia's literary history from 1940 to 1970. 

  • More About Cato — Read a brief biography on Cato from the University of Queensland. 

  • Driving Through the Countryside — See what it's like to drive through Australia's countryside in this YouTube video. 

  • Roads in Poetry — Peruse more excellent poems inspired by roads.