The Way Through the Woods
by Rudyard Kipling
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 road through the woods
Before they planted the trees.
It 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!
The Way Through the Woods Paraphrasing:
Stanza 1
They shut the road through the woods A
Seventy years ago. B
Weather and rain have undone it again, C
And now you would never know B
There was once a road through the woods A
Before they planted the trees. D
Rhyme Scheme: ABCBAD
Paraphrase:
About seventy years ago, people closed the road that passed through
the forest. Over the years, rain and weather have erased all signs of it.
Today, no one would ever guess that a road once existed there
because trees have grown over it and completely hidden it.
Stanza 2
It is underneath the coppice and heath, A
And the thin anemones. B
Only the keeper sees B
That, where the ring-dove broods, C
And the badgers roll at ease, B
There was once a road through the woods. C
Rhyme Scheme: ABBCBC
Paraphrase:
The old road is now hidden beneath thick bushes, heath plants, and
delicate anemone flowers. Only the forest keeper knows that the place
where the ring-doves sit on their eggs in their nests and badgers rest
peacefully was once a road that passed through the woods.
Stanza 3
Yet, if you enter the woods A
Of a summer evening late, B
When the night-air cools on the trout-ringed pools C
Where the otter whistles his mate B
(They fear not men in the woods, A
Because they see so few). D
Ryhme Scheme: ABCBAD
Paraphrase:
However, if you walk into the woods on a late summer evening, when
the cool night air spreads over the ponds where trout fish swim, you
may hear an otter/weasel calling to its companion. The animals are
not afraid of people because very few humans ever visit the woods.
Stanza 4
You will hear the beat of a horse's feet, A
And the swish of a skirt in the dew, B
Steadily cantering through C
The misty solitudes, D
As though they perfectly knew B
The old lost road through the woods… E
But there is no road through the woods! E
Rhyme Scheme: ABCDBEE
Paraphrase:
You may hear the sound of a horse's hooves and the soft rustling of a
rider's skirt brushing through the dew. The horse seems to move
steadily through the quiet, mist-covered woods as if it knows the old
road that once passed there. However, in reality, that road no longer
exists.
Summary:
The poem The Way through the Woods, written by Rudyard Kipling,
describes an old road that disappeared beneath the growing forest
many years ago. Nature has completely covered it, but on quiet
summer evenings, mysterious sounds create the feeling that
someone is still traveling along the forgotten path.
Central Idea:
The poem The Way through the Woods, written by Rudyard Kipling,
shows that nature can erase the physical signs of human activity,
but the memories and mystery of the past can still remain alive.
Theme:
The poem The Way through the Woods, written by Rudyard Kipling,
explores the power of nature to reclaim human creations, the
passing of time, and the lasting memories of the past.
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