Review your answers to the Reader’s Journal activity on page 152. Then, consider a road as a metaphor for life. What kinds of things would you like to experience in life? Draw a cluster chart, labeling the center circle “Life as a Road.” Then, in the outer circles jot down ways life is like a road. Take a moment to visualize what your path in life looks like. How would you describe it in words?
1. Close your eyes and picture the roads described in “Roads Go Ever Ever On” as your teacher reads the poem aloud. Keep in mind that this poem is taken from The Hobbit, a work of fantasy fiction. Quickly sketch one of the images you found striking in the poem. Where has the subject traveled? Where has he or she ended?
2. Read “Travel” on your own. Sketch the images you visualized as you read the poem. How does the description capture the speaker’s feelings? How is the perspective different from the first poem? Jot down your answers to these questions.
If you have difficulty visualizing images in the poems, read the poems aloud two lines at a time. Identify the sensory details—details that appeal to sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch—in each line. Then, close your eyes and repeat the lines to yourself aloud as you try to experience the sensory details. Continue reading the poem aloud in short segments until you are able to visualize all of the images.
With a small group, compare and contrast your sketches for the poems. Discuss how the meanings and perspectives of the poems differ. Then, write a paragraph discussing these differences.