The Full Text of “The Road”
The Full Text of “The Road”
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“The Road” Introduction
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“The Road,” by the Australian writer and environmental activist Nancy Fotheringham Cato, illustrates the exhilaration of speeding down a long, dark country road towards the sunrise. Rushing away from the looming night, the speaker feels momentarily in control of time itself and muses on the relationship between life, death, and the forces of nature. On a more symbolic level, the poem also suggests the importance of striving toward hope even in the face of certain darkness. Cato utilizes common meter and the lyrical ballad form to evoke the speaker's fast yet steady pace along the road. The poem is also a good example of Cato's consistent focus on humanity's connection with the environment in her poetry and beyond. "The Road" appeared in Cato's 1957 collection The Dancing Bough.
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“The Road” Summary
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The speaker declares that they made the moon appear to reverse its rising course in the sky and move behind the hills next to the road. The speaker drove east along the road for so long and at such a high speed that it felt as though time itself stopped.
The stars looked like a swirling cluster of insects behind the trees, but the speaker drove as fast as those stars. The speaker states they had the potential to control the movement of the sun and, therefore, to make the night became day once again (i.e., by making the sun rise once again).
The speaker compares the darkness of the night to a long black carpet being unfurled behind the wheels of the speaker's car and across the rest of the landscape. However, everything in front of the speaker was still sunlit.
The speaker kept driving, making the fence-posts that lined the road appear to swiftly swing along the electrical wires between them. The speed at which the posts rushed by reminded the speaker of days that end too quickly. Passing by the tall telephone poles that hovered over the road reminded the speaker of the way that years slide away into the past.
As the speaker drove, all the forces and objects around them—light, motion, the sky, the road, time, and life itself—combined into a single, unified entity. Meanwhile, the speaker continued to drive urgently through the night in the direction of the sunrise.
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“The Road” Themes
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Life, Death, and Time
“The Road” illustrates the exhilaration of speeding down a road towards the sunrise. Straddling the border between night and day, the speaker feels a sense of control over the heavens; it’s as though, in speeding as “fast as” the stars above, they’ve made “time itself [stand] still.” The speaker seems all too aware that this thrilling power is illusory, however—that moments continue to slip too quickly "into the past" as the speaker drives down this road because "life and time" are "one." Neither can exist without the other, the speaker ultimately implies, because to live is also to move forward.
Driving down a dark road seems to grant the speaker power over the movement of the moon, stars, and sun. The speaker imagines making “the rising moon go back / behind the shouldering hill” and states that they “could have made the sun arise / and night turn back to day.” In controlling the skies, it appears as though the speaker is making the earth’s spinning—and thus the passage of time—stop or even reverse itself. Holding back the darkness of the night also suggests, on a symbolic level, that the speaker is holding back death itself.
Of course, this is really just a trick of perspective. In reality, the speaker is still moving forward both through both space and time, as the "telephone poles" and "fence-posts" along the road remind them. Because these objects are planted in place, it looks like they're being whisked backward as the speaker drives ahead, and they remind the speaker of the fact that "days" and "years" continue to slip through their fingers with every passing moment.
And yet, the speaker also says that “life and time” are “one,” meaning that, paradoxically, they can’t keep living without also accepting the passage of time (and thus the approach of death). While a human life may feel fleeting, always “fly[ing]” by “too fast,” the speaker seems to take comfort in the idea that being alive—rushing down the metaphorical road of life towards the light of a new dawn—means embracing one's place within the natural rhythms of the universe.
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-20
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The Power of Hope
“The Road” is more than a poem about the thrill of an early morning (or late night) drive. Roads often symbolize life itself, while the night and darkness typically symbolize death, despair, and the unknown. As such, driving away from the dark night and “towards the sun” can be read as an extended metaphor for the speaker's attempt to outrun their own negative emotions (and perhaps even their own mortality). The “long black carpet” of night might always be right on the speaker’s heels, but the speaker’s determination to drive towards the light suggests the enduring power of hope in the face of looming darkness.
Throughout the poem, the speaker urgently attempts to avoid the night. They make the “rising moon go back” and only travel towards the brightness of the sun. The speaker moves with boldness and perhaps even franticness, “rac[ing],” rushing, and speeding down the road.
The night itself, meanwhile, comes across as distinctly threatening in the poem. The speaker says the stars “swarmed,” for example, as though they were a cluster of bugs in the sky. Calling the night a “long black carpet” that unrolls right "behind the wheels" of the speaker's car is another ominous image. It further suggests that the speaker isn’t just out for a joyride but trying to outrun negative emotions and perhaps even escape the reality of death.
The poem doesn't focus on this darkness for long, however, and ends with the triumphant image of the speaker driving toward the sun. As light is often a symbol of life, hope, and joy, this closing imagery suggests the speaker has not lost their determination to live and seek joy with whatever time they have.
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-20
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Road”
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Lines 1-2
I made the ...
... the shouldering hill,The first two lines of the poem introduce the speaker and the poem’s lively, natural setting. The speaker's voice is strong and powerful: they declare that they "made" the moon itself reverse its normal, natural course in the night sky.
At first, this image might seem confusing: how could someone make the "rising moon" dip down in the sky and hide "behind" a "hill"? Things make more sense when readers realize that the speaker is driving along a road: the speaker is actually the one who was moving, and their shifting position makes it look like the moon was sinking.
Note how the enjambment between lines 1-2 emphasizes the moon's movement, as one line seems to fall into the next:
I made the rising moon go back
behind the shouldering hill,The word "shouldering" indicates that these hills border the road on which the speaker drives. At the same time, this word subtly suggests the land is akin to a body. Already, then, readers get the sense that the landscape is a living thing, a dynamic force not too different from the speaker themselves.
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Lines 3-4
I raced along ...
... itself stood still. -
Lines 7-8
I could have ...
... back to day. -
Lines 9-12
And like a ...
... ahead was bright. -
Lines 13-16
The fence-posts whizzed ...
... into the past. -
Lines 17-20
And light and ...
... towards the sun.
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“The Road” Symbols
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The Road
On the one hand, the speaker in Cato's poem is describing an actual late night/early morning drive down a country road. When speeding quickly through a landscape, it really can seem like your surroundings blur together to the point that "light and movement, sky and road" become "one." But this road is also symbolic: it represents the path of life itself, which people travel on as they go from birth to death. "Life and time" are "one" in the sense that to live is to move forward on this road of life.
The speaker builds on this symbolism with the description of "fence-posts" and "telephone poles" in stanza 4, which act as symbolic markers of time on the road. Because they're stationary, they appear to "slip[] into the past" as the speaker speeds by them. The speaker compares these objects to "days" and "years" that end too soon, conveying the sense that the speaker feels like life is passing by too quickly. Note, too, how the speaker says that those tall telephone polks "loomed," suggesting that the passage of years is frightening or intimidating to the speaker (because it brings them closer to death).
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”
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The Sun/Light
In literature, the sun often symbolizes life, joy, and hope, and it also often acts as a guiding figure or god (which makes sense, given that the sun's light is critical for life on earth). "The Road" leans into this symbolism, as the speaker drives "toward the sun"—towards life, joy, hope, and so forth.
Note that "The Road" places the sun in opposition to the moon and the darkness of night, which usually represent despair, death, and the unknown. That the speaker strives to outrun the darkness that "unroll[s]" over the countryside symbolically suggests that the speaker is rushing away from these things—and towards the warmth and promise of a new day.
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.”
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Night/Darkness
Again, the darkness of night is often associated with death, despair, fear, and the unknown. "The Road" juxtaposes this darkness against the brightness and warmth of the sun, towards which the speaker drives. The speaker seems to delight in being able to make "the rising moon go back / behind the shouldering hill" and to speed "as fast as" the stars, suggesting that the speaker wants to keep the darkness—and all of its frightening connotations—firmly in their rear-view. The fact that the "long black carpet" of the night unrolls "behind the wheels" of the speaker's car, however, suggests that the speaker can never really stop moving; if they want to stay clear of the darkness, they must keep driving towards the light.
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,”
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“The Road” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Simile
"The Road" contains three similes, and they each help make this late night/early morning road trip more vivid for readers.
For example, when the speaker states the night is “like a long black carpet” that “unrolled across the countryside,” the reader might imagine dark material falling from the sky, laying itself across the landscape and casting the world in shadow. In comparing the vast "night" to a "carpet," the speaker subtly links the human world with the universe. This mention of a dark carpet right at the wheels of the speaker's car also adds a sense of tension to the poem, as the speaker must out-pace the night as it unfurls across the earth below.
The other similes in the poem similarly describe the poem's setting while also offering a window into the speaker's inner thoughts, fears, and desires. As the speaker speeds down the road, "fence-posts" seem to whoosh past, as though "whizz[ing] along wires" that link them. Because the car is moving swiftly forward and these posts are stationary, it appears as though they're being sucked backward. Ditto the "telephone poles" the speaker mentions in the next line, which rise up high above the road and quickly "slip[] into the past"—that is, remain behind the speaker's car as it rushes forward.
That the speaker compares these fence-posts to "days that fly too fast" indicates that the speaker wishes that time itself would slow down—that is, that the speaker could hold onto "days" a little longer. Similarly, comparing the telephone pole to “loom[ing] years” reflects the speaker's anxieties about years too quickly "slipping" away. These similes reveal that the speaker at once fears time and desires more of it.
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.”
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Anaphora
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Alliteration
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Enjambment
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Juxtaposition
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Imagery
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"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
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(Location in poem: Line 2: “behind the shouldering hill”)
The speaker is referring to a hill along the side of the road.
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Road”
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Form
"The Road" consists of 5 quatrains, or 4-line stanzas. These are more specifically ballad stanzas: the quatrains rhyme either ABAB or ABCB, and they alternate between lines of tetrameter (four poetic feet) and trimeter (three poetic feet).
Ballads were traditionally narratives poems, and their predictable rhythms made them easier to remember and share. Folk narratives were also typically grand love stories, dramatic adventures, or tales of heroism. In using this form, Cato elevates her subject. Though the poem describes a common, even mundane, experience (driving down a country road), this event takes on almost mythic proportions. This reflects the fact that the speaker feels power over and a deep connection with their surroundings, sensing in this drive fundamental truths about the nature of existence and humanity's place in the universe.
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Meter
Like most ballads, “The Road,” uses something called common meter. This means that its lines alternate between eight and six syllables and that these syllables follow an iambic rhythm (they move from unstressed to stressed beats: da-DUM). In other words, they alternate between iambic tetrameter (four iambs per line, eight beats total) and iambic trimeter (three iambs per line, six beats total). For example, take a look at lines 3 and 4:
I raced | along | the east- | ern track
till time | itself | stood still.This pattern remains relatively consistent throughout the poem, lending its lines a bouncy, musical rhythm. This, in turn, adds energy and excitement to the speaker's description of their drive.
There are some variations, however, which keep the poem from becoming too predictable and also call attention to important moments. For example, line 15 contains an extra syllable:
and te- | lephone poles | loomed up | like years
The second foot here scans most natural as an anapest (da-da-DUM), subtly extending the line in a way that might evoke the intimidating height of those looming poles. And in line 13, readers might hear a spondee in the second foot (two stressed beats in a row) and another anapest in the final foot:
The fence- | posts whizzed | along wires
The meter at the tail-end of the line is ambiguous, but the double stress in the center adds intensity to this image of "fence-posts" whooshing past.
These variations are minor, however, and they don't detract from the overall iambic rhythm of the poem.
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Rhyme Scheme
The first stanza of "The Road" rhymes:
ABAB
Each of the remaining stanzas of the poem uses the more conventional ballad rhyme scheme of:
ABCB
The change in rhyme scheme is very subtle, and, overall, the poem's consistent pattern of rhyme makes its lines pleasant to read and easy to remember.
Note, too, that line 11 ends with the word "countryside," which forms a subtle slant rhyme with the surrounding lines (which end with the words "night" and "bright"). Likewise, "wires"/"years" and "road"/"sped" in the final two stanzas create subtle echoes of rhyme that add to the poem's music.
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“The Road” Speaker
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The first-person speaker of "The Road" doesn't have a name, age, or gender in the poem, and this helps keep the poem's message feeling universal. That is, anyone who has sped down a country road toward the sunrise can identify with the experience the speaker describes.
What readers do know is that this speaker feels immensely powerful as they race "along the eastern track," boasting of their ability to control celestial objects and to even make time itself stop. At the same time, the speaker displays a clear awareness of the fleeting nature of life. Rushing by "fence-posts" and "telephone poles" reminds them of the way "days" and "years" seem to slip away too quickly "into the past." The speaker might be an older person, thinking about the way time flies by.
At the poem's end, the speaker's determination to keep driving "towards the sun" (and towards the new dawn it signals) perhaps signifies their determination to stay focused on the good things in life and their hopes for the future.
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“The Road” Setting
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“The Road” takes place on a country road very late at night or very early in the morning. This seems to be a quiet, pastoral setting: there are hills, trees, and stars. The road down which the speaker drives isn't totally separate from signs of civilization, however: the speaker also passes "fence-posts" and "telephone poles," which also indicate that this drive is happening in the modern-day.
The speaker calls the road along which they drive "the eastern track," meaning that they're traveling in the direction of the sunrise. The darkness of night is behind them, unfurling from the sky "like a long black carpet," but the speaker barrels forward towards the brightness ahead. This juxtaposition between darkness and light might suggest the contrast between life and death, past and present, joy and despair, and so forth.
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Literary and Historical Context of “The Road”
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Literary Context
Nancy Fotheringham Cato (1917-2000) was an Australian poet, novelist, and environmental activist. She included "The Road" in her second collection, The Dancing Bough. Published in 1957, this collection features many poems that, like "The Road," muse on the nature of life, death, and time. Both The Dancing Bough and Cato's first poetry collection, The Darkened Window, have also been praised for their lively descriptions of the natural world. Cato is most widely known, however, for her historical fiction trilogy All Rivers Run, which vividly illustrates the ecological and social history of the Murray River in south-eastern Australia.
Cato was one among many authors attempting to promote a uniquely "Australian" literature in the mid-20th century. After World War II, writers wanted to present their continent's literature as more than, according to influential novelist Patrick White, "dreary, dun-colored journalism." Authors including Cato, Judith Wright, and Douglas Stewart began infusing their intricate descriptions of the Australian landscape with deeper moral and philosophical ideas.
It's also worth noting that roads themselves are an extremely common symbol in literature, where they typically represent the journey of life. Many poems have drawn inspiration from roads, the most famous example being Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken."
Historical Context
Cato wrote and published "The Road" in the mid-20th century, a time when Australia was concerned with making a name for itself on the world stage. Officials felt that the nation had only narrowly avoided being invaded during World War II; Prime Minister Ben Chifley declared that Australia must "populate or perish," warning that a threat from Asia may come again.
The development of a massive immigration program led to more than 20 million people coming to Australia throughout the 1940s, '50s, and '60s. The country also began to promote a distinct sense of what it meant to be “Australian” during this time. Cato herself played a role in this, as her work often focused on Australia's unique heritage and environment.
Australia's population boom also led to rapid industrial development and, unfortunately, the destruction or endangerment of many of the country's natural landmarks. Cato's focus on the landscape in her work reflects her devotion to environmental activism; she was in fact named an honorary park ranger by the Noosa Parks Association in Queensland for her conversation efforts. With its declaration that "light and movement, sky and road, life and time were one," "The Road" perhaps suggests that humanity must accept its place within, rather than apart from, its surroundings.
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More “The Road” Resources
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External Resources
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Australian Literature in the Mid-20th Century — Learn more about important figures and events in Australia's literary history from 1940 to 1970.
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More About Cato — Read a brief biography on Cato from the University of Queensland.
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Driving Through the Countryside — See what it's like to drive through Australia's countryside in this YouTube video.
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Roads in Poetry — Peruse more excellent poems inspired by roads.
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