CBSE Class 10 English The Trees Assignment Set 02

Short Answer Type Questions
 

Question. “The Trees” is a symbolic poem and Adrienne Rick has used trees as a metaphor for human beings. What do they symbolize? Explain.
Answer: In “The Trees,” Adrienne Rich uses trees as a metaphor for human resilience, growth, and liberation. They represent the ability of humans to transform, liberate themselves from limitations, and welcome new beginnings. The journey of human transformation and reconnection with nature is mirrored in the trees’ journey from captivity to the forest.

Question. Explain : “The moon is broken like a mirror”.
Answer: Previously, the forest was without trees and therefore the unobstructive view of the moon was visible. But now, as the trees have moved towards the forest, only a fragmented view of the moon is visible, which looks like a broken mirror to the poet.

Question. What is the central idea of the poem, ‘The Trees’?
Answer: The central idea of the poem is the conflict between man and nature. A plant is brought inside the house when it is a sapling. But as it grows into a tree, it gets suffocated with the limited space available. So it departs to feel free. The tree is thus, moving out to occupy the now empty forest, made so by man’s indiscriminate felling of trees. Humans must understand the negative impact of their actions on nature and mend their ways before it is too late.

Question. Why is the description of the moon different in the beginning and at the end of the third stanza?
Answer: At the beginning of the third stanza, the poet says that one can see the whole moon shining in the open sky, but in the end, the moon seems to be broken like a mirror and its pieces shine in the crown of the tallest oak tree. The change is caused by the shifting of the trees outside.

Question. Justify the revolt of the trees and state two values which the man should possess to stop the revolt.
Answer: The trees inside the house get suffocated as they grow. They try to free themselves from the cracks of the veranda floor and the leaves stretch out as if to move towards the glass. They are justified in their revolt. Men should learn the importance of trees.

Question. How does the poet describe the night? How does she feel?
Answer: It is night time. The night is fresh. In the open sky, the full moon is shining. The poet feels the smell of leaves and lichen reaching inside the room. Her head is full of whispers. But she thinks that the next day these whispers will be silent.

Question. Why are the trees described in the first stanza not useful for birds or insects?
Answer: The trees described in the first stanza are either decorative plants kept inside a house, or they are shown only in a painting or picture. Therefore, they are not useful for birds or insects. Birds cannot sit on their branches. Insects cannot hide in them.

Question. What happens to the roots and leaves of these trees at night?
Answer: The roots of these trees are engaged into the cracks of the veranda floor. At night, these roots try to free themselves from the cracks. The leaves try to move towards the glass. Twigs become harden and the boughs try to expand under the roof.

Question. How does the poet describe the growth of the trees inside the house?
Answer: These trees grow in pots and pans. So their roots feel cramped. These roots try to free themselves from the cracks of the veranda floor. The leaves need light. So they move towards the glass. The twigs are stiff and the boughs are like the newly discharged patients coming out of clinic doors.

Question. Why does the poet use the metaphor of newly discharged patients?
Answer: A patient feels depressed in a hospital. As soon as he recovers, he is eager to leave the hospital. He rushes towards the clinic doors. In the same way, the plants in the pots feel suffocated. They are deprived of adequate light. So they stretch themselves towards the glass door, in the hope of finding the light.

Question. How are the branches “shuffling under the roof” ?
Answer: The poet feels that the moving of the branches of the trees from the house to the forest is like the movement of the patients who have just been allowed to leave the clinic after a really long stay. That is why, they looked so bewildered and dazed as they rushed out of the house eagerly.

Question. How does the poet feel about the night, moon and sky, while she is sitting with the doors open to the veranda ? What does she smell ?
Answer: While sitting with the doors open to the veranda, the poet feels that the night is fresh and full moon is shining in the clear and open sky. At the same time, there is the smell of leaves and lichens that reaches into her room like a voice.

Question. Explain : “My head is full of whispers which tomorrow will be silent”.
Answer: The poet feels that her head is full of whispers of the trees moving in the night from her house to the forest. But these whispers will be silent by tomorrow morning, as all the trees in her house would have moved away to the forest permanently.
 

Long Answer Type Questions

Question. ‘Departure is painful’. So is the departure of the trees painful for the poetess. What will happen after their departure?
Answer: Just like the departure of someone close to us is painful, so also is the departure of a tree. When they are planted as a sapling they look nice and enhance the beauty of our surroundings. But as they grow and spread out their branches, they look wild and require more space for their growth. The roots create cracks in the floor and the leaves stretch out as if to move towards the glass, perhaps in need of sunlight. The soft twigs become strong and stiff. So the trees need to be removed from the house. No more do the leaves cover the sky, but the trees breathe and they are welcomed by the wind. The moon resembles a broken mirror, reflecting off the leaves. The poetess reveals that she will feel lonely after the trees’ departure.

Question. A conflict between Man and Nature is going on. In this civilization pursuit men are disregarding the natural growth of plants and trees. In total confinement, nature also rebels against civilization and becomes destructive. Elaborate.
Answer: In the conflict between man and nature, man has caused much harm to nature. With civilization, man has learnt to acquire a lot of material goods but forgotten the importance of nature and cut down large forests. killed animals, destroyed water bodies and done several other such acts. But, man wrongly judges nature to be weak, while nature is the most powerful. No matter how much technologically advance we become, we can never prevent any natural disaster from taking place. Such destructive forms of nature, like flood, earthquake, volcanoes, tornadoes, etc. teach man that the real power lies with nature and it can do anything.
 

Extract Based Questions

1. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
My head is full of whispers
Which tomorrow will be silent.
Listen. The glass is breaking.
The trees are stumbling forward
into the night. Winds rush to meet them.
The moon is broken like a mirror,
its pieces flash now in the crown
of the tallest Oak.

Question. Identify the figure of speech used in the line : “The Trees are stumbling forward into the night”.
Answer: personification

Question. Explain the significance of the line : “The moon is broken like a mirror, its pieces flash now in the crown of the tallest Oak.” Answer in about 40 words.
Answer: The moon is metaphorically compared to a mirror, appearing fragmented as the shadow of the oak tree splits it into many pieces.

Question. Complete the sentence with the appropriate option. In the third line, the word ‘Listen’ is used to _____.
(a) serve no purpose but to complete the sentence.
(b) emphasize listening carefully to the sound of glass breaking.
(c) emphasize listening carefully as a change is about to take place.
(d) make the reader more attentive.
Answer: (c) emphasize listening carefully as a change is about to take place.

Question. What does the line : “My head is full of whispers which tomorrow will be silent” tell us about the poet’s state of mind ?
Answer: The poet describes the sensation of her head being filled with the slow sounds emitted by trees, which seem eager to escape. However, the poet feels regretful, knowing that these sounds will not be audible the following day, as everything will become silent.

2. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follows :
All night the roots work
to disengage themselves from the cracks
in the veranda floor.
The leaves strain toward the glass
small twigs stiff with exertion
long-cramped boughs shuffling under the roof
like newly discharged patients
half-dazed, moving
to the clinic doors.

Question. In what way does the language used in this extract challenge traditional ideas of what poetry should be?
Answer: The poem has been penned in free verse and uses heavy symbolism.

Question. What is the significance of the use of the word ‘roots’ and ‘disengage’ to describe the social change in the poem and how does this word choice contribute to the overall mood and tone of the poem? Answer in about 40 words.
Answer: Roots constitute the base of trees. They symbolise the courage and the traditional role of women. The women are struggling to disengage (liberate) from the cracks of the veranda floor. The veranda floor symbolises the burden of domestic duties and cracks refer to the breaking of the patriarchal notions. The mood and the tone are optimistic.

Question. The leaves strain through the glass, small twigs are stiff with exertion and long-cramped boughs are shuffling under the roof- all indicate the presence of these poetic devices:
(a) metaphors and imagery.
(b) enjambment and allusion.
(c) allusion and alliteration.
(d) personification and imagery.
Answer: (d) personification and imagery.

Question. Complete the statement.
The words ‘in the veranda floor’ clearly suggest that the change is taking place _____ and _____.
Answer: in domestic setups and society.