The Trees

 The Trees First Flight

Extract Based Questions 

Read the lines given below and answer the questions that follow :

Question 1.

The trees inside are moving out into the forest, the forest that was empty all these days Where no bird could sit no insect hide

no sun bury its feet in shadow.

(a) Which three things cannot happen in a treeless forest ?

(b) Why was the forest empty ?

(c) Which word here means ‘hide from view’ ?

(d) Name the poem and the poet 

Answer:

A forest is a natural habitat for numerous birds and insects. When forests are cleared no bird can make its

nest, nor can insects hide in the bark of the trees and there’s nothing to shade the area from sunlight.

(b) The forests are empty and devoid of trees because they are cut down to create land for cultivation and expansion of cities.

(c) In the given extract, ‘bury’ means to hide from view.

(d) The poem ‘The Trees’ is written by Adrienne Rich.

Question 2.

The trees inside are moving out into the forest, the forest that was empty all these days where no bird could sit no insect hide

no sun bury its feet in shadow

the forest that was empty all these nights

will be full of trees by morning

(a) The bird did not sit on trees as ………..

(b) The forest was empty because there were no ………..

(c) Here, ‘The trees are moving’ refers to …………

(d) No insect can hide 

Answer:

there were no trees.

(b) trees.

(c) g owing out of the glass.

(d) as there are no trees.

Question 3.

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.

(a) Why do the leaves strain towards the glass ?

(b) What are branches compared to ?

(c) What is the figure of speech in Tike newly discharged patients’ ?

(d) Which word means the same as ‘leaves’ ? 

Answer:

(a) The leaves strain towards the glass to escape their captivity.

(b) Branches here are compared to patients.

(c) simile.

(d) Twigs.

Question 4.

I sit inside, doors open to the verandah Writing long letters

In which I scarcely mention the departure of the forest from the house.

The night is fresh, the whole moon shines

in a sky still open

the smell of leaves and lichen

still reaches like a voice into the rooms.

(a) The names of the poem and the poet are ……….

(b) The figure of speech used in the last line of the stanza is ………..

(c) The doors are opening in the ………

(d) Which word means the same as ‘fragrance’ ? 

Answer:

(a) The name of the poem is ‘Trees’ and its poet is Adrienne Rich.

(b) Simile.

(c) Verandah.

(d) Smell

Question 5.

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.

(a) Who is breaking the glass ?

(b) The wind rushes to greet the ……..

(c) The figure of speech used in the line.

The moon is broken like a mirror is …………….

(d) The pieces of the mirror flash ………… 

Answer:

(a) The branches of the tree are breaking the glass.

(b) trees.

(c) Simile.

(d) in the crown of the tallest oak

Question 6.

The moon is broken like a mirror;

Its pieces flash now in the crown Of the tallest oak.

(a) Whom do winds rush to meet ?

(b) How does the moon look ?

(c) Name the poem and the poet ?

(d) Which poetic device is used in the above lines ? 

Answer:

(a) Winds rush to meet trees.

(b) It looks like a broken mirror.

(c) ‘ Trees’ by Adrienne Rich.

(d) Simile

Short Answer Type Questions (30-40 words)

Question 1.

Where are the trees in the poem ? What do their roots, their leaves and twigs do ?

Answer:

The poem by Adrienne Rich is referring to the trees grown indoor for their aesthetic beauty. The poet imagines that the trees are stiffled in confined places and struggle to move in the open towards their natural habitat. The roots make a deliberate effort to disentangle themselves from the cracks in the floor while the leaves and twigs exert themselves to break the glass barrier of the window and emerge into the open.

Question 2.

What does the poet compare the branches of the trees to ?

Answer:

The poet compares the boughs and branches of the trees to newly discharged patients moving out of the clinic doors in a half dazed condition, stiffled under the strain of confinement. They are desperate to stretch themselves in the open and get a breath of fresh air.

Question 3.

How does the poet describe the moon: (a) at the beginning of the third stanza, and (b) at its end ? What causes this change ? 

Answer:

As the poet watches the night sky from the window overlooking the verandah, the moon is whole, shining brightly in the open sky. As she imagines the trees moving out of the house she envisions the moon light rippling over the crown of the oak tree and she metaphorically compares it to moon being broken into several pieces and each piece reflecting its light separately.

Question 4.

What happens to the house when the trees move out of it ? 

Answer:

The fragrance from the trees is filling the house like low whisperings of people. Thus, the poet personifies that the house would be empty and silent, once the trees leave.

Long Answer Type Question 

Question 1.

What is the central idea of the poem ‘The Trees’.

Answer:

The poem ‘The Trees’ states that in the conflict between man and nature, man has caused much harm to nature. Man has learnt to acquire a lot of material goods, but forgotten the importance of nature and large forests have been cut down, animals have been killed and water bodies have been destroyed. Man has judged nature wrongly to be weak, whereas nature is the most powerful. Any natural disaster can not be prevented, though we are moving in a technoligacally advanced world. The destructive forms of nature for eg : flood, earthquake, volcanoes, tornadoes etc. teach man that the real power lies with nature and it can do anything.