The Trees - NCERT Class 10, First Flight, Chapter 5, Poem 5 - Summary, Questions, Answers, Extra Questions, MCQ

Thinking about the Poem - The Trees

1. (i) Find, in the first stanza, three things that cannot happen in a treeless forest.

In a treeless forest:

• No bird can sit on the branches of a tree.
• No insect can hide under the shade of the trees.
• The sun cannot bury its feet in the shadow of the trees.

1. (ii) What picture do these words create in your mind: “… sun bury its feet in shadow…”? What could the poet mean by the sun’s ‘feet’?

The phrase “sun bury its feet in shadow” creates a visual image of the sunlight being blocked by the trees, causing the shadows to form on the ground. The poet personifies the sun by giving it ‘feet,’ which could symbolize the sunlight spreading across the forest floor. The trees provide shade, and the ‘feet’ of the sun get hidden or buried in this shade.

2. (i) Where are the trees in the poem? What do their roots, their leaves, and their twigs do?

The trees are inside a house. Their roots are struggling to break free from the cracks in the veranda floor, their leaves are straining toward the glass windows, and their twigs are stiff with exertion as they try to free themselves and move toward the outside world.

2. (ii) What does the poet compare their branches to?

The poet compares the branches of the trees to newly discharged patients, half-dazed and moving toward the clinic doors, indicating the slow and steady movement of the trees as they attempt to escape confinement.

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

(a) At the beginning of the third stanza, the poet describes the moon as “whole” and shining in the sky.
(b) By the end of the stanza, the moon is described as being “broken like a mirror,” its pieces flashing in the crown of the tallest oak.
The change is caused by the movement of the trees as they break through the glass of the house and rush toward the forest, causing the moon’s reflection to be shattered.

3. (ii) What happens to the house when the trees move out of it?

When the trees move out of the house, the place becomes empty and devoid of life. The poet describes a sense of silence and absence after the trees have left.

3. (iii) Why do you think the poet does not mention “the departure of the forest from the house” in her letters?

The poet likely does not mention the departure of the forest from the house in her letters because it is a significant event that is difficult to express. Often, we remain silent about events that are so unexpected or impactful that they leave us unsure of how to articulate them. The poet may feel embarrassed or overwhelmed by the magnitude of what is happening.

4. Now that you have read the poem in detail, we can begin to ask what the poem might mean. Here are two suggestions. Can you think of others?

4. (i) Does the poem present a conflict between man and nature? Compare it with A Tiger in the Zoo. Is the poet suggesting that plants and trees, used for ‘interior decoration’ in cities while forests are cut down, are ‘imprisoned’, and need to ‘break out’?

Yes, the poem presents a conflict between man and nature. The trees, which are kept indoors as decorative items, are struggling to return to their natural habitat, just like the tiger in the poem "A Tiger in the Zoo" is imprisoned in a cage. Both poems highlight how human beings attempt to control and confine nature for their own purposes, leading to the imprisonment of natural elements. The trees, like the tiger, need to break out of their confined space and return to their natural world.

4. (ii) On the other hand, Adrienne Rich has been known to use trees as a metaphor for human beings; this is a recurrent image in her poetry. What new meanings emerge from the poem if you take its trees to be symbolic of this particular meaning?

If the trees are symbolic of human beings, the poem could represent the struggle for freedom and self-expression. The trees trying to break free from the house could symbolize individuals attempting to break free from societal constraints, oppression, or confinement. This interpretation adds a deeper layer of meaning to the poem, where the trees’ movement toward the forest represents a larger struggle for liberation and identity.

5. You may read the poem ‘On Killing a Tree’ by Gieve Patel (Beehive – Textbook in English for Class IX, NCERT). Compare and contrast it with the poem you have just read.

Both poems deal with the theme of nature and the human impact on it. In "On Killing a Tree" by Gieve Patel, the focus is on the destruction of a tree by human hands, whereas in "The Trees" by Adrienne Rich, the trees are breaking free from human confinement. Patel’s poem highlights the violence humans inflict on nature, while Rich’s poem focuses on nature’s resistance and attempt to reclaim its freedom. The contrast lies in the way the trees are portrayed—one as a victim, the other as a fighter.