-Ted Hughes
Text:
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Summary:
This poem is a very good example for us in our present lives.The tree which earlier felt lifeless suddenly began to seem like coming back to life.
Let's find out how!
Stanza-1:
In the above lines,the poet says that he saw a Laburnum tree whose leaves were yellow.The tree's top is still and silent in the day time of September month.It is autumn season and all the seeds of the tree had fallen.The poet had used the word 'yellow' for leaves and sunlight.Yellow symbolises silence,death and beauty.He describes the whole scene of the tree with this colour.
Stanza-2:
A goldfinch comes to end the death-like scene of the tree and makes a sudden chirrup sound.The bird while being rapid,alert and precautious like a lizards,it sits on the branches of the tree.As she moved towards the thickness of branch,her young ones started chirruping and doing certain vibrations with wings,making a sound like a machine.Because of these movements,the tree starts to shake and thrill.The poet has made a gradual transition for the tree as initially it was dead and felt lifeless whereas now it felt lively and cheerful.The poet considers the Laburnum tree as the engine for the bird and its family.She provides food to her young ones and moves to the other branch end.Her dark coloured striped face is visible as her body is yellow coloured and hides behind the yellow leaves of the tree.
Stanza-3:
After reaching the end of the branch, the bird makes a sweet chirping sound just like whispering and again flies away towards the infinite sky.
Stanza-4:
As the goldfinch has already left,thisade the Laburnum top and the whole tree again as silent as a corpse and death-like.
Difficult Words:
1)Laburnum:A short tree with hanging branches, yellow flowers and poisonous seeds.
2)Goldfinch:A small singing bird with yellow feathers on its wings.
3) Twitching:Sudden jerk movement.
4)Chirrup:A sound made by birds which is usually high-pitched.
5)Tremor of Wings:Involuntarily vibrating one's wings.
6)Flirts out:Lead on to.
7)Stokes:To add fuel to the engine.
8)Barred:Stripy.
9)Launches(Here):Flies away.
10)Subsides:Diminishing.
Rhyme Scheme:
Free Verse
Poetic Devices:
1)Alliteration:September sunlight;Tree trembles
2)Simile:Sleek as a lizard.
3)Metaphor:The noise created by the bird's young ones is compared to the machine's noise.
4)Personification:The whole tree trembles and thrills.
5)Transferred Epithet:Her barred face identity mask.
About Author:
Edward James Hughes(17 August,1930 - 28 October,1998) was an English poet,translator and children's writer.Critics regard him as one of the the most finest poets of his time.He was also appointed 'Poet Laureate' in 1984 and held the office till his death.Hughes was married to American poet Sylvia Plath.
NCERT Questions:
A)Think it out:
1)The similarity about the beginning and ending of the poem is that at both the time points,the tree felt lifeless,silent and empty.
2)The goldfinch's movements are compared to that of the lizard.The basis of the comparison is the sleek,abrupt and alert movements of a lizard.The same kind of movements are observed when the goldfinch arrives on the Laburnum tree.
3)The image of the engine evoked by the poet was due to the reason that he wanted to throw light on how the mother bird is a source of energy for its family.The poet has compared this to the engine is the source of energy to run a machine.
4)I like the simple yet important message underlying the poem.Life is a perpetual process of exchange and transformation.Life is more exciting because of all these exchanges.The goldfinch and its family make the tree feel completely alive with their chirrupings.Without the birds,it is just another tree.
5)The phrase "her barred face identity mask" means the bird's barred face becomes her identity mask recognition.
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Disclaimer:
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Thank u for giving us such ka short summary of this chapter
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