Important Questions for Class 11 English Poem Chapter 2 The Laburnum Top
Summary of Class 11 Poem Chapter 2 The Laburnum Top
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Table of Contents
Stanza
Question 1:
Read the given stanza and answer the questions:
The Laburnum top is silent, quite still
In the afternoon yellow September sunlight,
A few leaves yellowing, all its seeds fallen.
Till the goldfinch comes, with a twitching chirrup
A suddenness, a startlement, at a branch end.
(1) What is the condition of the laburnum top described in the excerpt?
(a) It is lively and bustling
(b) It is silent and still
(c) It is covered in flowers
(d) It is full of seeds
Answer
(b) It is silent and still
(2) What signifies the arival of the goldfinch?
Answer
The arrival of the goldfinch is signified by its “twitching chirrup” and the sudden movement and startlement at the end of the branch.
(3) At what time does the goldfinch arrive at the laburnum top?
Answer
The goldfinch arrives in the afternoon, in the yellow September sunlight.
Question 2:
“Then sleek as a lizard, and alert and abrupt,
She enters the thickness, and a machine starts up
Of chitterings, and a tremor of wings, and trillings—
The whole tree trembles and thrills.”
(i) Who is referred to as “sleek as a lizard”?
(a) The goldfinch bird (b) The laburnum tree
(c) The poet (d) A squirrel
Answer
(a) The goldfinch bird
(ii) What does the phrase “a machine starts up” refer to?
(a) A real machine nearby
(b) The tree’s movement in the wind
(c) The sudden liveliness of the tree due to bird activity
(d) The poet’s imagination
Answer
(c) The sudden liveliness of the tree due to bird activity
(iii) What literary device is used in “sleek as a lizard”?
(a) Personification (b) Simile
(c) Metaphor (d) Alliteration
Answer
(b) Simile
Question 3:
It is the engine of her family.
She stokes it full, then flirts out to a branch-end
Showing her barred face identity mask
Then with eerie delicate whistle-chirrup whisperings
She launches away, towards the infinite
And the laburnum subsides to empty.
(i) What is referred to as the “engine of her family”?
(a) The laburnum tree
(b) The mother bird
(c) The wind
(d) The poet
Answer
(b) The mother bird
(ii) Identify the line from the stanza in which the poetic device “metaphor” is used.
(a) then flirts out to a branch-end
(b) Showing her barred face identity mask
(c) It is the engine of her family.
(d) Then with eerie delicate whistle-chirrup.
Answer
(c) It is the engine of her family.
(iii) What does the line ‘And the laburnum subsides to empty.’ suggest?
(a) It becomes lively
(b) It starts blooming
(c) It becomes still and quiet
(d) It falls
Answer
(c) It becomes still and quiet
Important Questions for Class 11 English Poem Chapter 2 The Laburnum Top
Short-Questions (40-50 words)
Questions 1:
What happened when the goldfinch came to the laburnum tree?
or
How does the arrival of the goldfinch change the scene on the laburnum tree?
Answer
Before the goldfinch arrives, the laburnum tree is silent and still, almost lifeless. With the arrival of the goldfinch, the scene changes completely. The tree becomes lively and full of movement. There is sound, fluttering, and energy as the bird feeds its young. The goldfinch’s presence fills the tree with life and activity.
Question 2:
Comment on the relationship between the laburnum tree and the bird goldfinch.
Answer
The laburnum tree and the goldfinch share a close, interdependent relationship. The tree provides shelter and a safe place for the goldfinch and her young, while the bird brings life, sound, and movement to the otherwise silent tree. Together, they show how nature depends on mutual support.
Question 3:
What do the laburnum tree and the goldfinch symbolize respectively? What made you draw the inference?
Answer
The laburnum tree symbolizes a quiet, passive world—lifeless, still, and waiting. This is inferred from its silence, fallen seeds, and motionless state in the September afternoon.
The goldfinch symbolizes life, energy, and renewal. Her arrival fills the tree with sound, movement, and warmth, showing how life awakens nature.
Question 4:
What is the central idea of the poem “The Laburnum Top”?
Answer
The central idea of “The Laburnum Top” is the contrast between stillness and liveliness in nature. The poem shows how the silent, lifeless laburnum tree is suddenly filled with energy when the goldfinch arrives, highlighting the interdependence of living beings and the nurturing role of the mother bird in sustaining life.
Long-Questions (120-150 words)
Question 1:
Imagine you are the goldfinch in the poem. How would you describe your relationship with the laburnum tree and how it feels to return to it. (The Laburnum Top)
Answer
I am the goldfinch, and the laburnum tree is more than just a resting place for me—it is my home and my strength. When I leave, the tree waits in silence, holding my nest and protecting my young ones within its branches. Each time I return, it feels like coming back to something familiar and safe. My arrival fills the quiet tree with movement, sound, and life, and together we wake the afternoon from stillness. I feel a deep sense of belonging as I flutter through its leaves, feeding my family and caring for them. The laburnum supports me without asking, and in return, I bring it warmth and liveliness. Leaving again is never easy, but I know the tree will stand patiently until I return, just as it always does.
Important Questions for Class 11 English Poem Chapter 2 The Laburnum Top
