NCERT Solution Class 10 Poem Chapter 7 The Trees
Question 1:
(i) Find, in the first stanza, three things that cannot happen in a treeless forest.
(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’?
Answer
(i) The three things that cannot happen in a treeless forest are the sitting of a bird on trees, the hiding of insects and the sun burying its feet in the shadow of the forest.
(ii) The sun radiates heat and the given words create a picture of the hot, radiating sun cooling its feet in the cool shadow of the forest. The sun’s ‘feet’ refers to its rays that reach the earth.
NCERT Solution Class 10 Poem Chapter 7 The Trees
Question 2:
(i) Where are the trees in the poem? What do their roots, their leaves, and their twigs do?
(ii) What does the poet compare their branches to?
Answer
(i) In the poem, the trees are in the poet’s house. Their roots work all night to disengage themselves from the cracks in the veranda floor. The leaves make efforts to move towards the glass, while the small twigs get stiff with exertion.
(ii) The poet compares the ‘long-cramped’ branches that have been shuffling under the roof to newly discharged patients who look half-dazed as they move towards the hospital doors after long illnesses and wait to get out of the hospital. The branches also have cramped under the roof and want to get out into the open to spread themselves in fresh air.
NCERT Solution Class 10 Poem Chapter 7 The Trees
Question 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?
(ii) What happens to the house when the trees move out of it?
(iii) Why do you think the poet does not mention “the departure of the forest from the house” in her letters? (Could it be that we are often silent about important happenings that are so unexpected that they embarrass us? Think about this again when you answer the next set of questions.)
Answer
(i) At the start of the third stanza, the poet describes the full moon shining in the clear night sky. By the end of the stanza, she says the moon looks like it’s broken into pieces, shining on the tops of the tallest oak trees. As the trees sway, they block parts of the moon’s light, making it appear as though the moon has shattered into pieces.
(ii) When the trees move out of the house, the windows break, and the whispers of the trees disappear, leaving the house quiet.
(iii) The poet rarely talks about “the trees leaving the house” in her letters because people never cared about nature to begin with. The poet might think that no one would be interested in the trees’ efforts to free themselves. If people cared about trees, they wouldn’t have harmed them. It seems only the poet can see and appreciate the beauty of the trees returning to the forest.
NCERT Solution Class 10 Poem Chapter 7 The Trees
