The Trees

Read the following stanzas and answer the questions that follow :

STANZA 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 the shadow

the forest that was empty all these nights

will be full of trees by morning.

Questions :

 (a) From where are the trees moving out into the forest?

 (b) Why can’t birds sit in them or insects hide in them?

 (c) How was the forest ‘all these nights’?

(d) Are these trees useful for birds and insects?

(e) What three things can not happen in a treeless forest?

(f) Explain the poetic device in ‘no sun bury its feet’.

(g) Why are there no shadows in the forest?

(h) Explain ‘enjambment’.

(i) Explain ‘anaphora’.

Answers :

(a) The trees are moving out from inside the house into the forest.

(b) Birds can’t sit in them and insects can’t hide in them because these trees have been confined in houses and are not in the forest.

(c) All these nights, the forest was empty.

(d) No, these trees are not useful for birds and insects.

(e) In a treeless forest, the birds can’t sit in the trees, the insects can’t hide in the trees and the sunrays can not hide in the shadows of the leaves of the trees.

(f) There is a metaphor in these lines where the sunrays have been compared with sun’s feet. Since there are no trees in the forest, so the sunrays can not hide in the shadows of the leaves.

(g) There are no shadows because the forest in empty.

(h) ‘Enjambment’ is a poetic device when there is a long sentence covering many lines in the poem . the sentence in not broken by any punctuation mark. In this stanza the sentence covers all the lines of the stanza.

(i) ‘Anaphora’ is a poetic device which is used when there are repetitive sounds or words in a stanza. Here first and second lines start with ‘the’ and fourth and fifth lines start with ‘no’.

STANZA 2

All night the roots work

to disengage themselves from the cracks

on the veranda floor.

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.

 Questions :

(a) What do the roots do all night?

(b) What has happened to the small twigs? Why?

(c) What are the boughs compared to? Why?

 (d) What do the leaves do?

(e) Name the poem and the poetess.

(f) Explain the personification.

(g) Explain ‘long- cramped’.

Answers :

(a) All night the roots work to free themselves from the cracks in the veranda floor.

 (b) The small twigs are stiff with exertion because they have been working all night to free themselves and go out into the forest.

(c) The boughs are compared to newly discharged patients because just like such patients, the trees are anxious to move out and they are unsure and uncertain in their movement similar to a newly discharged patient who is a little dazed and confused because of the after effects of medication.

(d) The leaves strain towards the glass.

 (e) Poem: The poem is ‘The Trees’ and the poet is Adrienne Rich.

(f) The poet has personified the roots, leaves and twigs. The roots are trying to pull away from the floor, the leaves are straining to break the glass windows and the twigs are stiff with efforts to break free.

(g) ‘long- cramped’ branches refer to the branches of the trees which have been confined in the house against their natural instinct.

STANZA 3

I sit inside, doors open to the veranda

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.

Questions :

(a) Where is the poetess sitting?

(b) What is the poetess doing?

(c) What does she not mention in her letters? Why?

(d) How does the poetess describe the night and the moon?

 (e) How is the sky?

(f) How has the poet used imagery here?

(g) Mark the use of alliteration.

Answers :

(a) The poetess is sitting in her room.

(b) The poetess is sitting in the verandah and writing long letters.

(c) She does not mention the departure of the forest from the house because she finds it embarrassing topic to discuss.

 (d) The night is pleasant and fresh. The full moon is shining.

(e) The sky is still open.

(f) The poet has used imagery to describe the fresh night and the shining moon.

(g) the poet has used alliteration in:  long, letters;    forest, from;   sky, still.

STANZA 4

the smell of leaves and lichen

still reaches like a voice into the rooms.

My head is full of whispers

which tomorrow will be silent.

 Questions :

(a) Where is the poetess sitting at present?

(b) Which smell is reaching her?

 (c) What is her head full of?

 (d) What will be silent tomorrow?

(e) Identify the simile.

Answers :

 (a) At present, the poetess is sitting in the verandah.

 (b) The smell of leaves and lichen is reaching her.

 (c) Her head is full of whispers of the movement of the trees.

(d) Tomorrow, the whispers will be silent because the trees would have moved out.

 (e) The poet has used simile to compare the smell of leaves and lichen with the voices of the trees in the room.

STANZA 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.

 Questions :

(a) What is happening to the glass?

 (b) What does the poetess say about the trees?

 (c) What rushes out to meet the trees?

 (d) How does the poetess describe the moon?

 (e) Why does the wind rush?

(f) Identify and explain the poetic device.

(g) Where are the pieces of the broken moon shining?

Answers :

(a) The glass is breaking.

(b) The poetess says that the trees are stumbling forward into the night.

 (c) The wind rushes out to meet the trees.

 (d) The poetess says that the moon is like a broken mirror.

(e) The wind rushes to meet the trees.

(f) The poet has used simile. The moon looks broken or shattered because of the shadow of the tallest oak tree falling on it.

(g) The pieces of the broken moon are shining on the top branches and leaves of the tallest oak tree.

Extra Questions

Q1       How has the moon changed from the beginning of the poem towards the end? What has brought about this change?

Ans      The moon was shining in the beginning but towards the end it looks broken like a mirror. This has happened because when seen behind  the shadow of the tall oak tree or through its branches, the moon seems to have shattered into pieces.

Q2       How has the poet described the plight of the trees?

Ans      The poet says that the trees have been confined in a house from where they want to break free. Throughout the night, the roots try to pull themselves out of the verandah floor, the leaves try to break the glass of the windows and the twigs become stiff with exertion to move out. Even the branches try to shuffle under the roof to find a way to escape.

Q3       How has the poet used imagery effectively in the poem?

Ans      The poet has used beautiful images to show the fresh night and the shining moon. Also, the way the trees try to move out of the house presents a very effective and vivid scene. The broken moon in the end also shows an impressive image.

Q4       In what two ways, literal and symbolic can the poem be interpreted?

Ans      In the literal sense, the poem is about the destruction of forests and deforestation activities of man. Instead of outdoors, trees have now come indoors as decorative plants.

In the symbolic meaning, the feminist Adrienne Rich, has used the trees as the symbol of women who have long been confined in the four walls of the house  and who are now looking for an opportunity to break free into the world.