Class 10 English Poem 8 Solution – The Trees | SEBA Assam

Class 10 English Poem 8 – The Trees – All Textual Solutions | ASSEB Assam (English Medium)

Class 10 English Poem 8 – The Trees Complete Textual Question Answers and Solutions (ASSEB / SEBA Assam – English Medium)

The eighth poem of the Class 10 English textbook ‘First Flight’, titled ‘The Trees’ by the renowned American poet Adrienne Rich, is a highly symbolic and powerful piece. Based on the latest guidelines of the new ASSEB (Assam State School Education Board) syllabus and the New Education Policy (NEP) for upcoming board exams, we have prepared complete textual question answers and solutions for this poem. This special compilation includes very short answers (VSA), short questions, long answers, and poetic device explanations. At Ospin Academy, these solutions are provided in an easy, accurate, and completely exam-oriented format.

This poem illustrates a striking conflict between man and nature. It symbolically describes how trees and plants, which have been artificially confined inside human homes for decoration, are now struggling to break free. They shatter the glass and march out into the open, empty forest to reclaim their natural habitat. On a deeper level, the poem is often interpreted as a metaphor for women’s liberation, breaking out of the boundaries of domestic life. For board candidates, understanding the vivid imagery, the symbolic depth, and the central message of the poem is extremely important. Our textual solutions cover not only the textbook exercise questions but also extra important questions and answers that may appear in the exams, helping students prepare thoroughly.

What you will learn and get from these textual solutions:

• Detailed summary and analysis of the poem’s central theme regarding nature’s revolt and the desire for freedom.
• Perfect answers for 1-mark very short questions (VSA objective type) and 2-3 mark short questions.
• Simple and standard solutions for 4-5 mark long questions and extract-based stanza explanations.
• Proper knowledge of poetic devices like personification, metaphor, and simile used in the poem.
• Solutions for the latest pattern MCQ questions along with important questions according to the new syllabus.

Special benefits of these Ospin Academy solutions:

• Complete textual solutions prepared on the basis of the latest ASSEB new syllabus.
• 100% accurate, high-quality notes written in simple English that are easy for students to memorize (Class 10 English Notes).
• Specially curated easy-to-understand answers for quick revision before exams.
• A special collection of extra important questions from ‘The Trees’ for the board examinations.

Keeping in mind the academic upliftment of the students, Ospin Academy has brought forward these special textual solutions. Start your board exam preparation now and step forward towards scoring the highest marks in English.

Chapter 7

The Trees

Thinking about the Poem

Q.1A Find in the first stanza, three things that cannot happen in a treeless forest.

Ans.: Three things that cannot happen in a treeless forest are as follows –

(i) The birds cannot sit on the trees.

(ii) The insects cannot hide in the trees.

(iii) The sun rays cannot be seen burying their feet in the shadow of the forest.

Q.1B 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’?

Ans.: The Sun’s feet here refer to the rays of the sun that reach the earth’s surface. Since the sun radiates heat, the words “Sun bury its feet in shadow” show the image of the radiating sun cooling its feet in the shadow of the forest’s trees.

Q.2A Where are trees in the poem? What do their roots, their leaves, and their twigs do?

Ans.: In the poem, the trees are in the poet’s house. The roots are working all night to disengage themselves from the cracks in the veranda’s floor. The leaves are straining towards the glass while the twigs are becoming stiff with exertion.

Q.2B What does the poet compare the branches to?

Ans.: The poet compares the long-cramped branches that have been shuffling under the roof to newly discharged patients who seem to be half-dazed as the step forward towards the hospital doors after recovering from long illnesses. In a similar condition, the branches also have been confined under the roof and want to get out into the open to spread themselves in the fresh air.

Q.3A How does the poet describe the moon:

(a) At the beginning of the third stanza, and

(b) At its end? What causes this change?

Ans.: In the beginning of the third stanza, the poet describes the moon saying that it is full and shining in the night sky. However, at the end of the stanza, she describes the moon as broken into many pieces that are similar to a shattered mirror. Since the trees have changed their place and made their way outside the poet’s house, their branches have risen high, blocking the moon which is responsible for changing its appearance (that of a shattered mirror.)In the end, these pieces can be seen flashing in the crown of the tallest oak tree.

Q.3B What happens to the house when the trees move out of it?

Ans.: When the trees move out of the house, the glass gets broken and the winds rush to meet the trees which are stumbling forward in the night. However, the poet feels that the smell of the leaves of the trees and lichens still reaches the rooms of her house.

Q.3C Why do you think the poet does not mention “The departure of the forest from the house” in the 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.)

Ans.: The poet does not mention the departure of the trees in her letters because till now they were imprisoned and their departure from the house was like a hard-won freedom for the poet. It seems that the poet herself was willing that the trees go out and had been preparing for the same. By writing a long letter and letting them go, the poet is trying to free herself of her feelings which were earlier suppressed.

Q.4A 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? (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 ‘breakout’?

Ans.: Yes, the poem, ‘The trees’ presents a conflict between man and nature. Man often uses nature recklessly for his own comforts and needs curbing their freedom. Plants and trees are used for interior decoration in homes, trees are cut down for wood, forests cleared for commercial and residential purposes and animals are put in cages. They seemed to be imprisoned and struggle to come out. In many such ways, man becomes a hindrance in the freedom of plants and animals. The poem shows their struggle as they strive to move out. To compare it with the poem ‘A Tiger in Zoo’, it can be said that the tiger also longs for freedom. The poet thus presents the fact that animals should not be bound in cages because it restricts their freedom to move around. Their condition, in the prison, is pitiable and they want to break out from this imprisonment.

Q. 4B 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?

Ans.: If trees are symbolic of human beings, then it can be said that humans also want to break away from the handcuffs of their hectic and self-centered lives they lead. They work hard all through the days and nights to achieve their selfish goals and keep striving hard as they are confined under the roofs of their homes and offices. Even they wish to live freely and go out and enjoy the tranquil nature.

Q.5 You may read that 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.

Ans.: The poem ‘The Trees’ describes the internal feelings of trees and narrates their struggle of escaping the confines of man’s cages. However, the poem ‘On Killing a Tree’ describes the ways of killing a tree completely, highlighting the cruelty of man towards the environment. The poet sarcastically explains how a tree should not just be cut with an axe but should be destroyed completely from its roots. In the poem ‘The Trees’ the poetess throws light on the freedom of plants and animals which are curbed by man’s reckless actions. Thus, both the poems in different ways show the deteriorating condition of nature and its elements and try to convey a hidden message to the audience.