NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English First Flight

The Trees

Updated For 2024-2025
Exams

 

Thinking about the Poem

Q.1: (i) Find in the first stanza,
three things that cannot happen in a treeless forest.
Answer:
In a treeless forest:

• The birds cannot sit.
• The insects cannot hide.
• The sun cannot bury its feet in
  the shadows.

Q.1: (ii) What picture do these words
create in your mind: “… sun bury its feet in the shadow…”? What could the poet
mean by the sun’s ‘feet’?

Answer:
The phrase “sun bury its feet in the shadow” creates an image of the sun
casting long shadows through the trees as it sets or rises, giving the
impression that its rays are touching the ground. The poet may be using the
word ‘feet’ to represent the sun’s rays as they reach the earth and get lost in
the shadows created by the trees.

Q.2: (i) Where are the trees in the
poem? What do their roots, their leaves, and their twigs do?

Answer:
In the poem, the trees are indoors, confined to a house. The roots are working
to free themselves from the cracks in the veranda floor. The leaves are stretching
toward the glass, trying to move outside. The twigs are becoming stiff and
forming new branches in an attempt to grow and reach out of the confined space.

Q.2: (ii) What does the poet compare
their branches to?

Answer:
The poet compares the branches of the trees to newly discharged patients who
are weak but determined to move out. The branches are trying to break free from
the confines of the house and grow outside where they naturally belong.

Q.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?

Answer:
(a) At the beginning of the third stanza, the poet describes the moon as
“a broken mirror” in the sky, reflecting its fragmented image.
(b) By the end of the stanza, the moon is described as “whole” and
shining brightly.
The change happens as the trees slowly make their way out of the house, and
with their movement, the view of the moon becomes clear and unobstructed.

Q.3: (ii) What happens to the house
when the trees move out of it?

Answer:
When the trees move out of the house, the house becomes empty and quiet. It
loses the life that the trees once brought to it, and the atmosphere is left
still and desolate.

Q.4: Why do you think the poet does not
mention “the departure of the forest from the house” in her letters?

Answer:
The poet does not mention “the departure of the forest from the house” in her
letters because it is symbolic of a personal or emotional experience. The
departure of the trees represents freedom, growth, and a return to the natural
world. This may be something personal to the poet, which she chooses not to
share openly in her letters, keeping it as an internal reflection.

Q.5: What does the poet describe in the
poem? How does she express her feelings about the trees?

Answer:
The poet describes the trees’ struggle to escape the confined space of a house
and return to their natural habitat. She expresses her feelings through vivid
imagery of the trees’ roots, branches, and leaves attempting to break free. The
poet’s tone suggests a deep connection with nature and a longing for freedom,
symbolized by the trees’ movement toward the outside world. The poem reflects
her feelings of liberation and the idea that nature cannot be contained.