NCERT Solutions Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 5 The Trees: The poem “The Trees” by Adrienne Rich is an important part of the Class 10 syllabus.
It explores the relationship between nature and human life, emphasising resilience, growth, and hope. The poet uses trees as a symbol of strength and continuity, highlighting how they endure changing seasons and environmental challenges while continuing to flourish.
By studying The Trees Class 10 poem, students can understand themes such as patience, renewal, and human connection with nature.
The poem also introduces learners to poetic devices like imagery, symbolism, and personification, which make the verses expressive and meaningful. Referring to the trees class 10 question answer, students grasp the deeper meaning of the poem, analyse its message, and prepare effectively for exams.
The Trees Class 10 Poem Summary
The poem “The Trees” by Adrienne Rich reflects on the resilience, growth, and enduring spirit of trees.
It emphasizes how trees quietly recover and grow after facing storms, harsh weather, or human interference, symbolizing hope, renewal, and patience. The poet highlights the connection between nature and human life, suggesting that just like trees, humans too can endure hardships and emerge stronger.
The poem uses imagery, symbolism, and personification to bring the trees to life and convey deeper meanings about strength, perseverance, and continuity.
Class 10 English The Trees Question Answer
Class 10 English The Trees question answer helps students understand the poem’s key themes of resilience, growth, and human connection with nature. These answers are useful for analyzing poetic devices and preparing effectively for Class 10 exams.
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 occur in a forest without trees are:
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Birds sitting on trees
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Insects hiding in trees
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The sun burying its feet in the shadow of the forest
(ii) The sun’s ‘feet’ represent the rays and heat of the sun touching the ground. Without trees, no shadows are formed, so the sunlight falls directly. In a forest, the shade created by trees makes it appear as though the sun’s feet are buried in the shadows.
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 limited to the poet’s house. Their roots work tirelessly to push through cracks in the veranda floor. Leaves try to reach the glass, applying pressure to break it, while the small twigs become stiff and strained with effort.
(ii) The poet compares the cramped branches under the roof to newly discharged hospital patients who appear disoriented and confused. The large branches feel restricted and want to stretch out freely into the open air.
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?
Answer:
(i) At the start of the third stanza, the full moon shines clearly in the night sky. By the end, its light appears broken like a shattered mirror over the tallest oak trees. This happens because the trees moving outside partially block the moonlight.
(ii) As the trees move, some glass breaks and the scent of leaves and lichen fills the house, as if the trees themselves are speaking.
(iii) The poet rarely mentions the forest leaving the house because people often ignore nature. She feels that most would not appreciate the trees’ struggle to be free. Observing this beauty personally, she feels joy and satisfaction at seeing the trees return to the forest.
Question 4: 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 ‘break out’?
(ii) 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?
Answer:
The poem can have multiple interpretations. The poet uses trees to convey more than one meaning.
(i) Yes, the poem shows a conflict between humans and nature. People often harm nature, cut down forests, and confine trees to limited spaces, depriving them of freedom. As a result, the branches struggle to stretch out into open air. Similarly, in A Tiger in the Zoo, animals are confined in cages and long for freedom.
(ii) If trees symbolize humans, the poem suggests that like trees, humans desire freedom from routines and restrictions. Despite striving to earn a living and enjoying some comforts, people are often restricted and long to break free, just as the trees seek open space.
Question 5: You may read the 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.
Answer:
Activity to be done by yourself.