Compare the first and last stanza in the poem the laburnum top. poem- The Laburnum top is silent, quite still In the afternoon yellow September sunlight, A few leaves yellowing, all its seeds fallen. Till the goldfinch comes, with a twitching chirrup A suddenness, a startlement, at a branch end. Then sleek as a lizard, and alert, and abrupt, She enters the thickness, and a machine starts up Of chitterings, and a tremor of wings, and trillings — The whole tree trembles and thrills. It is the engine of her family. She stokes it full, then flirts out to a branch-end Showing her barred face identity mask Then with eerie delicate whistle-chirrup whisperings She launches away, towards the infinite And the laburnum subsides to empty.
Answers
The poem The Laburnum Top is a beautiful poem in which the poet has used the Laburnum Tree and goldfinches as a symbol of life and its fluctuations. In this poem, the poet describes how the visit of a goldfinch changes the Laburnum tree. The goldfinch transforms the tree and makes it come alive as the chicks of the goldfinch start to rustle and chirp on seeing her. Once the goldfinch leaves the tree, it becomes quiet and still again. The Laburnum tree symbolises the pattern of our life in general, which is usually dull and inanimate. The goldfinch breaks the usual pattern and makes it lively. Without the goldfinch, the Laburnum tree is just like another tree. In other words, it is the attitude of a person towards life that makes life meaningful and worth living
Structure wise there is no difference between the first paragraph and the last paragraph of the poem. Boths the stanzas have three lines each, which do not rhyme.
The imagery of the two stanzas is contrasting. The first verse focusses on the laburnum tree and the stillness around it. The only movement mentioned in the stanza is of the seeds which have already fallen. So in a sense there is no movement in the stanza and the poet establishes the feeling of stillness.
The last stanza captures the flying away of the goldfinch. Though the movement is described in very energetic terms like 'launches', by the end of the stanza, the poet again establishes a mood of complete stillness. Everything comes to a halt just like it was at the beginning of the poem.
In terms of action the first verse lacks action, since nothing is really happening. The last stanza marks the falling action meaning, the main action has taken place and things are returning to normal.