Question

Figure of speech in the poem the heart of the tree

Answer 1

The Heart of the TreeHenry Cuyler BunnerWhat does he plant who plants a tree?    He plants a friend of sun and sky; He plants the flag of breezes free;    The shaft of beauty, towering high;    He plants a home to heaven anigh;       For song and mother-croon of bird       In hushed and happy twilight heard— The treble of heaven’s harmony— These things he plants who plants a tree. What does he plant who plants a tree?    He plants cool shade and tender rain, And seed and bud of days to be,    And years that fade and flush again;       He plants the glory of the plain;       He plants the forest’s heritage;       The harvest of a coming age; The joy that unborn eyes shall see— These things he plants who plants a tree. What does he plant who plants a tree?    He plants, in sap and leaf and wood, In love of home and loyalty    And far-cast thought of civic good—    His blessings on the neighborhood,       Who in the hollow of His hand       Holds all the growth of all our land— A nation’s growth from sea to sea Stirs in his heart who plants a tree.

Answer 2

Answer:

Various figures of speech are used in the poem 'The Heart of the Tree'. They are as follows:

•Hypophora

In the beginning of every stanza, we can see that the poet is asking a question (I.e. "What does he plant who plants a tree?") and then answering the question himself.

This technique of posing a question and immediately following it with an answer is known as hypophora.

•Personification

In the second line of the first stanza ("He plants a friend of the sun and sky"), the poet portrays the plant as a friend of the sun and sky and hence, gives the plant a human-like characteristic of having a friend.

•Metaphor

In the lines: "He plants the flag of breezes free; The shaft of beauty, towering high;" the poet compares the leafy branches of the tree to a flag that flutters in the breeze and its stem to a pole of the flag, that stands tall and firm. This indirect comparison between two unrelated objects are examples of metaphor.

•Metonymy

Metonymy is a figure of speech that replaces the name of a thing with the name of something else with which it is closely associated.

The poet uses this figure of speech in:

>"cool shade", "tender rain" (Stanza 2, second line)

>"seeds and buds" (Stanza 2, third line)

>"sap and leaf and wood" (Stanza 3, second line)

as he illustrates that all these blessings are present in every part of the tree.

•Anaphora

Anaphora is the figure of speech where a repition of the first part of the sentence occurs in order to achieve an artistic effect.

The poet uses this figure of speech in:

>"He plants a friend of sun and sky;

He plants a home

>"And seed and bud and days to be,

And years that fade and flush again;" (Stanza 2, third and fourth line)

>"He plants the glory of the plain;

He plants the forest's heritage;" (Stanza 2, fifth and sixth line)

•Synecdoche

Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole of something. For example: "gray beard" refers to an old man.

The poet uses this figure of speech in:

>"The harvest of a coming age;

The joy that unborn eyes shall see-"

(Stanza 2, seventh and eighth line)

as "coming age" refers to the future generation and "unborn eyes" refers to the children of the future.