summary for the poem the heart of the tree by henr
y cuyler bunner
Answers
The Spenserian stanza is a fixed verseform invented by Edmund Spenser for his epic poem The Faerie Queene (1590–96). Each stanza contains nine lines in total: eight lines in iambic pentameter followed by a single 'alexandrine' line in iambic hexameter. The rhyme scheme of these lines is "ababbcbcc."
Even though the poem stanzas have nine lines, the rhyme scheme is changed to ‘ababbccaa’ of sorts.
The first stanza
What 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 birdIn hushed and happy twilight heard—The treble of heaven’s harmony—These things he plants who plants a tree.
The poet seems to attribute something more to the act of planting a tree. Does he just plant a tree or something more than that? Does it implicate a triggering event that makes a whole lot of difference? What does s/he do? This repeating line represents something bigger than the poet, the plant or anything else..Maybe happiness itself?
Tree being a friend of Sun and sky, provides shade, survives on sunlight. The comparison is elating, as to why its the flag of breezes. Planted, yes it is, grows to a height of a tower, and stands as the redefinition of beauty.
The branches and the spreading happiness becomes the abode to birds, of which the hushed chirping and sounds are heard during evening twilight. The harmonious existence is heard throughout the time, with a rising pitch.
The last line answers the question initially asked.
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 forest's heritage;The harvest of a coming age;The joy that unborn eyes shall see---These things he plants who plants a tree.
The question is repeated, for which the poet himself tends to answer it. The tree provides, shade, binds the soil retains the water/moisture. Heritage is something which relates to the growth of greenery all around starting with the tree that has been planted at this juncture. It’s the only line that talks about the future. His children get to see the happiness of seeing the tree grow, provide shade, bloom and add to the natural beauty of his surrounding., which will ultimately provide joy/happiness.
These are the things he gets when he plants the 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 handHolds all the growth of all our land—A nation’s growth from sea to seaStirs in his heart who plants a tree.
In the love of home, his abode, a plant that grows into a tree, symbol of loyalty, token of love that has been bestowed upon it, when he planted the tree, all comes down to something that reflects the civic responsibility and deed, that ends up accentuating the aesthetics of the neighborhood. The blessings and good intentions that he wishes upon the same.
When a tree is planted, it sets in motion the improvement of a nation from sea to sea. Exponential growth can be seen, all because of one kind and civic duty followed by him who plants a tree.
Thanks.
Tripathy.
Answer:
The Heart of the Tree by the American poet and novelist Henry Cuyler Bunner is a fine piece of poetry with a simple theme and a simpler structure. The poem was originally published in 1912.
Planting a tree is always a great work for the mankind. But, the poet has found out new ways to look at the plants and plantation. In his poem The Heart of the Tree he glorifies the act further, shows how a tree helps life on earth and says that it has a direct connection to a nation’s growth.
All the three stanzas of the poem The Heart of the Tree starts with a refrain with the poet asking what the man actually plants who plants a tree. Then he chooses to reply it by himself and shows what a tree means to the humankind and to the nature, thus proving how great that man is.
The rhythm is amazing. The rhyme scheme is ABABBCCAA for each stanza. This is a deviation from the celebrated Spenserian stanza, a nine line stanza with the scheme ABABBCBCC. Though the language is simple, careful wordings makes the poem more expressive and obviously musical and attractive.