THE HEART OF THE TREE
Q1. What does the poet mean by the personal pronoun "he"?
Q2. What does the poet suggest when he says that a person who plants a tree, plants "a friend of sun and sky" and "the flag of breezes free"?
Q3. What does the phrase "the treble of heaven’s harmony" signify? Q4. Which phrase, used in this poem, reflect that the poet has a futuristic perception of the tree that he is talking about?
Q5. Do you think that the poet’s perception of the benefits of planting a tree is realistic? Why?
Q6. How do trees account for the forest wealth of a nation?
Q7. How does a person, who plants a tree serves his nation?
Q8. Which fundamental values have been highlighted in the poem? How is the practice of planting a tree responsible for promoting them?
Q9. Explain the concluding lines of the poem. What does the poet want to say?
Q10. How can this poem help in making a person as a good citizen?
Answers
Answer:
Q1. The poet through this poem conveys the message that the person who plants a tree is like a God as he thinks of his society and of his nation and therefore he plants a tree.
Q2. "A friend of a sun and sky"
The poem opens with the refrain which asks “What does he plant who plants a tree?” and that sets the tone for the entire poem. We instantly realize that the poet is going to explain the usefulness of planting a tree. However, the poet himself answers by stating that the man plants a friend of sun and sky by planting a tree.
A plant grows upwards and aims to reach the sun and the sky. So it is as if the sun and the sky get a new friend in a tree. Secondly, the tree needs sunlight and air to survive. And finally, the trees seem to absorb the heat and save the earth from the scorching sun, giving an implication that the sun becomes friendly in the presence of the trees.
"the flag of breezes free"
The speaker now adds that the man plants a flag that flies freely in the mild breeze. The poet here compares the leafy branches of the tree to a flag and the stem to the beautiful shaft (pole) of the flag that stands tall.
Q3. In quiet and happy twilight we can hear those birds chirping which is harmonious to heaven’s own tunes.
In the entire first stanza of The Heart of the Tree, the poet accentuates the importance of trees in maintaining the holistic beauty of nature. Moreover, the use of words like ‘heaven anigh’, ‘heaven’s harmony’ and ‘towering high’ is aimed at giving an impression that the work of planting a tree is indeed a heavenly and glorious deed.
Q4. ---
Q5. YES,
The poem is relevant to us as the poet poetically represents the need to plant a tree as well as he enlists the rewards that it provides us. ... The poem celebrates the joy of planting trees, the benefits we get from them and especially, the greatness of a man who plants the tree.
Q6.Forests are considered to the wealth of a nation as it carries the finest resources which are useful for life. ... Be it glue resins, rubber, timber wood, fibre or paper, from almost nothing to everything we depend on forests, which make the industries revolving around the forest areas
Q7.As mentioned by Henry Cuyler Bunner, planting a tree is an act of goodness from which other act of goodness will sprout. So the one who plants a tree plants it with a sense of loyality and aiming at civic good. He loves his family, his nation, his society, he is concerned about the future of earth without plants. He planted trees so that humans can get food, sap, wood for their use and much more products. His hand holds the future progress of mankind. This inspires him to plant tree for the betterment of today’s society as well as the future generation. He gets self satisfaction by doing this heavenly deed.
Q8.---
Q9.'The Heart of the Tree' is a meaningful poem with a message that the one who plants a tree not only contributes to the betterment of nature for all the other creatures but he also helps in nation's growth. The refrain at the beginning of each stanza, i.e. 'What does he plant who plants a tree?
Q10. The poem is about the beauty or the satisfaction of planting a tree. The poet is describing what is that is actually planted while planting a tree. When somebody plants a tree, he not only plants a tree but plants a friend of sun, sky, and breeze
Explanation:
I don't know the answers for 4th and 8th questions. Sorry for that !!!
Hope this answer will help you !!!