Hi Everyone!! This article will share The Heart Of The Tree Questions & Answers.
This poem is written by Henry Cuyler Bunner. In my previous posts, I have shared the questions and answers of At Tagore’s Shantiniketan, Shivaji’s Miraculous Escape and The Lost Child so, you can check these posts as well.
The Heart Of The Tree Questions & Answers
Question 1: How does the poet describe the physical beauty of the tree?
Answer: The poet says that the trees are a flag of breezes, the shaft of beauty towering high, the glory of the plain, the forest’s heritage that holds in the hollow of his hand, all the growth of all our land.
Question 2: Whom does he call ‘a friend of sun and sky’? How is it a friend of the sun and the sky? How can man plant the flag of breezes free?
Answer: He calls trees are ‘a friend of sun and sky’. They grow lush green in the presence of ample sunlight and grow tall as if touching the sky. When a man plants a tree, it waves freely in the mild breeze; this is what the poet means by ‘the flag of breezes free’.
Question 3: Whom does the tree provide shelter to and how? What is known as mother croon of birds? Why is the song sung in a hushed voice?
Answer: The tree provides shelter to birds, as they make their nests on the trees. By mother croon, the poet means to say that the mother bird sings soft songs to her young ones, sitting in the nest of the tree. The song is sung in a hushed voice because the mother bird wants to put the young birds to sleep.
Question 4: Explain ‘the treble of heaven’s harmony’.
Answer: ‘The treble of heaven’s harmony’ means the music of the peaceful heaven. The mother bird’s lullaby to her younger ones is compared to the ‘the treble of heaven’s harmony’. Also, bringing in the analogy of heaven, the poet wants to convey that the work of planting a tree is a heavenly and glorious deed.
Question 5: Identify any two examples of alliteration from the first stanza.
Answer: Two examples of alliteration from the first stanza are – sun and sky, heaven’s harmony.
Question 6: Give some functions which the tree performs on this earth.
Answer: Trees provide shade and shelter to birds and animals, timber for construction, fuel for cooking and heating, fruits and vegetables for food. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen back into the air. Trees absorb pollutant gases like nitrogen oxide, ammonia and sulphur dioxide and filter particulates out of the air. Trees help prevent water pollution and soil erosion.
Question 7: Read the lines and answer the questions:
1. He plants the glory of the plain
He plants the forest’s heritage.
(a) What two things does a tree planter actually plant?
Answer: A tree planter actually plants the glory of the plain and the forest’s heritage.
(b) How does planting a tree bring us physical comfort?
Answer: Planting a tree gives us shade from the sun and brings rainfall.
(c) Why does the speaker call the tree a link between us and our children?
Answer: The plants that we plant today will grow into trees and will yield fruits by the time our children will grow up. They can reap the benefits of the trees that we have grown. Trees are the natural legacy that we can leave behind for the next generation.
2. 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-
(a) What does the expression sap and leaf mean?
Answer: By ‘sap and leaf’, the poet means each and every cell of the tree.
(b) In what sense does a tree planter do civic good?
Answer: A tree planter indeed does a civic good by planting a tree. A tree is an asset to the community and society at large.
Question 8: How does a tree convey loyalty of the one who plants it?
Answer: The planter of the tree is indeed loyal to the nation and humankind. He plants a tree for the greater good. By planting a tree, he shows his love and loyalty for this earth, his sense of civic duty and his blessings in the neighbourhood.
Question 9: Explain the refrain in the poem.
Answer: The refrain in the poem is “What does he plant who plants tree?” This highlights the importance of planting a tree.
Question 10: Why is the poem relevant in today’s time?
Answer: The poem is definitely relevant in today’s time. With climate change and pollution being the major worry in the developing nations, trees are our only support system. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen back into the air. Trees absorb pollutant gasses like nitrogen oxides, ammonia, and sulphur dioxide and filter particulates out of the air. Trees help prevent water pollution and soil erosion.
So, these were The Heart Of The Tree Questions & Answers.