NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English Chapter 3 – The Laburnum Top — Ted Hughes
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Find Out
Q. What is laburnum called in your language?
Ans. My language is Hindi and in my language, laburnum is called amaltas.
Q. Which local bird is like the goldfinch?
Ans. The sparrow, a very small bird, is like the goldfinch.
Think It Out :
Q. What do you notice about the beginning and the ending of the poem ?
Ans. At the beginning of the poem, the laburnum is silent and empty; it appears to be lifeless. At the end of the poem, the tree is silent and empty again, as it longs for the company of the bird.
Q. To what is the bird’s movement compared? What is the basis for the comparison ?
Ans. The bird’s movement is compared to that of the lizard. The basis of this comparison is their similar movements and shape. Both move abruptly and alertly, and are sleek.
Q. Why is the image of the engine evoked by the poet ?
Ans. The image of the working engine is evoked by the poet to display various constant sounds like chirruping and trillings of the goldfinch. It also refers to the sudden bustle of the young ones.
Q. What do you like most about the poem ?
Ans. What I like most about the poem is the rejuvenating bird. It provides life and activity to the silent, dead tree. Its departure saddens me and the image of the tree which becomes dead again, strikes my mind. A beautiful interaction between the elements of nature - the tree and the bird is presented in the poem.
Q. What does the phrase “her barred face identity mask” mean ?
Ans. The phrase represents the striped face of the goldfinch. Her face represents a mask and she is identified by this mask only.
Note Down :
Q. the sound words
Ans. Twitching, chirrup, chitterings, tremor of wings, trillings, whistle-chirrup whisperings
Q. the movement words
Ans. Fallen, suddenness, startlement, trembles, stokes, flirts out, launches away
Q. the dominant colour in the poem.
Ans. Yellow
List the Following :
Q. Words which describe ‘sleek’, ‘alert’ and ‘abrupt’.
Ans. Suddenness, startlement
Q. Words with the sound ‘ch’ as in ‘chart’ and ‘tr’ as in ‘trembles’ in the poem.
Ans. Ch : chittering, branch, chirrup, launches
Tr : trembles, trillings, tremor, tree
Q. Other sounds that occur frequently in the poem.
Ans. T : silent, quite
S : silent, seeds, suddenness
L : leaves, fallen
Thinking about Language :
Q. Look for some other poem on a bird or a tree in English or any other language.
Ans. There are plenty of poems on birds and trees. The noted ones are: Keats’ poem ‘Ode to a Nightingale’, and Gieve Patel’s poem ‘On Killing a Tree’.
Try This Out :
Q. Write four lines in verse form on any tree that you see around you.
Ans. O tree!
You are my lifeline.
I grew under your shadow.
I played hide-and-seek.
I sat on your branches.
I plucked your leaves.
I won’t let you fall.
I won’t let you die.
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