Critical Appreciation of the Poem The Heart of a Tree
Introduction :
In the poem entitled The Heart of the Tree, the poet makes us aware of all the privileges that a tree provides to us. He tries to make us conscious of the vital role of the trees which they perform to save the earth and maintain human existence on the earth. In the poem, he shows man’s great concern with trees and nature. While presenting innumerable benefits of trees, he awakens in us a feeling of social, moral and national obligations. He emphasises on planting more and more trees so that the earth and human existence may be saved from impending disaster.
Thought Content :
The poet puts a simple question at the beginning of every stanza and suggests the answer to the question. He seems to attribute something more to the act of planting a tree. In a very simple way, he describes the importance of planting trees. In the first stanza, he says that the person who plants a tree adds something more to nature. It is as if adding one more friend to the sun and sky. Moreover, he plants the means through which more and more breeze soothes mankind.
The trees are embodiment of beauty. When the little plants grow into trees, they add streak of beauty to nature. The beauty of nature adorned with different kinds of trees makes the world more heavenly. The person who plants a tree makes a home which is almost like heaven. Moreover the person provides the space for the birds to build up their nests and in those nests one can listen the sweet songs of the birds as the mother birds sing them to the younger one.
Mother birds’ songs, high pitched treble seem to emnate from the heavens and f add to the pleasant harmony of the universe.
In the second stanza, the poet makes us realise the importance of planting a tree for making the earth a better place to live for the coming generations.The poet says that the tree which is planted by man, gives us comforting shade and 1 aids to bring rain. In future, the tree will yield seed and bud. Even after the inevitable passage of many years, the tree will remain where it is planted through its seeds producing new trees. Trees enhance the beauty of an unattractive and dull expanse of land with its green foliage and colourful blossom. Hence the trees are the glory of the plain.
Furthermore, a tree planted today may transform into a forest with the passage of time and hence, by planting a tree now man plants a forest’s heritage. The poet says that planting a tree today would give fruits in future and the next generation will enjoy its benefits, In the third stanza, the poet describes the significance of man’s heart, his feelings, dreams and aspiration behind planting a tree.
The poet says that when i a tree is planted it produces sap which is the vital juice that circulates throughout the tree. It also produces leaves and wood. Thus the man who plants a tree does so because he has an intense love for his home and is loyal to the world he lives in. With immense foresight, he thinks of the civic good of others and showers his blessings on his entire neighbourhood when he plants that tree. The man who plants a tree holds in the hollow of his hands the growth of entire land. He is God-like as he plants to benefit mankind. Indeed such person greatly helps in leading a nation to economic, environmental, cultural and financial development.
Moral of the Poem :
In the poem, the poet conveys us how we can make this planet a better I habitat for the future generations if we plant trees. The poet talks about environmental protection and development without showing us the negative 1 aspects of inhuman use of nature. As a way out of the doom of mankind and the planet, the plea is done for planting more and more trees and for saving the 1 environment. The poet in the poem prerents a person with a heart who cares for the planet and therefore plants trees. Through this poem, the poet, besides 1 making us aware of the preciousness of the trees, makes a universal appeal to be kind, sympathetic and generous towards the trees and forests which are the greatest treasure to us.
Form and Structure of the Poem :
All the three stanzas of the poem begin 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 poem has been written in lyrical form. The rhythm of the poem 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.
The Employment of Figures of Speech :
The poet has employed the figure of speech metaphor in the following lines :
- ‘He plants a friend of sun and sky.’
- He plants the flag of breezes free.’
- He plants the forest’s heritage.’
The poet has used the figure of speech alliteration in the following lines :
- He plants a friend of sun and sky.’
- ‘In hushed and happy twilight.’
- that fade and flush again.’
The Use of Imagery :
The poet has used visual and auditory images. There are instances of visual images :
- ‘The shaft of beauty, towering high.’
- ‘The flag of breezes free.’
There is an instance of auditory image :
- ‘For song and mother-croon of bird.’
Treasure Trove Poems and Short Stories Workbook Answers