Treasure Trove Poems Workbook Answers The Heart of a Tree
The Heart of a Tree Questions and Answers Extract Based
Question 1.
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 bird In hushed and happy twilight heard—
The treble of heaven’s harmony—
These things he plants who plants a tree.
(a) How do the trees purify the atmosphere and make it worth living for human beings ? What is the role of transpiration from trees ?
(b) Why is the tree called the friend of the sun ? Who seek shelter under the cool shade of the tree ?
(c) Explain the following line : ‘He plants the flag of breezes free’.
(d) How does the tree look like when it grows high ? What is meant by ‘the shaft of beauty’ ?
(e) Whom does a tree give shelter ? How ? Explain : ‘The treble of heaven’s harmony’.
(f) Explain the ‘refrain’ in the poem. How do we come to know that the sun is friendly to us ?
Answer.
(a) The trees absorb carbon dioxide and potentially harmful gases, such as sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide from the air and release oxygen and in this way make the atmosphere worth living for human beings. The transpiration from trees is responsible for cloud formation in the sky before it rains.
(b) The tree is called the friend of the sun because it depends on sunlight to carry out the process of photosynthesis and makes its food for its survival. The travellers, passersby and the animals seek shelter under the cool shade of the tree so that they may save themselves from scorching heat of the sun.
(c) The poet says that by planting a tree, man plants a flag that flies freely in the gentle breeze. The poet compares the leafy branches of the tree to a flag and the trunk of the tree to the splendid shaft or pole of the flag that remains firm and tall.
(d) When the tree grows high, it looks like a beautiful tower and it appears that the tree has made a home close to heaven. Trees are epitomes of beauty and as the little plants grow into trees, they add streak of beauty to nature. This kind of beauty makes the world more heavenly.
(e) The tree provides the space for the birds to build up their nests where the mother-birds care of the baby birds and sing songs to them. The high tone of the song of the bird is symbolic of heaven’s harmony. It provides an atmosphere of calm and peace.
(f) The poet has used the ‘refrain’ ‘what does he plant who plants a tree ?’ at the beginning of each stanza which highlights the thought that how beneficial it is to plant a tree. The trees seem to absorb the heat and save the earth from scorching sun, giving an implication that the sun becomes in the presence of the trees.
Question 2.
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 glory of the plain 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.
(a) Why does the poet call the trees ‘glory of the plain’ ? What does forest’s . heritage mean ?
(b) What is symbolic process of the following lines ?
And seed and bud of days to be,
And years that fade and flush again’.
(c) What benefit will our upcoming generation get from the forest ? How will the next generation feel ? Who is responsible for giving all the benefits to new generation ?
(d) In the poem what attitude does the poet show towards the trees ?
(e) How does the seasonal cycle leave its impact on the trees ?
(f) In what way has the poet described a tree in the earlier stanza of the poem ?
(g) How does a tree provide cool shade and bring tender rain ?
Answer.
(a) Trees enhance the beauty of an unattractive and dull expanse of land with their green foliage and colourful blossoms. 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.
(b) The tree bears seeds and buds for the future progeny. After many years the old trees will wither away and these seeds will grow into new trees and into dense forest. In other words, the years pass silently but the trees remain there through their seeds producing new trees. This is symbolic of the process of birth, death and regeneration.
(c) The forest will provide fruits, crops and other essential things to the next generation. Surely the next generation will reap all the benefits of the trees that are being planted now. The next generation will be delighted seeing so much vegetation and reap its benefits. All the credit of it goes to the man who is greatly inclined to plant a tree.
(d) The poet seems to be very anxious about the existence of the earth without trees. He shows great concern for the future generation and all the creatures living on the earth. It seems as if the poet has anticipated the impending danger. Hence he makes an emotional and universal appeal to plant more and more trees to save the earth and its creature from the future disaster.
(e) Seasonal cycle leaves its deep impact on the trees. In autumn season, the trees begin to shed their leaves as they are withered away, but give place to the new leaves with the approach of spring. In spring season, the trees are laden with new leaves, buds and blossoms. The plains are adorned with greenery.
(f) In the earlier stanza of the poem, the poet describes the tree as an embodiment of pure, healthy, cheerful and peaceful atmosphere. It ensures cool, free breezes. It turns a place around it into heaven. It ensures shelter for the birds whose sweet croonings in silent and happy twilight delight us.
(g) When a tree grows tall, its outspread branches and leaves create a cool shady spot for the travellers, passersby and animals. It is also helpful in bringing tender rain because moisture from the leaves evaporates into the sky and then falls down on the earth as gentle rain.
Question 3.
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 hand Holds all the growth of all our land—
A nation’s growth from sea to sea Stirs in his heart who plants a tree.
(a) In the earlier stanza what does the poet mean by forest’s heritage ? Why are the trees called the harvest of coming age ?
(b) What does the man carry in his hands while holding a sapling ? What does tree produce ?
(c) Why is the person inclined to plant a tree ? What kind of status does the capitalization in ‘His’give to the man who plants a tree and why i
(d) What universal plea does the poet make and what does he celebrate in the poem ?
(e) Explain the refrain in the poem. How do the trees adorn nature ?
(f) What is the theme of the poem ‘The Heart of a Tree’ ? How does a tree convey loyalty of the one who plants it ?
Answer.
(a) The poet means to say that environment is our natural heritage. So when a person plants a tree, he adds more to our heritage. Plants are not only heritage in the sense that we have inherited them from the past and we have to pass on to the future generation, but also they are the harvest of the age to come as they will provide resources to mankind to survive and prosper.
(b) While holding a sapling, the man carries in his hands the key to a nation’s growth as trees are something through which we can get so much resources that it can lead a nation to economic, environmental, cultural and financial development. When a tree is planted it produces sap which is the vital juice that circulates throughout the tree. It also produces the leaves, buds, blossoms, fruits and wood.
(c) The person who plants a tree, does so because he loves his home and is loyal to the world in which he lives. The capitalization in ‘His’ by the poet almost gives a divine status to the man who plants a tree because he has the power and faculty to alter the destiny not only of his neighbourhood and nation but also in an indirect way, the whole of humanity.
(d) The poet makes a universal plea for planting more and more trees to save the earth and its environment. He presents a person with a heart who cares for the planet and therefore plants trees. The poet celebrates such man who are greatly inclined to plant more and more trees with an emotional attitude, loyalty and responsibility. The poet points out that it is because of such people that the world is still alive and progressing.
(e) The poet has used the refrain ‘what does he plant who plants a tree ?’ at the beginning of each stanza which highlights the thought that how beneficial it is to plant a tree. The trees stand straight and steady, giving an impression as if they are touching the sun and the sky. They sway with the breeze and beautify the surroundings. They are home to the chirping birds which sing sweetly and display heaven’s harmony on this earth.
(f) The poem discusses the usefulness of a tree elaborating on how a tree that is planted benefits not only the nature, a nation, but also contributes to the growth of humankind. One who plants a tree aspires for his nation’s growth. The one who plants a tree has a noble thought of a common good that would be a boon for man in general and the nation in particular. He has a dream of the growth of all his land when he plants a tree.
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