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Extra Questions, Notes, Assignment and study material for Class 11th as Per CBSE Syllabus
Poem- 2 English Language and Literature
The Laburnum Top Class 11 Extra Questions
By- Ted Hughes
Introduction of the lesson- The Laburnum Top
This short poem just depicts a scene in the wilderness. Laburnum tree stands there, silent and still. It has a nest built on it. The little mother bird goldfinch arrives to meet and feed her young ones. Sitting at one end of a branch, it gives a signal sound. The young ones recognise their mother’s voice and start chirping together like some engine. The bird, alert and swift, makes her way to the nest. When the purpose of her visit to meet and feed the little ones is accomplished, she flies away. This is how the cycle of life and multiplication goes on in nature. It is all instinctive. The mother bird makes her nest amongst the thick leaves of a tree. It brings up her chicks until they are strong enough to fly and find their food on their own.
Short and Simple Summary of the lesson in English– (The Laburnum Top)/ Summary in simple Words/ Critical appreciation of the lesson – (The Laburnum Top)
The laburnum tree top is silent and motionless. On a September afternoon, the golden sunlight is spread on it. The few leaves left on the tree are turning yellow in autumn. All the seeds have already fallen to the ground.
But the silence is broken with this arrival of a small singing mother bird goldfinch. She has returned to meet and feed her young chicks. It makes a jerky chirping sound from the branch end. The mother’s arrival creates a sudden stir and noise that startles the silence spread all around. The little young ones are there in a nest.
The little bird has a smooth and shiny body as that of a lizard. She is extremely watchful and swift. The nest is built securely. The bird enters a thick bunch of leaves and twigs. And at once the tree comes alive like a noisy machine or engine. It is the engine of her little ones. They too start chirruping in excitement. They flap their little wings and put up a confusing noise.
It is the mother bird who creates all such noise to a high pitch. Then having fed her chicks, she flies out of the nest to a branch. Her face bears strips which are its identity marks, a sort of mask on her face.
The purpose of her visit is fulfilled. The bird once again flies away towards some unknown place, far away. Silence as usual returns to the little tree again.
Summary in Hindi/ The Laburnum Top
अमलताश वृक्ष का शिखर या ऊपरी भाग शांत और निश्चल है l सितंबर के दिन सुनहरी धूप वृक्ष पर बिखरी है l वृक्ष पर शेष बचे कुछेक पत्ते पीले पड़ने लगे हैं l जिसके सार बीज तो भूमि पर गिर चुके हैं l पर यह सन्नाटा एक छोटे गायक मादा पक्षी गोल्डफीन्च के आते ही भंग हो जाता है l वह पक्षी अपने चूजों से मिलने तथा उन्हें भोजन खिलाने के लिए आती है वह एक झटके वाली चहचहाहट शाखा के छोर पर बैठकर करती है l माँ के आगमन से अचानक इतनी हलचल तथा शोर होने लगता है कि चारों और बिखरी शांति अचानक टूट जाती है l घोंसले में पक्षी के बच्चे रह रहे हैं l
पक्षी का शरीर छिपकली की भाँति चिकना तथा चमकीला है वह बहुत सतर्क तथा तेजगति वाली है l घोंसला सुरक्षित स्थान पर ऊंचाई पर बनाया गया है l पक्षी पत्तियों के झुरमुट के बीच प्रवेश करता है l तुरंत वृक्ष किसी से इंजन की भाँति जीवित हो जाता है l बच्चे खुशी से चें-चें करने लगते हैं l वे अपने छोटे-छोटे पंख भी फड़फड़ाते हैं तथा मिला-जुला शोर करते हैं l
यह तो मादा पक्षी है जो इतना सारा शोर मचवा देती है अपने बच्चों को चारा चुगाने के पश्चात वह घोंसले से निकल कर बाहर आ जाती है l उसके चेहरे की धारियाँ ही उसकी पहचान है, एक प्रकार का मुखौटा है l
पक्षी के आने का उद्देश्य पूरा हो जाता है l पुनः वह दूर किसी अज्ञात स्थान की ओर उड़ जाती है l पूर्ववत् सन्नाटा पुनः उस छोटे से वृक्ष को अपने आगोश में ले लेता है l
The Laburnum Top Extra Questions and Answers
Passages for Comprehension
(1)
Read the extract carefully and answer the questions that follow :
The laburnum top is silent, quite still
In the afternoon yellow September sunlight,
A few leaves yellowing, all its seeds fell.
Till the goldfinch comes, with a twitching chirrup
A suddenness, a startlement, at a branch end.
Word Notes
Laburnum—a short tree with yellow flowers and poisonous seeds,अमलताश; still—motionless,निश्चल; yellowing—turning yellow, dying; goldfinch—a small singing bird; twitching—jerky by fits and start, sound or twittering, झटकों भरी आवाज; suddenness—all of a sudden abruptly; startlentent—surprise, चौका देने वाली आवाज़
अमलताश वृक्ष का शिखर शांत है बिल्कुल गतिहीन या निश्चल l समय है सितम्बर माह में दोपहर की बाद की पीली धूप का l वृक्ष की कुछेक पत्तियाँ पीली पड़ने लगी है, इसके सभी बीज झड़ चुके हैं l तभी मादा गायक पक्षी वहाँ आती है, झटके के साथ रुक-रुक कर चहचहाती है l वह वृक्ष की एक शाखा एक छोर पर अचानक, चौंका देने वाली आवाज के साथ आकर बैठ जाती है l
Questions
(i) What is the significance of the ‘Laburnum top’ here?
(ii) Which season has been described in these lines?
(iii) What commotion does the bird create? How?
Ans.
(i) The laburnum is an Indian tree with yellow flowers. The significance of the tree top here is that the goldfinch bird has built her nest in its branch, not reachable easily, to bring up her chicks.
(ii) It is perhaps the ‘fall’ or the autumn season when the tree leaves turn yellow and the seeds fall on the ground.
(iii) The arrival of the mother goldfinch is noted by her young ones or fledgelings. They start chirruping noisily out of joy. The silence is broken suddenly.
(2)
Then sleek as a lizard, and alert, and abrupt,
She enters the thickness, and a machine starts up
Of chitterings, and a tremor of wings, and trillings—
The whole tree trembles and thrills.
It is the engine of her family.
Word Notes
sleek–smooth and glossy, चिकनी,चमकदार ; lizard– छिपकली; alert–watchful, attentive, सावधान; abrupt–sudden, swift; thickness–the thick leaves and branches,घने पत्ते और शाखाएँ; machine starts up–the young chicks start making a harsh noise, the wings also flutter; chitterings–chattering noise, चहचाहट; trillings–confused noise; trembles–shakes, हिल जाता ह ै; thrills–is filled with excitement, उत्सुकता से भरा हुआ
फिर अचानक सतर्क, छिपकली की भाँति चिकनी चमकदार गोल्डफीन्च मादा पक्षी अपने नन्हें बच्चों से मिलने आ जाती है, वह वृक्ष के घने पत्तों तथा शाखाओं के बीच प्रवेश कर जाती है, और वहाँ ऐसी आवाज अचानक पैदा हो जाती है जैसे कोई यंत्र (इंजन) चालू कर दिया गया हो, यह मिलीजुली आवाज है बच्चों की चहचहाहट की, पंखों के फड़फड़ाने की तथा शोर की I पूरा वृक्ष जैसे हिल जाता है, और रोमाँचित हो जाता है यह शोर है पक्षी के परिवार के यंत्र का I
Questions
(i) To what is the goldfinch’s movement compared?
(ii) Why does the poet use the word ‘engine’? Do you think it is hyperbole or exaggeration?
(iii) Which two sounds dominate in this extract?
Ans.
(i) The goldfinch’s movement is compared to that of a lizard, smooth and alert.
(ii) The word ‘engine’ in the extract denotes the sudden and monotonous noise put up by the young ones of the goldfinch in the nest. The poet has definitely used hyperbole in a beautiful way to compare the sudden eruption of chitterings in the tree to that of an engine starting up.
(iii)The sounds that strike our ears repeatedly are the “chitterings” and “trillings” of the mother and baby birds.
(3)
She stokes it fully, then flirts out to a branch-end
Showing her barred face identity mask
Then with eerie delicate whistle-chirrup whisperings
She launches away, towards the infinite
And the laburnum subsides to empty.
Word Notes
stokes—arouses the noise,शोर बढ़ाना; flirts—flies out suddenly, अचानक उड़ना; barred—with several stripes or bands of colour, रंगीन धारियाँ; identity—recognition mark, पहचान; mask—covering, मुखौटा; eerie—strange, ghostly, भयावह; delicate—soft,कोमल ; whistle–chirrup—soft whistling sound, सीटी जैसी मद्दम आवाज़; whispering—soft noise, पतली आवाज़; launches—flies, उड़ना; infinite—the horizon, limitless sky,क्षितिज असीमित आकाश; subsides—sinks back, returns,लौट आना; empty—silent stillness,निस्याब्द ठहराव; she—the mother goldfinch bird
मादा गोल्डफीन्च पक्षी आकर अपने बच्चों की इंजन की आवाज कुरेद कर बढ़ा देती है I फिर वह उड़कर शाखा के छोर पर बैठ जाती है उसके चेहरे की लकीरें ही उसकी पहचान वाला मुखौटा है I फिर विचित्र मंद सीटी जैसे हल्की फुस्फुसाहट के साथ पक्षी उड़ जाता है, अनन्त आकाश की ओर, क्षितिज की ओर I और अमलताश वृक्ष पुनः शांति और खालीपन में डूब जाता है I
Questions
(i) Who does ‘she’ refer to? What does she stoke?
(ii) What is the identification mask of the bird?
(iii) What do you notice about the beginning and the ending of the poem?
Ans.
(i)’She’ here refers to the small singing mother bird goldfinch. She stokes or sets in motion the noise created by her young ones in the nest.
(ii) The little singing bird can be recognised from the stripes on her face.
(iii)The poem starts or opens with ‘silence and stillness’ on, the tree top. The poem closes with the emptiness or silence that returns after the bird has flown away.
Short Answer Type Questions (30 to 40 words)
1. Sum up in about 80 words the scene described in the poem ‘Laburnum Top’.
Ans. The laburnum tree stands still and silent in a desolate place. The goldfinch builds her nest on the treetop to raise her family. It is a safe and secure place. The bird goes on long flights to collect food for her chicks. But she returns to her nest regularly. She makes a sound. The chicks recognise the signal. Like some steam engine, they start up a mindless noise. The bird flies up to them, feeds them and then flies away again. the old silence returns to the tree again. The poem has a continuity of atmosphere.
2. What gives a unique character to that particular laburnum tree?
Ans. The laburnum tree gets an identity because of the nest built on its top. During the month of September, the tree is left with a few yellowing leaves only. It is visited regularly by the mother goldfinch bird. She comes to feed her young ones. The silence is broken for a while but restored again.
3. How does the poet describe the laburnum tree?
Ans. It is a September afternoon. The laburnum tree stands in a desolate place. It is silent and still until the goldfinch arrives to feed her chicks. The silent tree comes to life. The little chicks start up a noise like that of a steam engine.
4. How does the poet describe the goldfinch bird?
Ans. The Goldfinch, a small singing bird, builds her nest amidst the thick leaves of a laburnum tree. It is alert and swift. It comes almost at the appointed hour every day to feed the young.
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