The Laburnum Top

Think it out

What do you notice about the beginning and the ending of the poem?
The poem begins and ends with the Laburnum tree in a state of complete silence and stillness. In the opening lines, the tree is “silent, quite still”. By the end of the poem, after the bird has flown away, the tree once again “subsides to empty”.
To what is the bird’s movement compared? What is the basis for the comparison?
The goldfinch’s movement is compared to a lizard, described as being “sleek as a lizard, and alert, and abrupt”. The basis for this comparison is the smooth, quick, and sudden way the bird moves as she darts into the branches of the tree.
Why is the image of the engine evoked by the poet?
The poet calls the bird the “engine of her family” because the mother bird acts as the driving force that fuels and sustains her young. Just as starting an engine creates sudden noise and vibration, her arrival triggers a “machine” of lively activity, causing her chicks to make a “tremor of wings, and trillings”.
What does the phrase “her barred face identity mask” mean?
The goldfinch’s face has striped (barred) markings. When she hides in the yellowing leaves of the Laburnum tree, her yellow body is camouflaged, and only these dark facial markings act as an “identity mask” that reveals her presence.

Note down

The sound words: “chirrup,” “chitterings,” “trillings,” and “whistle-chirrup whisperings”.
The movement words: “twitching,” “startlement,” “enters,” “trembles,” “thrills,” “flirts out,” “launches away,” and “subsides”.
The dominant colour in the poem: Yellow, as seen in the “yellow September sunlight,” “leaves yellowing,” and the “yellow flowers”.

List the following

Words which describe ‘sleek’, ‘alert’ and ‘abrupt’: These adjectives are used to describe the goldfinch, comparing her to a lizard.
Words with the sound ‘ch’ and ‘tr’:

‘ch’ sounds: “chirrup,” “chitterings”.
‘tr’ sounds: “tremor,” “trillings,” “tree,” “trembles”.

The Voice of the Rain

Think it out (I)

There are two voices in the poem. Who do they belong to? Which lines indicate this?
The two voices belong to the poet and the rain. This is clearly indicated in the opening lines: “And who art thou? said I…” (the poet’s voice) and the reply, “I am the poem of Earth, said the voice of the rain”.
What does the phrase “strange to tell” mean?
The poet uses this phrase to express his surprise and wonder that the soft-falling rain actually answered his question.
There is a parallel drawn between rain and music. Which words indicate this? Explain the similarity.
The rain explicitly calls itself the “poem of Earth”. The parallel is drawn in the final bracketed lines which state: “(For song, issuing from its birth-place, after fulfilment, wandering reck’d or unreck’d, duly with love returns.)”. Both rain and music originate from a source, travel outward to fulfill a purpose (nourishing the earth or bringing joy), and eventually return with love to their origins.
How is the cyclic movement of rain brought out in the poem? Compare it with what you have learnt in science.
The poem perfectly describes the scientific water cycle. The rain says it will “rise impalpable out of the land and the bottomless sea” (evaporation), travel “upward to heaven, whence, vaguely form’d” (condensation into clouds), and then descend to “lave the droughts” and wash the dust (precipitation), ultimately giving “back life to my own origin”.
Why are the last two lines put within brackets?
The last two lines are placed in brackets because they are the poet’s own personal reflection comparing the rain to a song, rather than a direct translation of the dialogue spoken by the rain.
List the pairs of opposites found in the poem.
The opposites include “rise” and “descend”, “day and night”, “reck’d or unreck’d”, and “changed, and yet the same”.

Think it out (II): Rewrite the following sentences in prose.

And who art thou? said I to the soft-falling shower.
Prose: I asked the gently falling shower who it was.
I am the poem of Earth, said the voice of the rain.
Prose: The voice of the rain replied that it is the poem of the Earth.
Eternal I rise
Prose: I rise continuously and forever.
For song … duly with love returns
Prose: A song originates from its birthplace and wanders to fulfill its purpose; whether it is noticed or ignored, it eventually returns home with love.