Students should read the The Trees Summary Class 10 English provided below prepared based on the NCERT Book for Class 10 English. In the summary, the teacher has provided the gist of the lesson. The students will be able to understand the entire chapter easily. Students should go through all Class 10 English Chapter Summary provided by us on our website.
Class 10 English The Trees Summary
The poet talks about trees symbolically. They refer to women who have been healed and are ready to move out of their houses to fulfil their primary purpose – to renew the forest of mankind. As women have remained indoors, the forest has become empty, the birds and insects rendered shelter less. The Sun’s rays do not have the tree trucks and leaves to fall upon and thus, reach the earth. She says that the forest will be full of trees the next morning. The roots of the trees are working hard to separate from the floor of the veranda where they have remained fixed. The leaves and branches are moving towards the glass windows. They are desperate to move out just like a newly discharged patient who has not recovered completely, moves to the exit door of the hospital in a hurry. The poet is sitting in her house with the doors of the veranda open. She is writing letters but does not mention this movement of the trees. It is night time, the sky is clear and a bright moon is visible. She can smell the leaves and lichen which seem to be calling out desperately. She hears the glass of the window pane breaking. The trees are moving out and the fast blowing wind embraces them. As the trees have reached the forest, the tall and strong oak tree overshadows the moon and it seems that the moon has been broken into several pieces. The trees inside are moving out into the forest, the forest that was empty all these days where no bird could sit, no insect hide, no sun bury its feet in shadow, the forest that was empty all these nights will be full of trees by morning.
Summary in Hindi
कवि प्रतीकात्मक रूप से पेड़ों के बारे में बात करता है। वे उन महिलाओं को संदर्भित करते हैं जो ठीक हो चुकी हैं और इसके लिए तैयार हैं अपने प्राथमिक उद्देश्य को पूरा करने के लिए अपने घरों से बाहर निकलें – मानव जाति के जंगल को नवीनीकृत करने के लिए। महिलाओं के रूप में घर के भीतर रह गए हैं, जंगल खाली हो गए हैं, पक्षियों और कीड़ों ने आश्रय कम कर दिया है। सूर्य की किरणों में पेड़ के ट्रक और पत्ते गिरने के लिए नहीं होते हैं और इस प्रकार, पृथ्वी तक पहुंचते हैं। वह ऐसा कहती है अगली सुबह जंगल पेड़ों से भर जाएगा। पेड़ों की जड़ें अलग करने के लिए कड़ी मेहनत कर रही हैं बरामदे के फर्श से जहां वे स्थिर रहे हैं। पत्तियां और शाखाएं चल रही हैं कांच की खिड़कियों की ओर। वे ठीक वैसे ही बाहर निकलने के लिए बेताब हैं, जैसे एक नए डिस्चार्ज किए गए मरीज को पूरी तरह से ठीक नहीं हुआ है, जल्दी में अस्पताल के निकास द्वार पर चला जाता है। कवि बैठा है उसके घर के बरामदे के दरवाजे खुले हैं। वह पत्र लिख रही है लेकिन इसका उल्लेख नहीं करती पेड़ों की आवाजाही। रात का समय है, आसमान साफ है और एक चमकीला चाँद दिखाई दे रहा है। वह सूंघ सकती है पत्ते और लाइकेन जो सख्त पुकारते प्रतीत होते हैं। वह खिड़की के शीशे के शीशे सुनती है टूटने के। पेड़ बाहर निकल रहे हैं और तेज हवाएं उन्हें गले लगा रही हैं। जैसे पेड़ हैं जंगल में पहुँच गया, लंबा और मजबूत ओक का पेड़ चाँद पर छा गया और ऐसा लगता है कि चाँद ने कई टुकड़ों में टूट गया। अंदर के पेड़ बाहर जंगल में जा रहे हैं, जो जंगल था इन सभी दिनों में खाली है जहाँ कोई पक्षी नहीं बैठ सकता, कोई कीट छिप नहीं सकता, कोई सूरज अपने पैरों को छाया में नहीं छिपा सकता, जंगल जो सारी रातें खाली थीं वे भोर तक वृक्षों से भरी रहेंगी।
The Trees Class 10 English Important Questions
Extract Based Comprehension Questions:
The trees inside are moving out into the forest,
the forest that was empty all these days
where no bird could sit
no insect hide
no sun bury its feet in shadow
the forest that was empty all these nights
will be full of trees by morning.
Questions & Answer
Questions. From where are the trees moving out into the forest?
Ans. The trees are moving out of the mind of the painter and coining on the canvas.
Questions. Why can’t birds sit in them or insects hide in them?
Ans. These are not real trees. These are the trees in a picture or decorative trees in a house. So, birds can’t sit in them and insects cannot hide there.
Questions. How was the forest ‘all these nights’?
Ans. All these nights, the forest was empty.
Questions. Are these trees useful for birds and insects?
Ans. No, these trees are not useful for birds and insects.
Questions. What type of trees are these?
Ans. These are decorative or picture trees.
Extract Based Comprehension Questions:
All night the roots work
to disengage themselves from the cracks
on the veranda floor.
The leaves strain toward the glass
small twigs stiff with exertion
long-cramped boughs shuffling under the roof
like newly discharged patients
half-dazed, moving
to the clinic doors.
Questions & Answer
Questions. What do the roots do all night?
Ans. All night the roots work to free themselves from the cracks in the veranda floor.
Questions. How are the small twigs?
Ans. The small twigs are stiff
Questions. What are the boughs compared to?
Ans. The boughs are compared to newly discharged patients.
Questions. What do the leaves do?
Ans. The leaves strain towards the glass.
Questions. Name the poem and the poetess.
Ans. Poem: The Trees,
Poetess: Adrienne Rich.
Extract Based Comprehension Questions:
I sit inside, doors open to the veranda
writing long letters
in which I scarcely mention the departure
of the forest from the house.
The night is fresh, the whole moon shines
in a sky still open.
Questions & Answer
Questions. Where is the poetess sitting?
Ans. The poetess is sitting in her room.
Questions. What is the poetess doing?
Ans. The poetess is writing long letters.
Questions. What does she not mention in her letters?
Ans. She does not mention the departure of the forest from the house.
Questions. How does the poetess describe the night and the moon?
Ans. The night is pleasant and fresh. The full moon is shining.
Questions. How is the sky?
Ans. The sky is still open.
Extract Based Comprehension Questions:
The smell of leaves and lichen
still reaches like a voice into the rooms.
My head is full of whispers
which tomorrow will be silent.
Questions & Answer
Questions. Where is the poetess sitting at present?
Ans. At present, the poetess is sitting in her room.
Questions. Which smell is reaching her?
Ans. The smell of leaves and lichen is reaching her.
Questions. What is her head full of?
Ans. Her head is full of whispers.
Questions. What will be silent tomorrow?
Ans. Tomorrow, the whispers will be silent.
Questions. Name the poem and the poetess.
Ans. Poem: The Trees,
Poetess: Adrienne Rich.
Extract Based Comprehension Questions:
Listen. The glass is breaking.
The trees are stumbling forward
into the night Winds rush to meet them.
The moon is broken like a mirror,
its pieces flash now in the crown
of the tallest oak.
Questions & Answer
Questions. What is happening to the glass?
Ans. The glass is breaking.
Questions. What does the poetess say about the trees?
Ans. The poetess says that the trees are stumbling forward into the night.
Questions. What rushes out to meet the trees?
Ans. The wind rushes out to meet the trees.
Questions. How does the poetess describe the moon?
Ans. The poetess says that the moon is like a broken mirror.
Questions. Why does the wind rush?
Ans. The wind rushes to meet the trees.
Short Answer Questions
Questions. Find, in the first stanza, three things that cannot happen in a treeless forest?
Ans: The three things mentioned in the first stanza that cannot happen in a treeless forest are:
1. Birds sitting on the tree branches.
2. The hiding of insects in the branches of trees
3. The sun burying its feet in the shadow of the trees in the forest.
Questions. What picture do these words create in your mind: “… sun bury its feet in shadow…”? What could
the poet mean by the sun’s ‘feet?’
Ans: The sun’s feet are the rays of sun that reach the earth after falling on the leaves of the trees and finally, reach the earth’s surface.
Questions. Where are the trees in the poem? What do their roots, their leaves, and their twigs do?
Ans: The trees are in the poet’s house. The roots are working hard to remove themselves from the cracks of veranda. The leaves are making an effort to reach towards the glass in order to come out and the twigs are making attempts to set themselves free and reach the forest.
Questions. What does the poet compare their branches to?
Ans: The poet uses the word long cramped for the branches. She says that the branches are trying hard to come out of the roof. She then compares them with newly discharged patients who are trying to move out in their half consciousness.
Questions. How does the poet describe the moon?
(a) At the beginning of the third stanza, and (b) at its end? What causes this change?
Ans: The poet describes the moon as a full moon in the beginning of the third stanza but at the end of the stanza, she describes it to be broken into pieces. The change in the moon is because of the trees. The trees that earlier were in the poet’s house have now reached the forest. Their long branches have cast a shadow on the full moon and now it appears to be broken into pieces like a mirror.
Questions. What happens to the house when the trees move out of it?
Ans: The house becomes silent as the fragrance of the leaves and lichens which was like a voice urging for a change can no longer be smelt.
Questions. Why do you think the poet does not mention “the departure of the forest from the house” in her letters? (Could it be that we are often silent about important happenings that are so unexpected that they embarrass us? Think about this again when you answer the next set of questions.)?
Ans: The poet did not mention the departure of the forest from her house because it is a part of human nature to ignore the important matters of their life. We all know that trees are so important for our survival on earth. But still human beings are cutting them for making profits without even thinking of the aftermath.
Long Answer Questions
Questions. Now that you have read the poem in detail, we can begin to ask what the poem might mean. Here are two suggestions. Can you think of others? Does the poem present a conflict between man and nature? Compare it with A Tiger in the zoo. Is the poet suggesting that plants and trees, used for ‘interior decoration’ in cities while forests are cut down, are ’imprisoned’ and need to ‘break out’?
Ans: Yes, the poem presents a conflict between man and nature. Man is causing deforestation by cutting down the trees for his own use. On the other hand, he decorates his house with the trees. We are damaging our environment without even thinking about the end results. By clearing up the forests, we are endangering ourselves. So is with the animals too. We are ruining their natural habitat and killing them for our fun or food but on the other hand, we are keeping them in the cages on the pretext of safeguarding them by making sanctuaries and zoos. So, it is true that we are in a direct conflict with nature and making the other living beings prisoners, be it the trees or animals.
Questions. On the other hand, Adrienne Rich has been known to use trees as a metaphor for human beings; this is a recurrent image in her poetry. What new meanings emerge from the poem if you take its trees to be symbolic of this particular meaning?
Ans: If trees are to be taken as a symbol for human beings, then the poem will define the efforts of humans to free themselves from the clutches of the desire to achieve everything. All the human beings are under a constant pressure of being at the top in every field. Either they are forced by their own desire of doing so or there is a constant peer pressure on them. So, the human beings will set themselves free from this race and try to live a happy and peaceful life.
