Tree by Tina Morris
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What it would be like
Without trees.
Nobody imagined
That the whispering of leaves
Would grow silent
Or the vibrant jade of spring
Pale to grey death.
And now we pile
Rubbish on rubbish
In the dusty landscape
Struggling to create
A tree.
But though the shape is right
And the nailed branches
Lean upon the wind
And plastic leaves
Lend colour to the twigs.
We wait in vain
For the slow unfurling of buds.
And no amount of loving
Can stir our weary tree
To singing.
Tina Morris
Tina Morris is a twentieth century British poet. She jointly edited New
British Poetry anthology in 1965 with Dave Cunliffe. She wrote Thunderbolts of
Peace and Liberation. The British Poetry revival was first proposed by Tina
Morris in Poet meat She features in the Pudding magazine, the International
Journal of Applied Poetry. She also features in 'Children in Albion', poetry of
the underground in Britain. Her other popular poems are The Elephant Poem' and
The Magician Next Door'.
The present poem 'Tree', gives importance to trees. The poet makes the
present generation realise what the world would be without trees. Tina Morris's
poems have clean, simple and solid imagery. We owe a debt to trees. The present
poem the discussion is loaded with symbolic meaning jade of spring, pile
rubbish on rubbish our weary tree question arises, can we imagine a life
without trees? The poem transmits the message of conservation of trees for the
present generation
Answer
the following questions in one or two sentences
1. What will be the result if trees are not taken care?
Ans. If the trees are not taken care of, they will be cut down.
2. What does the poet mean by 'whispering of leaves would go silent?
Ans. The poet means to say that when trees are cut down, there shall be
no more whispering of leaves when the wind blows.
3. Why do people pile rubbish upon rubbish?
Ans. People pile rubbish after rubbish in order to create a tree out of
artificial material.
4. What does the tree created by man look like?
Ans. The tree created by men looks like a lifeless tree.
5. Why do you think the tree is not stirred despite all efforts?
Ans. The tree is not stirred because it is lifeless.
6. How do the trees sing?
Ans. The trees sing when the wind blows.
7. Explain the word weary' in the last stanza of the poem.
Ans. The word weary means 'tired' but here artificial tree cannot stir
to life so it means 'dead' here.
Answer the given questions in one hundred words each:
1. Write
the summary of the poem Tree'.
Ans.
Tree is a short poem written by a British Poet Teena Morris. It talks
about futile human efforts of reviving nature in modern artificial life. She
reminds us how nature was disregarded and exchanged for an artificial modern
life and how trees were cut down ruthlessly and how people are trying to
decorate their homes with artificial trees. People built modern homes of cement
concrete. Nobody thought about the consequences of cutting trees and replacing
their natural habitat for a desert of cement concrete. But there is no
substitute of nature. Artificial trees are no match for real trees. Without
trees, we shall live a colourless life of a desert without the whisper and
greenery of trees. Humanity can be happy only in the lap of Mother Nature.
Nature can be revived by planting trees only not by artificial trees . This
poem is a powerful message about conservation of trees for present generation.
2. How do
you compare the tree in the poet's imagination with a natural tree?
Ans. The poet compares the artificial tree with a
natural tree but an artificial tree is no match for a natural tree. Urbanization is taking people away from nature. They make
up for the loss of nature by having artificial trees
made of plastic in their homes. But though the shape is right and it has
branches and leaves but is lifeless and it cannot please us like a natural tree.
No degree of love and care can bring it to life. People foolishly stick plastic
twigs leaves and flowers upon its branches with great care but it cannot give
the same feeling that we get from a natural tree. It appears like piling
rubbish upon rubbish. A natural tree comes to life and becomes vibrant when it
comes in contact with the rain and sunlight but an artificial tree remains
dead.
3.
What is the message of the poem in respect of conservation of nature?
Ans. The message from Tina Morris is clear in this poem.
She shows how the world would be without trees. Scientific and technological development is taking us away from nature. We are cutting
the trees and replacing them with jungles of cement concrete and we are tying
to replace nature with artificial things and machinery and trying to enjoy
nature from artificial things. But nature is irreplaceable. No amount of love
and care can make machines and artificial things replace nature. Her message is
that trees must be conserved and nature must be protected otherwise humanity
will suffer. The rishis of ancient India lived in the lap of nature. They were also
men of science and philosophy but they never abandoned nature for artificial
things.
Choose the
correct option:
1. ............. did not tell us what it would be like without trees:
a. The people
b. Villagers
c. Mother
d. Poet
Ans: a. The people
2. The purpose of piling rubbish upon rubbish is ...................:
a. to dispose it
b. to create a tree
c. to burn it
d. to recycle it
Ans: b. to create a tree
3. The poet in vain waits for...................:
a. fruits in man made tree
b. slow unfurling of buds
c. flowers in man made tree
d. growth in man made tree
Ans: b. slow unfurling of buds
4. ............. gives colour to the twigs in the poem Tree:
a. Season
b. Buds
c. Local environment
d. Plastic leaves
Ans: d. Plastic leaves
5. Name the poet of the poem 'Tree' is ...............:
a. Tina Campbell
b. Tina Morris
c. William Morris
d. Tina Chang
Ans: b. Tina Morris
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