The Laburnum Top by Ted Hughes for class 11 English CBSE ( Summary, Detailed Explanation, Stanza based Q-A, Poetic devices, difficult words and their meanings and NCERT solution)
The Laburnum Top
By Ted Hughes
Introduction Of The Poem “The Laburnum Top”
"The Laburnum Top" is a beautifully written nature poem that highlights the transformation of a quiet laburnum tree into a lively one with the arrival of a goldfinch. The still tree bursts into life, filled with the bird’s cheerful chirps, trills, and songs. This vivid change from silence to energy is what makes the poem truly stand out. The use of poetic devices such as onomatopoeia and alliteration adds depth, making it a remarkable piece of nature poetry.
About The Poet
Ted Hughes, who lived from 1930 to 1998, was a well-known English poet. His early years spent in the countryside, where he was born, had a significant impact on his poems. Among Hughes's noteworthy works are "The Hawk in the Rain" and "Birthday Letters,". His poetry generally embodied raw, elemental powers and often explored themes of nature, mythology, and human struggle. In 1984, Hughes was named Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, a position he retained until his passing. He received multiple honours for his literary efforts, such as the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry and the Whitbread Prize.
Theme Of The Poem “The Laburnum Top”
The poem “The Laburnum Top” presents the connection between the laburnum tree and the goldfinch. It demonstrates how both of them are interdependent. The poem also reflects the laburnum tree’s ability to survive even in harsh weather and its power to thrive Therefore, the poem portrays the strength and the beauty of nature to triumph in any form of adversity. It also focuses on the importance of coexistence in life. In this case, it demonstrates how the goldfinch benefits from the laburnum tree and in turn how the tree benefits from the goldfinch. Thus, it can be viewed as people’s concern with their counterparts and the interdependence between different species in the forests.
Summary Of The Poem “The Laburnum Top”
In the poem, “The Laburnum Top," Ted Hughes gives a striking description of a serene, tranquil laburnum tree. Everything appears to be quiet and nearly solitary. When a goldfinch suddenly soars to the top of the tree, where her chicks are waiting for her in a secret nest, and the atmosphere shifts.
The tree comes to life with the arrival of the goldfinch. As soon as the chicks begin to chirp, the mother bird moves swiftly to feed them, creating a cacophony of activity and noise. The tree, which was previously so silent, is now brimming with enthusiasm and vitality. However, as the goldfinch takes off, everything returns to being quiet and peaceful.
The relationship between the bird and the tree has beautifully been captured in this poem, which demonstrates how even a calm, still environment can momentarily burst into vibrant life. It serves as a reminder of the tiny spurts of activity that animate the natural world and the tiny connections that bind everything in the universe together.
Poetic Devices used in the poem “The Laburnum Top”
Alliteration
September sunlight
The whole tree trembles and thrills
Simile
Sleek as a lizard
Metaphor
A machine starts up
It is the engine of her family
Her barred face identity mask
Personification
The Laburnum top is silent
The whole tree trembles and thrills
Transferred epithet
her barred face identity mask
Onomatopoeia
Twitching chirrup
Chittering
Trillings
Whistle chirrup
Difficult words and their meanings
Laburnum – a small tree with long stems of yellow flowers
Goldfinch – a small singing bird with yellow feathers on its wings
Twitching – sudden jerk/ movement
Chirrup – high-pitched sound produced by the birds
Startlement – sudden shock
Abrupt – sudden and unexpected
Chitterings – twittering/chattering sound
Tremor of wings – involuntary vibration of the wings
Trillings – singing in quickly repeated high notes
Trembles – shake/tremble
Thrills – a sudden feeling of pleasure/excitement
Flirts out – lead on to
Stokes – to add fuel to the engine
Barred – marked by bars
Eerie – weird and strange
Explanation & Extract based Question- Answer (The Laburnum Top)
Stanza-1 Explanation & Extract-based Question- Answer
The laburnum top is silent. quite still………..
A suddenness, a startlement, at a branch end
In the first three lines, the poet uses the laburnum top to symbolise peace and serenity. There is death-like silence on the laburnum top. As it is the month of September, its leaves have become yellow and all of its seeds have fallen. Here, autumn is the symbol of hopelessness.
But suddenly it comes to life with the arrival of the goldfinch. The bird sits at the end of the branch.
Q. Which poetic devices have been used in the first line of the stanza?
Ans. Personification (The Laburnum top is silent) and synecdoche (top)
Q. Which poetic device has been used in the second line of the stanza?
Ans. Alliteration (September sunlight)
Q. Which season has been described here?
Ans. Autumn season
Q. Which words in the poem show that it is the autumn season?
Ans. The expressions like “yellow September”, “leaves yellowing”, and “seeds fallen” show that it is autumn.
Q. What kind of atmosphere was on the laburnum top before the arrival of the goldfinch?
Ans. There was death-like silence.
Stanza-2 Explanation & Extract based Question- Answer
Then sleek as a lizard, ……………
………………. Trembles and thrills
The silence on the laburnum top is broken after the arrival of the goldfinch. The arrival of the goldfinch changes everything.
The goldfinch enters the thickness of the tree very smoothly. The poet has compared the movement of the goldfinch to that of a lizard. The tree once again becomes full of life. The goldfinch enters the thickness of the tree like a lizard. There is a chittering. Then the whole tree starts trembling and then there is a kind of thrill there.
Q. What happens after the arrival of the goldfinch?
Ans. After the arrival of the goldfinch, the tree becomes alive. The death-like silence disappears.
Q. Which poetic device has been used in the expression, “ sleek as a lizard”?
Ans. Simile.
Q. Which two poetic devices have been used in the line “The whole tree trembles and thrills”?
Ans. Personification and alliteration.
Q. Find the examples of onomatopoeia in this stanza.
Ans. Chirrup, chitterting, and trillings.
Q. What does the machine symbolise?
Ans. The machine symbolises noise as well as life.
Q. The poet has compared goldfinch to …….
Ans. The poet has compared the goldfinch to a lizard and a machine
Q. What has the poet compared machine to?
Ans. Goldfinch
Q. Which poetic device has been used in the expression,” engine of her family”?
Ans. The poet uses metaphor here, as the goldfinch is compared to an engine.
Stanza-3 Explanation & Extract based Question- Answer
It is the engine of her family.
……… the laburnum subsides to empty.
Here the poet has compared the goldfinch to an engine. The engine carries all the compartments of a train. In the same way, the goldfinch is also the engine because the survival of the younger ones can not be possible without her. When the goldfinch comes, the younger ones show their excitement by chittering. The goldfinch feeds the younger ones and after that, she again flies out to the branch end. shows her path for face identity mask.
After feeding the younger ones, the goldfinch once again starts her journey. She goes up in the sky. After the departure of the goldfinch once again, the laburnum is silent. Once again there are no activities on the tree. Here the poet has created the image of emptiness, seclusion, loneliness, and hollowness.
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Q. What does the goldfinch do after feeding the younger ones?
Ans. It flies out to the end of the branch and gets ready to move away from there.
Q. Whose sound has been compared to a delicate whistle?
Ans. Goldfinch
Q. Where does goldfinch fly away?
Ans. In the sky
Q. What does infinite refer to
Ans. The sky.
Q. Explain the expression, “the laburnum subsides to empty”.
Ans. With the departure of the goldfinch, once again laburnum tree becomes silent and there is death-like silence.
Q. Is there a similarity between the beginning and the end of the poem?
Ans. Silence on the laburnum tree.
Q. What does the goldfinch do after feeding the younger ones?
Ans. It flies out to the branch's end and prepares to move away from there.
Q. What does the expression “barred face identity mask” mean?
Ans. Goldfinch has stripes, which is her identity and in this way, she is recognised.
Q. Which potic device has been used in the expression,” barred face identity mask”?
Ans. The barred face identity mask is transferred epithet
NCERT SOLUTION (The Laburnum Top)
Think it out …………..
Q. What do you notice about the beginning and the ending of the poem?
Ans. The beginning and the ending of the poem present the same picture. The laburnum top is silent and quite still before the arrival of the goldfinch. After the departure of the goldfinch once again there is stillness.
Q. What is the bird’s movement compared to? What is the basis for the comparison?
Ans. The goldfinch’s movement has been compared to that of a lizard. Just like a lizard, the goldfinch enters the thickness of the tree in a sleek, alert and abrupt manner.
Q. Why is the image of the engine evoked by the poet?
Ans. The poet deliberately evokes the image of the engine to show the noisy atmosphere. The goldfinch produces a sound like a machine by chirping and chittering. It also symbolises life.
Q. What do you like most about the poem?
Ans. The goldfinch changes the still atmosphere of the laburnum tree into a noisy musical one.
This is most fascinating.
Q. What does the phrase, “her barred face identity mask” mean?
Ans. It means that the face of the goldfinch is marked with stripes that look like a mask. Thus, the bird is identified by its barred face.
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