THE HEART OF THE TREE

1. The Heart of the Tree 

HC Bunner

ASSIGNMENTS

I.                  (i) The poet is posing a general question to the readers.

Man by planting trees provides soothing, cool breeze and a means of aesthetic pleasure to its inhabitants.

(ii) Refer to Stanza1 under Poem in Detail. Page 14.

(iii) The tree is a friend of the sun as the tree is dependent on sunlight to carry out the process of photosynthesis and make its food. Similarly, the tree is a friend of the sky because it takes in carbon dioxide from the air and releases oxygen in the air and thus purifies the air. Also the transpiration from trees is responsible for cloud formation in the sky which leads to rains.

A tree is "the flag of breezes free”  as the leaves of a tree flutter and provide soothing, cool breeze.

(iv) It means the beam of beauty. The long narrow stem of the tree is compared to the shaft as It looks like a beautiful tower and is pleasing to the eyes.

(v) Refer to Form and Structure under Style.

Il. (i)  The soft song that mother bird is singing to her young ones. The song is sung in a hushed voice to provide a peaceful and soothing atmosphere to the young ones.

(ii) Twilight is the faint light because a mother bird is seen singing to her young ones in a soft voice – entire scene reflects happiness and love.

(iii) (a) treble: high tone in music.

(b) heaven's harmony: the way in which different musical notes are played or sung together and combine to make a pleasant harmonious sound.

The treble, i.e., the bird's high-pitched tone adds to the pleasant harmony of the universe.

(iv) Examples of metonymy: 'happy twilight hand"; "the treble of heaven's harmony." In this extract, it refers to the association of the birds with the tree. Birds make their nest, where the mother bird happily sings to her young ones making twilight happy. The bird's treble thus adds to the harmony in the universe.

(v) • Trees cool the atmosphere and cause gentle rain.

• Trees take in carbon dioxide and give out oxygen for human beings to inhale.

• Trees bear flowers and fruits.

• Trees are the main source of medicine and wood.

III. (i) (a) Provide cool shade, (b) Cause tender rain,

(c) Bear seeds and buds for the future progeny which help in the growth of dense forests. The canopy of the branches of the tree provide cool shade in the hot sun. (ii) Plants release water vapour into the air in a process called transpiration. The water vapour then rises in the atmosphere and forms new rain clouds and that water vapour returns to earth in form of rain.

(ii) The trees bear seeds and buds for future progeny. With each passing year, the trees grow and one day they die and are replaced by new trees. The trees then “flush again” as “the harvest of a coming age”.  Thus, from a tree planted by a man, entire forest grows for his future generations. The man who plants a tree passes over an entire forest to a new generation.

(iv) Refer to the answer above.

(v) The expression, unborn eyes indicate the future generation, which is yet to be born.

The unborn eyes shall see the entire forest that is left for them as heritage by the previous generation.

They will rejoice as they will reap all the benefits of the trees that have been planted by their predecessors.

IV. (i)  Refer to Metonymy, under Style.

(ii)The man who plants a tree foresees the well-being of the city and its citizens in his act of planting trees. The planter's work helps human beings to get food from plants' sap and leaves besides wood for their use. It is a blessing on the entire neighbourhood of the man who plants trees.

(iii) The man who plants a tree, holds all the growth of our land by providing the economic, commercial and aesthetic benefits of the tree for mankind.

iv) A nation's growth depends on planting trees as the land without trees would become barren. The growth of a land depends on its environment, its citizens' well-being, and its import commercial relations with other countries. All these benefits are possible only with plantation of trees.

(v) Refer to Critical Remarks.

AFTER BLENHEIM

4. After Blenheim

Robert Southey

ASSIGNMENTS

I.                  (i) Kaspar, was the old man.

His grandchildren, Peterkin and Wilhelmine, were with him.

They were sitting in the sun before their cottage door. (ii) Kaspar shook his head with a sigh to reflect his disappointment at the war that took place years ago only to devour innocent lives. Peterkin brought the skull of the “poor fellow”.

(iii) The skull was found beside the small stream where Peterkin was playing.

 The skull belonged to one of the many innocent people who lost their lives in the tragic war. The 'poor' fellow became a victim of the war.

(iv) The skulls were a common sight there. Many of them could be found in the garden or in the field that Kaspar used to plough.

(v) The victory of England in the war of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714) is referred to here.

Duke of Marlborough end Savoy's Prince Eugene were responsible for this victory.

II.               (i) The cause of the war in which many innocent people were killed Is being discussed here.

Peterkin and Wilhelmine were innocent grandchildren of old Kasper. Peterkin was questioning his grandfather, Kasper.

(ii) The adjectives ‘young' and ‘little' are important to highlight the innocence and purity of Peterkin and Wilhelmine. It is through their innocence that the poet, has condemned the war.

(iii) "Wonder-waiting eyes" is used for Wilhelmine, who was expecting to know the cause of the war from her grandfather. The figure of speech used here is alliteration.

She looked up with such eyes because she could not comprehend the cause of the war. It filled her with wonder. She anticipated to get a favourable answer from Kasper.

(iv) The battle was fought between the English and the French forces. Peterlcin was not given a satisfactory reply. Kasper did not know the cause of the war but still referred to the victory as great. It shows that a common man’s ignorance and complacency about  the cause and purpose of war.

(v)Kaspar was a farmer.

He was loving grandfather as he spent time with his grandchildren and tried to answer their queries. Kaspar was an old man, who was disappointed with the outcome of the war. However, he was complacent about the cause of war and had accepted the loss of innocent lives as the inevitable price of victory in the war.

III (i) The country referred to is Blenheim,  Which is the English name for the German  village of Blindheim, situate on the left bank of the Danube River in Bavaria in Southern Germany. It refers  to the death and destruction caused by the war.

(ii) The speaker tells that during the war his father lived by a stream at Blenheim. As a result of the war, his father's house was burnt which forced him to flee with his wife and child, Kasper. They were thus rendered homeless.

(iii)”Childing mother' is a phrase used for a mother expecting a baby. The poet specifically refers to the deaths of childing mothers and newborn babies to underline not only the horrors of war but also the irony of a famous victory.

(iv) The speaker has been conditioned by the perpetrators of war in such a way that he readily accepted the loss of innocent lives as the price for victory In the war. I pity the speaker as he sighed at the sight of a poor fellow's skull but his conditioning was such that he justified war.

(v) Refer to Anti-War Poem under Critical Remarks.

IV. (i) 'They’ refers to those who must have reported the entire battle scene and its after effects to Kaspar. (Kaspar experienced the war only as a child, thus his account of the war to his grandchildren is not first-hand.)

The sight was shocking because the war was won at the price of thousands of lives. The sight of many thousand bodies  lying  rotting in the sun was  gruesome.

(ii) Refer to I, (v).

(iii) The tone is ironical and sarcastic. The poet wants to question the utility of waging war, which cause destruction of  both human lives  and Property.

(iv) old Kaspar appears to be a farmer  by profession.  He lived in a cottage in a countryside, where there was a stream nearby and he mentioned that he used to find many skulls while ploughing the field. This indicates his profession.

iv) The devastation caused by war is reflected through the following:

• The presence of skulls all over the field.

• Kasper's family rendered homeless when Kaspar's father's dwelling was burnt,.

• The deaths of expecting mothers and newborn babies,

• The gruesome sight of dead bodies lying on the battle field and rotting.

V. (i) Duke of Marlbro  was an English General. He was the Commander of British forces in the War of the Spanish Succession. He was praised because he defeated the French forces.

(ii) Prince Eugene was an Austrian General, born in France. He is referred to as 'our good Prince Eugene' because with Marlborough, he defeated the French at Blenheim.

(iii) Wilhelmine did not approve the praise that Duke and Prince Eugene received because she considered their act of killing innocent people in the name of victory as wicked.

Yes, her comment is appropriate as it is the common man who has to suffer where the politicians and the rulers escape and idly boast of wars.

(iv) The poem disapproves of any war as it brings with itself death, devastation, loss and grief. The poet conveys that great victories are rendered useless when everything else is lost.

(v) The poem is relevant as it has a universal appeal. The poem is timeless and can be read irrespective of the time it was written in. It is the common man and innocent children who suffer in a war. Modern politicians dismiss the deaths of innocent people in war by referring to them with the impersonal phrase: collateral damage.

picture courtesy : Thanks Google