Reference to the Context on “The Heart of the Tree” by Henry Cuyler Bunner:
PASSAGE 1
WHAT does he plant who plants a tree?
He plants a friend of sun and sky;
He plants the flag of breezes free;
The shaft of beauty, towering high.
He plants a home to heaven anigh
For song and mother-croon of bird
In hushed and happy twilight heard –
The treble of heaven’s harmony –
These things he plants who plants a tree.
Question i: How has the poet described the tree earlier in the poem?
Ans: The poet, Henry Cuyler Bunner, in the poem “The Heart of the Tree” brings forward the unconditional benefits provided to mankind by the trees. As per the poet, a tree is the source of diverse advantages. It balances the temperature and is instrumental in air purification. Besides providing shade, a tree’s towering height makes it the friend of sun and sky. For little animals and birds, a tree gives shelter to them thereby ensuring peace and harmony.
Question ii: Which line in the poem is repeated, and why?
Ans: The line, ‘What does he plant who plants a tree?’ is repeated in the poem.
The line’s repetition captures the reader’s attention towards the significant role of trees in our lives.
Question iii: What social and ecological value of planting a tree is?
Ans: The planting of a tree includes a series of social and ecological values. Socially, a tree provides shelter to birds and little animals. The larger the number of trees, the richer the natural resource of a nation becomes.
Ecologically, a tree is instrumental in balancing the natural processes. It balances temperature, purifies air, and provides cool shade. At the same time, the water cycle and seed germination depend extensively on the trees.
Question iv: In what sense is a tree ‘the harvest of a coming age’?
Ans: The trees become the harvest of a coming age because they are the source of food, fiber, cash crop resources, oxygen, and many more.
Question v: Name two things a tree-planter actually plants.
Ans: A tree planter plants the source of shade and rain as well as shelter for animals. A tree planter is anyone who takes the initiative of planting a tree to provide many benefits to humanity.
PASSAGE 2
What does he plant who plants a tree?
He plants cool shade and tender rain,
And seed and bud of days to be,
And years that fade and flush again;
He plants the glory of the plain;
He plants the forest’s heritage;
The harvest of a coming age;
They joy that unborn eyes shall see –
These things he plants who plants a tree.
Question i: Name some benefits of tree planting referred to by the poet earlier in the context.
Ans: In the process of planting a tree, the person plants the source of cool shade and rain as well as aids in seed germination.
Question ii: What do you mean by ‘civic good’? How does a tree planter do a civic good?
Ans: The act of planting a tree becomes civic good in the sense that a tree is the source of several benefits and planting causes prosperity of the nation.
Question iii: Explain: He plants, in sap and leaf and wood,
in love of home and loyalty.
Ans: The planter in the process of planting a tree plants values of love and loyalty.
Question iv: Do you agree with the poet that a nation’s growth depends upon the wealth of trees? Why/Why not?
Ans: A nation’s growth absolutely depends on the wealth of the trees. It is because tree forms the natural resources of a nation. They are the origin of several agrarian and industrial merits.
Question v: In what is the poem relevant in our times?
Ans: During this industrial phase, the tree cover is removed so as to develop industries thereby disturbing the natural balance of the world. Therefore, the poem holds significance in contemporary times as planting trees will increase goodness.