MP Board Class 11th English A Voyage Solutions Chapter 6 Cherry Tree (Ruskin Bond)
Cherry Tree Textual Exercises
Word Power
1. The poet has used words that are used as ‘nouns’ and verbs both like ‘watered’. Use the following from the poem as nouns and verbs both in two separate sentences of your own:
[summer, grass, sycthe, shoots, arms, light, air, watch, season, jewel, blossom. ]
Answer:
- Summer (noun) – The summer has begun.
Summer (verb) – He usually summers in Shimla - Grass (noun) – The dry grass caught fire
Grass (verb) – The man grassed - Scythe (noun) – The woman is cutting the grass With a scythe
Scythe (verb) – She scythed the grass quickly. - Shoots (noun) – I saw new green shoots in the plant.
Shoots (verb) – The troop is shooting at the enemy. - Arms (noun) – We should keep an arm’s distance with our enemies.
Arms (verb) – The man armed himself with sticks and stones. - Light (noun) – Light travels in a straight line.
Light (verb) – Light the lamb, please. - Air (noun) – Air is the mixture of gases.
Air (verb) – Air the bed sheets well. - Watch (noun) – I have purchase a new watch.
Watch (verb) -1 don’t watch T.V. frequently. - Season (noun) – The season of monsoon has arrived.
Season (verb) – Season the lamp with garlic. - Jewel (noun) – I have put all my jewels in a safe.
Jewel (verb) – It was jewelled with pearls - Blossom (noun) – The trees are in blossom.
Blossom (verb) – Our friendship blossomed into love.
Poetic Devices
(A) Following have been ‘personified’ in the poem
(1) ‘Cherries have a way of growing’
(2) a tree had come to stay
(3) a monsoon blight-shirvelled the slender stem.
Find more examples of personification from the poem and write explanation of the lines above (1, 2, 3) and the expressions selected by you.
Answer:
S.No. Examples of Personification | Explanation | |
1. | Cherries have a way of growing. | They grow like human being naturally. |
2. | A tree had come to stay. | It had grown full. |
3. | A monsoon blight shrivelled the – slender stem. | Monsoon and other natural supports have made the tree strong. |
4. | The young tree struggle. | The tree makes its growth at its own. |
5. | lime and the rain made miracle | Time and the rain have acted like some miraculous power. |
(B) Rhyming scheme: The poem has a rhyming scheme. Mark it and write out the details. Also find out where the poet deviates and say why.
Answer:
The rhyme scheme of the poem is a, a, b, b except a few places where the poet deviates in under to change the mood and his expression.
(C) In the beginning of the poem is talking of the Cherry tree and how it grew against all odds towards the end he expresses his own joy and action pick out the stanza and write its meanings.
Answer:
The growth of the cherry tree against all odds is expressed through these lines:
……. Even so,
next spring I watched three new shoots grow,
The young tree struggle, upward thrust,
Its arms in a fresh fierce lust
For light and air and sun.
The lines that express the poet’s joy- came back thinner, rather poor,
But richer by a cherry tree at my door.
Yes, I!-praised Night and Stars and tree.
That small, the cherry, grown by me.
(D) Alliteration is a figure of speech in which first sounds are repeated to give the poem a lyrical quality.
For example:
a monsoon blight
Shrivelled the slender stem …………..
Find other examples from the poem and write them in your note- book.
Answer:
- Its arms in a Fresh Fierce lust
- Who Watched, Wandering, While Time and the rain
- Made a Miracle from green growing pain
- Swiftly, and the Stars turned in the Sky,
- And Moon Moths and singing crickets and I-
Comprehension
(A) On the basis of the reading of the poem, answer the questions:
Question 1.
What difficulties did the cherry tree face in growing up?
Answer:
The difficulties that the cherry tree faced in growing up were that-
It was not watered. It was suppressed by the tall, wild grass. Goats ate its leaves. Grass cutter scythe it and split it apart.
Question 2.
What is the miracle? How was it caused by time and rain?
Answer:
The miracle is something that is thought to be done by some divine or super-natural power. Here, time and rain caused the growth and bloom of the cherry tree despite all its difficulties.
Question 3.
What does the poet refer to in ‘five month’s child’?
Answer:
The poet refers to the cherry tree as ‘five month’s child.
Question 4.
The poet says, Its arms in fresh fierce lust’. What do ‘Its arms’stand for?
Answer:
Its are stand for the branches of the cherry tree.
Question 5.
Mention two things that the poet saw when he was trying to look at the sky through the leaves of the cheery tree.
Answer:
The two things that the poet saw when he was trying to look at the sky through the leaves of the cherry tree were:
- the finches which flew and flitted
- bees drinking nectar from each bloom of the cherry tree.
Question 6.
Pick out the lines from the poem that convey that the cherry blossoms are delicate.
Answer:
The following lines from the poem convey that the cherry bloosoms are delicate -there were blossoms small Pink, fragile, quick to fall At the merest breath, the sleepiest breeze
Question 7.
(A) What is the poet trying to say in the expression ‘cherries have a way of growing’?
Answer:
By the expression cherries have a way of growing’ the poet means to say that cherry’ is tree and hence a natural object. Nature has its own way to protect its world. So, despite all hurdles the cherry tree grows and blooms. There is no power which can stop the process of nature.
(B) What do you understand by the following expression? Write a
sentence for each expression to bring out its meaning:
1. grass running wild
2. monsoon blight
3. growing pains
4. sleepiest breeze
5 . dappled green
6. blue blind sky
7. fresh fiercest lust
Answer:
- Grass running wild-The cherry tree is covered with grass running wild.
- Monsoon blight-The monsson blight has marred the growth of the plant.
- Growing pains-I was very much depressed at the growing pains at every’ step.
- Sleepiest breeze-The sleepiest breeze comforted me geatly.
- Dappled green-It was strange to see the bees dunking nectar
through dappled green. - Blue blind sky-The blue blind sky failed all predictions of monsoon.
- Fresh fierest lust-No fresh fierest lust could affect his way.
(C) Complete the following summary of the poem by filling the gaps using the expressions from the poem:
The poet sowed a seed about ………. ago because he wanted a ………. own. Once in the month of May he found a tree that ………. and had survived the ………. grass cutter’s ………. and the monsoon ………. through it was it grew three new shoots ………. and ………. grew upward w hen he came back from Kashmir he could ………. believe that a Cherry tree had ………. and ………. in the sun.
Next year it bore pink………. that were ………. and ……….. As he was relaxing in his garden he saw the ………. as they and ………. through the green. He saw bees as they drank ………. the from each .
Answer:
The poet-sowed a seed about eight-years ago because he wanted a tree of his own. Once is die month of May he found a tree that grew and had survived the goat’s eating and grass-cutter’s scythe and the monsoon blight though it was shrivelled it grew three new shoots young and it grew up word when he came back from Kashmir he could hardly believe that a cherry tree had tipened and jeweled in the sum. Next year it bore pink blossoms that were fragile and quick to fall. As he was relaxing in his garden he saw the finches as they flew and flitted through the dappled green He saw beas as they drank nectar from each bloom.
Speaking Activity
A. The poem starts with a flash back where the poet recollects something from the past and then narrates about present. Talk to your friend about your childhood of something that you recollects as a pleasant memory which has borne fruits in your present life, (work in pairs) Share this with your class. Select two best narratives and put them in a poem form. Your can think of a friend a scene an incident a school happening
Answer:
Do it yourself.
B. Read out the poems in the class and hold discussions on their poetic qualities, use of language and figure of speech etc.
Answer:
Do it yourself.
Writing Activity
A. Read the following poem and write answer to the questions given after the poem.
Answer:
See the poem on the text book page (41-42).
Questions:
(i) Why does the poet call it April’s gift?
(ii) Why does the poet call it as Birthday ornament of spring?
(iii) What are the other flowers that the poet names in the poem?
(iv) What is the colour of almond blossoms?
(v) How does the poet tell us that there are no leaves on the tree?
(vi) What happens when the winter winds blow?
Answer:
(i) The poet calls it April’s gift because it (almond tree) blossoms in April.
(ii) The poet calls it as Birthday ornament of spring because it is like a gift of nature.
(iii) The poet names some other flowers like king-cup, blackthorn.
(iv) The colour of almond blossoms in crimson.
(v) The poet tells us that there are no leaves on the tree as follows- Lest. with longing over-tried
We die as the violet died.
(vi) When the writer winds blow, all the red bells of almond ring with a bee in every bell and almond bloom.
B. Use the following words from the poem in sentences of your own
trust – clouding
dare – bough
royal – greet
stridy
Answer:
- trust – He has full time in me,
- dare — I can’t dare to say about he incident.
- royal — The king was in his royal suit.
- sturdy – Amit is a boy of sturdy build.
- clouding — Several doubts are clouding me.
- bough – The boughs of the tree are all slender and weak.
- greet — I greeted my friend warmly.
Think it Over
All trees have a different way of growing, some are delicate some are hardly plants; some are perinnial and some seasonal; some are fruit bearing and others are decorative with beautiful foliage and flowers; have you tried to grow plants of your.. own? Which were those? Express your view on pleasures is pains of growing tree, plant etc.
Answer:
Do yourself
Think To Do
A. You have read William Wordsworth’s poem Daffodils whose the poet says
“For oft, when on my couch I lie,
They flush upon that inward eye
which is bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dance with the daffodils.”
Compare the lines with Ruskin Bond’s following lines:
I by on grass, at ease
Looking up through leaves at the blue Blind sky”
Answer:
- In both the poems, the poets enjoy the bliss of nature. While Wordsworth
- Daffodils’ in sitting alone and is thinking about the scene of the daffodils in his imagination, Rusking Bond is enjoying nature’s beautiful scenes just now.
B. Read the following verses carefully and answer the questions that follow.
(See the poem on Textbook page-43)
Questions:
(i) Describe in your own words the effect on a slender brich tree of the snow fall.
(ii) What is the poet trying to say in the last line of the poem?
(iii) Describe the effect of the following on birch trees:
(a) ice-storms
(b) rising breeze
(c) warmth of the sun Answers
1. The slender birch tree has been bent down.
2. The poet is trying to say that the real bliss of nature seems to be over.
3.
- The birch trees have been bent down.
- They click upon themselves with rising breeze.
- The warmth of the sun makes them shed crystal sheds.
(iv) Say whether the following statements are true or false.
(a) A child in the tree is swinging the birch tree.
(b) The tree is siwnging left and right due to the blowing of breeze.
(c) The birch trees are misshaped by the ice-storm.
(d) After the sun-rise, the branches begin to move gently left and right and look like a rainbow.
(e) After the sunrise, the trees loaded with ice become the inner
dome of heaven.
Answer:
(a) true, (b) true, (c) true, (d) false, (e) true.
Cherry Tree Summary in English
‘Chery Tree’ is a poem by Ruskin Bond. It tells us the poet’s ecstasy over a tree of his o\Vn which took eight year to grow.
Eight years have passed since the poet placed a cherry seed in the grass. He thought it to be his own tree. He watered it once. After that he forgot about it. But as cherries have a process of growing, so poet’s cherry also grew without any care. Suddenly in a summer season the poet found the growth of a tree of cherry. It was small like a five month old child lost in tall, wild grass. Goats ate its leaves and grass-cutter had snapped it with his syethe. Even after that the poet saw in the next spring three new shoots grown there. The young tree had struggled upward for fresh light and air and sun.
The poet had waited while time and the rain had done wonder by giving full growth to the tree. Next year the poet went to Kashmir to spend his holidays. When he came back he found a full grown cherry tree at his door. It was six feet high. He hardly believed its berries. They were ripened and jewelled in the seen hanging from a branch. The other year there were blossoms pf different colours giving comfort to the poet. The poet while lying on the grass with comfort was looking up through leaves at the blue blind sky. He also enjoyed finches (small passorine birds) flying in the sky softly and rapidly.
The poet also felt the joy of looking at the bees sucking nectar from each bloom of the cherry tree. The sun was sinking softly and the stars turned in the sky. The singing of the crickets and shining of the moon were also very comfortable. The poet is thankful to the cherry tree which provided him with such a fine heavenly bliss.
Cherry Tree Summary in Hindi
‘Cherry Tree’ रस्किन बांड की कविता है। इसमें कवि के एक पेड़ के लिए, जिसे उसने आठ वर्ष पहले अपने लिए लगाया था, आनंद का वर्णन है। आठ वर्ष बीत गए जब कवि ने घास में चेरी के बीज को बोया था। वह इसे अपना पेड़ समझकर बोया था। उसने इसे एकबार सींचा। इसके बाद वह इसके बारे में भूल गया। परन्तु चेरी के बढ़ने की एक प्रक्रिया है, इसलिए कवि का चेरी भी बिना किसी देखभाल के बड़ा हो गया। अचानक एक गर्मी के मौसम में कवि ने चेरी के पेड़ की वृद्धि देखी। यह एक पांच महीने के बच्चे की तरह छोटा था जो लंबी जंगली घास में छिपा था। बकरियों ने इसके पत्ते खा लिए फिर एक घसियारे (घास काटने वाला) ने अपनी कैंची से उन्हें कतर डाला। इसके बावजूद कवि ने अगले वसंत ऋतु में इसमें से तीन नई छोटी-शाखाओं को उगा हुआ देखा। युवा पौधा प्रकाश, हवा और धूप से संघर्ष करते हुए ऊपर की ओर बढ़ा।
कवि प्रतीक्षा करता रहा जबकि समय और वर्षा ने चमत्कार करते हुए पेड़ को पूर्ण विश्वास दिया। अगले वर्ष कवि अपनी छुट्टियाँ बिताने कश्मीर गया। जब वह लौटकर आया तो उसने अपने दरवाजे पर एक पूर्ण विकसित चेरी का पेड़ देखा। यह छह फीट ऊँचा था। बड़ी-मुश्किल से वह इसके फलों पर विश्वास कर पाया। वे पक चुके थे और धूप के कारण डालियों पर सुशोभित थे। दूसरे वर्ष वे कई रंगों में खिल गए और कवि को सुखद अनुभूति देने लगे।
कवि घास में लेटे हुए बड़े आराम से पत्तियों के झुरमुट से नीले, काले आकाश में देखता है। वह आकाश में मृदुता और तेजी से उड़ते हुए छोटे पक्षियों को देखकर आनंदित होता है। कवि मधुमक्खियों को चेरी के फूलों से अमृत रस चूसते हुए देखकर आनंद अनुभव करता है। सूर्य धीरे-धीरे डूब रहा था और आकाश में तारे नजर आ रहे थे। झींगुरों का गाना और चांद का चमकना भी बड़ा आनंददायक था। कवि चेरी के पेड़ के प्रति शुक्रगुजार महसूस करता है जिसने उसे स्वर्ग-सी अनुभूति प्रदान की।
Cherry Tree Word Meanings
Cherry Tree Comprehension
Read the following stanzas carefully and answer the questions that follow:
1. Eight year have passed
Since I placed my cherry seed in the grass,
“Must have a tree of my own, I said,
And watered it once and went to bed And forgot.
Questions:
(i) Who is ‘I’ in these lines?
(ii) What did ‘I’ do eight years ago?
(iii) Why did ‘I’ do so?
(iv) What did ‘I’ do after that?
(v) Give a word from the stanza which is opposite to ‘remembered’.
Answers:
(i) T in these lines is the poet-the narrator.
(ii) ‘I’ placed a cherry seed in the grass eight years ago.
(iii) ‘I’ did so thinking it to be a tree of his own.
(iv) T watered it once and then forgot it.
(v) ‘forgot’.
2. Goats ate the leaves, the grass cutter’s sycthe
split it apart and a monsoon blight
Shrivelled the slender stem Even so.
Questions:
(i) What is being talked about her in these lines?
(ii) What did the goats do to it?
(iii) What did the monsoon blight do to the tree?
(iv) How was the tree split apart?
(v) Give a word from the above stanza similar in meaning to ‘thin’.
Answers:
(i) A little cherry tree is being talked about here.
(ii) The goats ate the leaves of the tree.
(iii) The monsoon blight made its stem shrivelled and slender.
(iv) The tree was split apart by the grass cutter’s scythe.
(v) ‘slender’.
3. I lay on the grass, at ease,
Looking up through leaves at the blue
Blind sky, at the finches as they flew
And flitted through the dappled green.
Questions:
(i) Where was the poet lying?
(ii) What was he doing there?
(iii) What did he see in the sky?
(iv) Explain the expression ‘the blue blind sky’.
(v) Explain the meaning of ‘dappled’.
Answers:
(i) The poet was lying on the grass.
(ii) He was enjoying the beauty of nature in the sky.
(iii) He saw finches flying in the sky.
(iv) The blue sky is sometimes covered with dark cloud.
(v) dappled-variegated with round patches.