What went wrong when the king rode under the arch?

It was too low and knocked off his crown

How does the chain of blame unfold in the poem?

Each accused person blames another, ending with the king's own changes

Who is the poet of "The Laburnum Top" and what does it describe?

Ted Hughes; it describes a moment of vibrant life as a goldfinch visits a silent laburnum tree.

What do we notice about the beginning and ending of the poem?

Both show the laburnum top silent, still and empty, giving the poem a circular structure.

What is the condition of the laburnum at the start?

It is silent and quite still in yellow September sunlight, with a few leaves yellowing and all its seeds fallen.

To what is the bird's movement compared, and why?

She is "sleek as a lizard" — alert, abrupt and quick — the comparison stressing her smooth, sudden agility.

Why is the image of an engine evoked by the poet?

The bird sets the tree throbbing with sound and movement, like a machine; she is the "engine" of her family that she "stokes."

What does the goldfinch do when she enters the tree?

She feeds her young, starting a "machine" of chitterings, a tremor of wings and trillings, making the whole tree tremble.

What does the phrase "her barred face identity mask" mean?

It refers to the distinctive barred facial markings that identify the goldfinch as her species.

What happens at the end of the poem?

The goldfinch launches away towards the infinite and the laburnum subsides to empty silence again.

What are some sound words used in the poem?

Chirrup, chitterings, trillings and whistle-chirrup whisperings convey the bird's lively music.

What is the dominant colour in the poem and how is it created?

Yellow — through the September sunlight, the yellowing leaves and the goldfinch's yellow feathers.

The Laburnum Top

Class 11 English · Hornbill – Poems · Chapter 2

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The story in short

Ted Hughes's short poem captures a vivid moment of life and energy in nature centred on a laburnum tree and a goldfinch. The poem opens with the laburnum top standing silent and quite still in the yellow September afternoon sunlight, a few leaves yellowing and all its seeds fallen — an image of stillness, fading and near-lifelessness. This calm is suddenly broken when a goldfinch arrives with a twitching chirrup, a startling abruptness at a branch-end. Sleek as a lizard, alert and abrupt, she enters the thickness of the tree, and at once a "machine starts up" of chitterings, a tremor of wings and trillings, so that the whole tree trembles and thrills with sound and movement. The bird is compared to the engine of her family, which she stokes — that is, she feeds her chicks hidden in the tree. Showing her "barred face identity mask," she then launches away with an eerie, delicate whistle-chirrup towards the infinite, and the laburnum subsides once more to emptiness and silence. The poem thus moves in a circular structure from stillness to vibrant activity and back to stillness, celebrating the brief, electric burst of life the bird brings to the tree and using rich sound, colour and movement imagery.

The Laburnum Top

Characters & key ideas

Laburnuma small tree with hanging branches, yellow flowers and poisonous seeds.

Goldfincha small singing bird with yellow wing-feathers that energises the tree.

Engine / machinemetaphors for the bird as the throbbing source of her family's life.

Barred face identity maskthe goldfinch's distinctive facial markings that identify her species.

Circular structurethe poem begins and ends with the silent, empty laburnum top.

Imageryvivid sound, colour and movement images bring the brief burst of life alive.

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Who wrote the poem "The Laburnum Top"?

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The Laburnum Top

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