Complete Summary and Solutions for Trees – NCERT Class XII KALEIDOSCOPE English Elective, Chapter 5 – Poetry Summary, Explanation, Questions, Answers

Introduction to Poetry - Kaleidoscope

A poem is a composition in verse, usually characterised by concentrated and heightened language in which words are chosen for their sound and suggestive power as well as for their meaning, and using techniques such as rhythm and metre. To read and hear good poetry is to appreciate the subtleties of cadence and rhythm, the variety of pace and pattern and all that goes to make up the music of poetry.

Every poem that we read adds to, in some degree, our total conception of poetry.

Of the eight poets in this selection, four are from the classical tradition: Donne, Milton, Blake and Coleridge. The other four are closer to contemporary times: Yeats, A.K. Ramanujan, Emily Dickinson and Kamala Das.

Key Elements of Poetry

Language: Concentrated, heightened, sound-focused for evocative effect.
Techniques: Rhythm, metre, suggestive power to create musicality.
Appreciation: Cadence, pattern, and the 'music' that elevates emotion and intellect.
Traditions: Classical (e.g., Blake's visionary innocence/experience) vs. Contemporary (e.g., Dickinson's hermetic lyricism).

Points to Ponder

How does Dickinson's 'Trees' expand your 'total conception of poetry' through vivid natural imagery and unconventional style?
Compare Dickinson's intimate observations with classical grandeur: What unites them in poetic 'music'?

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Poet: Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

Emily Dickinson is regarded as one of America’s quintessential poets of the nineteenth century. She lived an introverted and hermetic life, and published very few of her poems in her lifetime. Her output, 1789 poems in all, were published posthumously.

Her poetry is characterised by unconventional capitalisation and extensive use of dashes, along with unusual imagery and lyric style.

Key Style: Hermetic Lyricism

Unconventional capitalization, dashes for pauses, slant rhymes.
Unusual imagery blending nature with introspection.

Life Highlights

Reclusive Amherst life; only ~10 poems published in lifetime.
Posthumous fame: 1789 poems reveal profound, innovative voice.

Influence & Legacy

Modern precursor; embodies compressed intensity, inspiring confessional and imagist poetry.

Dickinson's Worldview

Dickinson's reclusive gaze frames nature as a symphony of whimsy and revelation—poems as dashes of eternity, capturing the seen and unseen in lyric bursts.

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The Poem: Full Text & Summary

Detailed Summary: Trees

The poem vivifies a summer day through nature's playful orchestra: Trees swing tassels to a tune from tiny creatures accompanying the sun; distant psalteries enchant yet never fully satisfy. The sun emerges intermittently, hiding behind clouds as if optional, with estates vast enough to conceal it eternally—save for its whim to nurture orchards. Birds gossip casually, charming snakes with silver tales; flowers unfurl like hindered flags hoisted with spice. This exceeds mere sight—mean compared to Vandyke's painterly summer day, yet poetry captures nature's elusive beauty.

Stanza 1: Trees and creatures harmonize with the teasing sun.

Stanza 2: Sun's capricious play amid clouds, whimsically allowing growth.

Stanza 3: Birds and flowers animate the scene with gossip and ascent.

Stanza 4: Transcends visual art; poetry's intimate delineation of summer's day.

विस्तृत हिंदी सारांश: Trees

कविता ग्रीष्म दिवस को प्रकृति की चंचल संगीतमय प्रस्तुति के माध्यम से जीवंत बनाती है: वृक्ष टैसल्स को झूलते हुए छोटे जीवों की धुन के साथ सूर्य का साथ देते हैं; दूरस्थ सल्तेरियाँ मोहित करती हैं किंतु कभी पूर्ण संतुष्टि नहीं देतीं। सूर्य अंतरालों में पूर्णतः चमकता है, आधा फिर पूर्णतः छिप जाता है, मानो वैकल्पिक, बादलों के विशाल भवनों के पीछे—सिवाय इसके मनोवेग के जो बागों को बढ़ने देता है। पक्षी बाड़ पर लापरवाह बैठे गपशप करते हैं, चाँदी की बातों से साँप को मोहित करते हुए; फूल कैलिक्स को चीरकर तने पर उड़ान भरते हैं जैसे बाधित ध्वज मसालों से सुगंधित होकर ऊँचे किए जाते हैं। यह दृष्टि से परे है—वैन डाइक की चित्रकारी से तुलनीय, किंतु कविता प्रकृति के ग्रीष्म दिवस की अंतरंग सुंदरता को चित्रित करती है।

Trees

The Trees like Tassels – hit – and – swung –

There seemed to rise a Tune

From Miniature Creatures

Accompanying the Sun –

Far Psalteries of Summer –

Enamoring the Ear

They never yet did satisfy –

Remotest – when most fair

The Sun shone whole at intervals –

Then Half – then utter hid –

As if Himself were optional

And had Estates of Cloud

Sufficient to enfold Him

Eternally from view –

Except it were a whim of His

To let the Orchards grow –

A Bird sat careless on the fence –

One gossiped in the Lane

On silver matters charmed a Snake

Just winding round a Stone –

Bright Flowers slit a Calyx

And soared upon a Stem

Like Hindered Flags – Sweet hoisted –

With Spices – in the Hem –

’Twas more – I cannot mention –

How mean – to those that see

Vandyke’s Delineation

Of Nature’s – Summer Day!

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Themes & Lyrical Analysis

Central Theme: Nature's Whimsical Symphony

Personification: Trees, birds, flowers as musical performers.
Ephemerality: Sun's optional presence, unsatisfying remoteness.
Art vs. Reality: Poetry surpasses painting in capturing summer's essence.

Key Imagery: Psalteries & Tassels

Ancient instruments and swinging fringes evoke auditory-visual harmony—Dickinson's synesthetic blend of sound, sight, scent in nature's elusive beauty.

Introspection vs. Observation

Hermetic gaze: Close observation yields profound, dashed lyricism.
Whim & Eternity: Sun's caprice mirrors life's fleeting revelations.

Critical Appreciation

Dickinson's 'Trees' orchestrates a hermetic hymn to summer's day, where nature's minutiae—tassel-swinging branches, gossiping birds, spice-hemmed flags—compose an unsatisfiable melody. Dashes punctuate whimsy, capitalizing the Sun as divine actor in cloud estates, transcending Vandyke's canvas. This lyric burst, born of reclusive acuity, elevates observation to ecstasy, poetry's intimate edge over mere delineation.

Discussion Prompts

How does Dickinson's personification infuse nature with human whimsy, enhancing summer's allure?
Does the poem's 'remoteness' reflect Dickinson's own hermetic distance from the world?

Responding to the Poem

1. What imagery does the poet use to delineate Summer’s day more picturesquely than any painter could?

Answer:

Synesthetic blends: Trees as tassels swinging tunes, psalteries enamoring ears, flowers as hindered flags with spiced hems—auditory, tactile, visual fusion beyond visual art.

2. What do you understand by ‘Psalteries of Summer’?

Answer:

Metaphorical ancient string instruments: Distant summer sounds (wind in leaves, insect hums) as enchanting, harp-like music that teases without full satisfaction.

3. In which lines are creatures attributed with human qualities? How does this add to the beauty of the Summer’s day?

Answer:

Lines 17-20: Bird "careless," "gossiped," charming snake with "silver matters"—anthropomorphism vivifies the scene, infusing whimsy and intimacy, making nature a lively, relational tableau.

4. How would you explain the image of the ‘Hindered Flags’?

Answer:

Flowers bursting calyx like flags delayed yet sweetly raised on stems, hems spiced—captures budding tension and triumphant bloom, evoking playful hindrance yielding to summer's vibrant hoist.

5. Why are the pronouns referring to the Sun capitalised?

Answer:

Dickinson's convention: Elevates Sun to divine persona ("Himself," "His whim")—personifies as capricious deity with cloud estates, whimsically veiling/revealing to foster growth.

6. Give examples from the poem to show that great poetry is a result of close observation of natural phenomena.

Answer:

Miniature creatures' tune, snake winding stone, flowers slitting calyx—precise, acute details transform ordinary summer into symphonic wonder, poetry's alchemy of gaze.

Language Study

You came across ‘dulcimer’ in the poem ‘Kubla Khan’. Did you note down ‘Psaltery’ as another musical instrument? They are very similar. Look up the illustrations for the two in an illustrated dictionary. Find out in what ways they are different from one another.

Guidance: Psaltery: Triangular/zither-like plucked strings, often portable. Dulcimer: Appalachian hammered strings over trapezoid frame—psaltery plucks for harp-tone, dulcimer hammers for brighter resonance. Both evoke ancient, ethereal music, mirroring poem's distant summer harmonies.

Instrument Comparison:

Instrument	Shape	Playing Method	Sound
Psaltery	Triangular/Wing	Plucked	Harp-like, ethereal
Dulcimer	Trapezoid	Hammered/Notched	Bright, resonant

Task: Illustrate how these enhance Dickinson's auditory imagery in 'Trees'.

Interactive Quiz - Test Your Understanding

10 MCQs on poem, poet, themes, and language. Aim for 80%+ for mastery!

Complete Summary and Solutions for Trees – NCERT Class XII KALEIDOSCOPE English Elective, Chapter 5 – Poetry Summary, Explanation, Questions, Answers

Detailed summary and explanation of Chapter 5 'Trees' from the NCERT Class XII KALEIDOSCOPE English Elective textbook, featuring the poem by Emily Dickinson, including poet biography, imagery, themes, interpretation, and all NCERT questions and answers.

Trees

Introduction to Poetry - Kaleidoscope

Key Elements of Poetry

Points to Ponder

Poet: Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

Key Style: Hermetic Lyricism

Life Highlights

Influence & Legacy

Dickinson's Worldview

The Poem: Full Text & Summary

Detailed Summary: Trees

विस्तृत हिंदी सारांश: Trees

Trees

Themes & Lyrical Analysis

Central Theme: Nature's Whimsical Symphony

Key Imagery: Psalteries & Tassels

Introspection vs. Observation

Critical Appreciation

Discussion Prompts

Responding to the Poem

1. What imagery does the poet use to delineate Summer’s day more picturesquely than any painter could?

2. What do you understand by ‘Psalteries of Summer’?

3. In which lines are creatures attributed with human qualities? How does this add to the beauty of the Summer’s day?

4. How would you explain the image of the ‘Hindered Flags’?

5. Why are the pronouns referring to the Sun capitalised?

6. Give examples from the poem to show that great poetry is a result of close observation of natural phenomena.

Language Study

You came across ‘dulcimer’ in the poem ‘Kubla Khan’. Did you note down ‘Psaltery’ as another musical instrument? They are very similar. Look up the illustrations for the two in an illustrated dictionary. Find out in what ways they are different from one another.

Interactive Quiz - Test Your Understanding

Suggested Reading

Core Dickinson Works

Further Exploration

Group Discussions