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The Laburnum Top
by Ted Hughes
About Poet
Ted Hughes, byname of Edward J. Hughes, (born August 17, 1930, Mytholmroyd, Yorkshire, England—died
October
28, 1998, London, English poet whose most characteristic verse is without sentimentality, emphasizing
the
cunning and savagery of animal life in harsh, sometimes disjunctive lines.
The Laburnum Top’ by Ted Hughes is a beautiful poem about the progress of life. The poem revolves around
the
laburnum tree. and the goldfinch bird. It presents the sweet and repaying relationship between the tree
and
the bird. It is in the interaction between the two lies the beauty, vigour, and perfection of existence.
Change is always there, but the beginning has always its own taste.
Introduction to Poem
The Laburnum Top refers to human emotions and how someone can drastically affect an individual’s system. The Laburnum can be defined as a person who is living a routine and boring life and suddenly a "goldfinch" Comes and completely changes the perception of living of the Laburnum, he loses his poisonous seeds and embraces the goldfinch. She ignites life into the otherwise dull Laburnum, and then she goes away. She flew away in the sky, leaving the tree death-like again.
कविता 'The Laburnum Top Ted Hughes द्वारा लिखी गयी है। यह एक सुन्दर-सी पतझड़ ऋतु की दोपहर बाद का वर्णन करती है। अमलतास नामक वृक्ष सूर्य की पीली रोशनी में नहाया हुआ है। वृक्ष के पत्ते पीले रंग के हो रहे हैं। वृक्ष के बीज जमीन पर गिर गए हैं। परन्तु वृक्ष बिल्कुल शान्त व खामोश है क्योंकि वहां कोई भी पक्षी चहचहा नहीं रहा है। तभी एक गोल्डफिन्च नामक चिड़िया चहचहाते हुए आती है और वृक्ष की शाखा के सिरे पर एकदम बैठ जाती है। छिपकली की सर्तकता की भान्ति गोल्डफिन्च वृक्ष की घनी शाखाओं के बीच प्रवेश करती है और अपने बच्चों को जी भर कर खाना खिलाती है। गोल्डफिन्च के चेहरे पर धारियां हैं। ये एक मुखौटे की भांति दिखाई देती हैं और गोल्डफिन्च की पहचान के लिए एक प्रतीक भी हैं। समस्त वातावरण व अमलतास वृक्ष का दृश्य इस पक्षी की चहचहाने की आवाज के कारण आकर्षित व रोचक बन गया है। लेकिन जब यह (चिड़िया) वृक्ष की शाखा से निकलकर असीमित आसमान की ओर उड़कर चली जाती है तो समस्त वातावरण व अमलतास वृक्ष खामोश व निश्चल बन जाता है।
Poem
The Laburnum top is silent, quite still
In the afternoon yellow September sunlight,
A few leaves yellowing, all its seeds fallen
Till the goldfinch comes, with a twitching chirrup
A suddenness, a startlement, at a branch end.
Then sleek as a lizard, and alert, and abrupt,
She enters the thickness, and a machine starts up
Of chitterings, and a tremor of wings, and trillings
The whole tree trembles and thrills.
It is the engine of her family.
She stokes it full, then flirts out to a branch-end
Showing her barred face identity mask
Then with eerie delicate whistle-chirrup whisperings
She launches away, towards the infinite
And the laburnum subsides to empty.
The way the stanzas break into four parts highlight this relationship. The first stanza uses long, languid words and describes the still tree. The second uses shorter, sharper sounding words to communicate the quick, flurrying activity of the bird. Then it goes back to the quieter more reflective language for the third, after the bird has left. And in fourth the atmosphere is same as was in stanza one.
Theme of the Poem
Summary in English & translated in Hindi:
The poem 'The Laburnum Top' is written by Ted Hughes. It describes a beautiful picture of an autumn afternoon. The laburnum tree is bathed in the yellow light of the sun. The leaves of the tree are getting yellowish. The seeds of the tree have fallen to the ground. But the tree is still and silent because there is no bird twittering. Just then a goldfinch comes chirping and lands abruptly at the end of a branch. Like the alertness of a lizard, the goldfinch enters the thickness of the branches and feeds her young ones to the fill. The goldfinch's face has stripes on it. These look like a mask and a symbol for the identity of goldfinch. The whole atmosphere has become attractive and thrilling due to its chirping on the laburnum tree. But when she comes out to the end of a branch and launches away towards the infinite sky, the whole atmosphere along with the laburnum tree becomes silent and still.
कविता 'The Laburnum Top Ted Hughes द्वारा लिखी गयी है। यह एक सुन्दर-सी पतझड़ ऋतु की दोपहर बाद का वर्णन करती है। अमलतास नामक वृक्ष सूर्य की पीली रोशनी में नहाया हुआ है। वृक्ष के पत्ते पीले रंग के हो रहे हैं। वृक्ष के बीज जमीन पर गिर गए है। परन्तु वृक्ष बिल्कुल शान्त व खामोश है क्योंकि वहां कोई भी पक्षी चहचहा नहीं रहा है। तभी एक गोल्डफिन्च नामक विड़िया चहचहाते हुए आती है और वृक्ष की शाखा के सिरे पर एकदम बैठ जाती है। छिपकली की सर्तकता की भान्ति गोल्डफिच वृक्ष की धनी शाखाओं के बीच प्रवेश करती है और अपने बच्चों को जी भर कर खाना खिलाती है। गोल्डफिन्च के चेहरे पर धारियां हैं। ये एक मुखौटे की भांति दिखाई देती हैं और गोल्डफिन्च की पहचान के लिए एक प्रतीक भी है। समस्त वातावरण व अमलतास वृक्ष का दृश्य इस पक्षी की चहचहाने की आवाज के कारण आकर्षित व रोचक बन गया है। लेकिन जब यह (चिड़िया) वृक्ष की शाखा से निकलकर असीमित आसमान की ओर उड़कर चली जाती है तो समस्त वातावरण व अमलतास वृक्ष खामोश व निश्चल बन जाता है।
Word Meanings
| No. | Word | Meanings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Laburnum: | A kind of tree (अमलतास वृक्ष) |
| 2 | Silent: | Quiet (चुप) |
| 3 | Quite: | Absolutely (पूरी तरह से) |
| 4 | Still: | Calm (शान्त) |
| 5 | Goldfinch: | A sparrow type singing bird (चिड़िया जैसा गाने वाला पक्षी) |
| 6 | Twitching: | - Trembling (कंपकंपाना) |
| 7 | Chirrup: | Sound of chirping (चहचहाने की आवाज) |
| 8 | Suddenness: | Abrupty (अचानक) |
| 9 | Startlement: | - Surprise/Excitement (हैरानी / उत्तेजनादायक) |
| 10 | Sleek: | Smooth and oily (कोमल व चिकनाई युक्त) |
| 11 | Alert: | Careful (सावधान) |
| 12 | Abrupt: | Sudden (अचानक) |
| 13 | Chitterings: | Chirpings (चहचहाने की आवाजे) |
| 14 | Tremor: | Fluttering (फड़फड़ाहट) |
| 15 | Trillings: | Sounds of crying (चिल्लाने की आवाजे). |
| 16 | Stokes: | Shakes lovingly ( प्यार से हिलाना ) |
| 17 | Flirts out: | - Comes out skipping (झपटते हुए बाहर आना) |
| 18 | Barred face: | Stripped face (धारीचार चेहरा) |
| 19 | Mask: | Face (चेहरा / मुखौटा) |
| 20 | Eerie: | Sad and terrified (उदास व डरी हुई) |
| 21 | Delicate: | Tender (कोमल) |
| 22 | Whisperings: | Sounds like whistling (सीटी जैसी आवाजें) |
| 23 | Launches away: | Flies away (उड़ जाती है) |
| 24 | Subsides Becomes calm : | (शान्त हो जाना) |
Explanation and Figure of Speech:
Stanza 1:
The Laburnum top is silent, quite still
In the afternoon yellow September sunlight,
A few leaves yellowing, all its seeds fallen
‘The Laburnum Top’ by Ted Hughes presents the laburnum tree and the effects of autumn in the first three lines of the poem. Autumn is the preface of the book of winter. Naturally, the future event gets reflected in nature. The laburnum tree isn’t out of the grip of this event. It is silent due to the absence of a breeze and still as if it lacks the spontaneity of life. Moreover, the yellow sunlight in the afternoon makes it leaves appear yellower. The seeds of the laburnum have fallen, and it stands like nothing can redeem the tree from its autumnal slumber.
सितम्बर माह का तीसरा पहर है, सूर्य चमक रहा है और अमलतास नामक वृक्ष इसके पीले प्रकाश में नहाया हुआ दिखाई देता है। वृक्ष की चोटी पर पूर्णरूप से खामोशी छाई हुई है। इसमें कोई भी हलचल नहीं हो रही है। वृक्ष के कुछ पत्ते पीले रंग के हो गए हैं और इसके बीज परती पर पड़े हुए है।
Literary Devices:
In the first line, the poet uses personification which is he act of giving a human quality or characteristic to something which is not human,. Here, the poet personifies the “Laburnum top” or the tree itself.Alliteration: A number of words having the same first consonant sound occur close together in a series is called Alliteration. There is an alliteration in “September sunlight”.
Stanza 2:
Till the goldfinch comes, with a twitching chirrup
A suddenness, a startlement, at a branch end.
Then sleek as a lizard, and alert, and abrupt,
She enters the thickness, and a machine starts up
Of chitterings, and a tremor of wings, and trillings
The whole tree trembles and thrills.
It is the engine of her family.
She stokes it full, then flirts out to a branch-end
Showing her barred face identity mask
In this long stanza of ‘The Laburnum Top’ by Ted Hughes, the pessimism of the previous section passes away and comes to the vibrance of life. The goldfinch like the soul of the tree comes with emanating liveliness. It makes a “twitching chirrup” that not only alerts the tree but also the other creatures living in it. The first sign of life gets reflected in the “suddenness” and “startlement” at the branch end. Thereafter, the bird moves like a lizard, slow but steady in its movement. The movement of the bird depicts the goldfinch somehow wants its nest to remain undiscovered and safe. Above all, the bird is a symbol of motherhood. The thoughts of her nestlings are there in its mind, even if it is away from the tree in search of food. Moreover, the poet uses the imagery of modernism in the rest of the section. The tree, according to the poet, is a machine and the engine is none other than the goldfinch itself, like a body and the soul. The arrival of the bird eventuates a celebratory mood amidst the tree. The “chitterlings”, “tremor of wings”, and “trilling’s” reflect life has its period of dormancy and rejuvenation. The duality of silence and sound is what makes life more amazing. However, like the bird’s sudden arrival, its departure is also momentary, exactly like the entry of the soul into a body and its leave-taking.
तभी गोल्डफिन्च नामक चिड़िया चौका देने वाले ढंग से चीं-चीं की आवाज करते हुए आती है और उस खामोश व निश्चल वृक्ष (अमलतास) की एक शाखा के सिरे पर आकर बैठ जाती है। तब गोल्डफिन्च, बड़ी सफाई के साथ एक छिपकली की तरह वृक्ष की गहन टहनियों के भीतर प्रवेश करती है और छिपकली की तरह सावधान रहती है। तभी समस्त बच्चे की आवाज करते हुए अपने पंखों को फड़फड़ते हैं और खुशीपूर्वक चिल्लाने लग जाते हैं। समस्त वृक्ष प्रसन्नता व रोमांच से उत्तेजित हो जाता है। गोलफिन्च सभी बच्चों को खाना खिलाती है। इसके बाद यह फुदककर (उड़कर) किसी शाखा के सिरे पर चली जाती है। फिर वह अपना धारीदार चेहरा दिखाती है जो उसकी पहचान को दर्शाता है। बच्चों को खाना खिलाने के उपरान्त यह वृक्ष से बाहर आ जाती है।
Poetic Devices:
Alliteration: In this figure of speech, a number of words having the same
first
consonant sound occur close together in a series. Examples of alliteration in this poem are ‘September
sunlight’, ‘A suddenness, a startlement’, ‘and alert and abrupt’ and ‘tree trembles and thrills’
Onomatopoeia: In this figure of speech, a word is formed from a sound similar
to
it. Examples of
onomatopoeia in this poem are ‘twitching chirrup’, ‘chitterings’, ‘trillings’ and ‘whistle-chirrup’
these sounds resonate with the sound of the birds.
Simile: In this figure of speech, one thing is compared to another. An
example of
simile in this poem is
‘sleek as a lizard’.
Metaphor: In this figure of speech, a word/ phrase is used to represent
something
else. Examples of
metaphor in this poem are ‘engine of her family’, where ‘engine’ represents the mother goldfinch, and
‘machine’ which represents the nest with its brood of bird chicks.
Transferred Epithet: A transferred epithet is a description which refers to a
character or event but is
used to describe a different situation or character ‘Her barred face identity mask’ is an example of
transferred epithet in this poem. The flowers of the Laburnum tree fall like bars and, when the bird
sits behind the flowers, the shadow of the flowers on her face looks like she is wearing a mask that has
bars on it.
Stanza 3:
Then with eerie delicate whistle-chirrup whisperings
She launches away, towards the infinite
In the third stanza of ‘The Laburnum Top’ by Ted Hughes, there is a brief description of the goldfinch launching away to the sky. Before leaving, it makes an eerie but delicate sound. Here, the poet uses oxymoron in the phrase, “eerie delicate whistle-chirrup”. Moreover, it reflects a mixed sense of joy and tension in the poem.
गोल्डफिन्च उदासीपूर्ण, कोमल, सीटी जैसी चों चों की आवाजें लगाती है। यह असीम आसमान की ओर उड़ जाती है
Poetic Devices:
The poet uses oxymoron, that is a phrase that combines two words that seem to be the opposite of each other, in the phrase, “eerie delicate whistle-chirrup”. Moreover, it reflects a mixed sense of joy and tension in the poem.
Stanza 4:
And the laburnum subsides to empty.
In the last line of ‘The Laburnum Top’ by Ted Hughes, the poet describes what happens to the laburnum tree after the leave of its “engine”. The tree is like a human body that remains empty as the soul vacates its place and flies towards nonentity. The momentary beauty of nature fades just like the poet describes it in this poem.
अमलतास का वृक्ष दोबारा से एक बार फिर शान्त व खामोश हो जाता है मानो कि यह पूर्णतया खाली हो गया है।
Poetic Devices:
The last line contains a metaphor, and it depicts the absence of sound, a symbolic reference to lifelessness.
Exercises
COMPREHENSION of Stanzas:
Stanza 1:
The Laburnum top is silent, quite still
In the afternoon yellow September sunlight,
A few leaves yellowing, all its seeds fallen
Till the goldfinch comes, with a twitching chirrup
A suddenness, a startlement, at a branch end.
Questions:
Q.1. What is the name of the poem?
(A) Father to Son
(B) The Laburnum Top
(C) A Photograph
(D) None of these
Ans: B
Q.2. Who is the poet of this poem?
(A) Ted Hughes
(B) Markus Natten
(C) Walt Whitman
(D) Elizabeth Jennings
Ans: A
Q.3. The poem describes which of the month?
(A) July
(B) September
(C) August
(D) October
Ans: B
Q.4. What is the time of the day in this poem?
(A) Night
(B) Afternoon
(C) Morning
(D) Evening
Ans: B
Q.5. What sound does the goldfinch make?
(A) Barking
(B) Twittering
(C) Mewing
(D) Trumpeting
Ans: B
Stanza 2:
Then sleek as a lizard, and alert, and abrupt,
She enters the thickness, and a machine starts up
Of chitterings, and a tremor of wings, and trillings
The whole tree trembles and thrills.
It is the engine of her family.
Questions:
(i) Name the poem and the poet.
Ans. The poem's name is The Laburnum Top' and its poct's name is Ted Hughes.
(ii) Where does the goldfinch sit as it comes?
Ans. The goldfinch sits at a branch end of the tree.
(iii) How does the poet compare it to a lizard?
Ans. The poet compares goldfinch alertness with a lizard.
(iv) What happens when the goldfinch enters the tree?
Ans. When the goldfinch enters the tree a machine starts up of chitterlings.
(v) What is the engine of her family?
Ans. The goldfinch is the engine of her family.
Stanza 3:
She stokes it full, then flirts out to a branch-end
Showing her barred face identity mask
Then with eerie delicate whistle-chirrup whisperings
She launches away, towards the infinite
And the laburnum subsides to empty.
Questions:
Q.1. What is the name of the poem?
(A) Father to Son
(B) The Laburnum Top
(C) A Photograph
(D) None of these
Ans: B
Q.2. Who is the poet of this poem?
(A) Ted Hughes
(B) Markus Natten
(C) Walt Whitman
(D) Elizabeth Jennings
Ans: A
Q3. What kind of face does the goldfinch have?
(A) Ugly
(B) Barred
(C) Smooth
(D) Sweet
Ans: B
Q.4. What is it that looks like a mask?
(A) Wings
(B) Barred face
(C) Legs
(D) Peck
Ans: B
Q5. What is silent and quite still in the poem?
(A) Autumn
(B) Summer
(C) Winter
(D) Laburnum top
Ans: D
Question and Answers
Q.1. What is laburnum?
Ans. A laburnum is a tree.
Q.2. What do you notice about the beginning and the ending of the poem?
Ans. We find that both the beginning and the ending of the poem is the same. The top of the tree laburnum is still and silent. There is no movement at all.
Q3. To what is the bird's movement compared? What is the basis for the comparison?
Ans. The bird's movement has been compared to that of a lizard that moves in a sleek manner with an alertness and abruptness.
Q.4. How does the laburnum look after the goldfinch has flown away?
Ans. The laburnum tree becomes silent and still after the goldfinch has flown away. It has become totally empty.
Q.5. Why is the image of the engine' evoked by the poet?
Ans. An engine helps a machine to run smoothly. Like an engine, the goldfinch feeds her young ones to the fill. That is why, the poet has evoked the image of the engine.
Q.6. What do you like most about the poem?
Ans. The poem describes the beautiful picture of the autumn. The leaves have fallen from the laburnum tree. The goldfinch has been compared to a lizard. The whole picture of autumn becomes alive before our eyes.
Q.7. What does the phrase 'her barred face identity mask mean?
Ans. It means a face covered with stripes wholly, It looks like a mask. It is a symbol for the identity of the goldfinch. The goldfinch resembles such face By looking such stripes we can easily recognised the goldfinch.
Q.8. What season in the poem has been described and how?
Or
In the poem what shows that it is the season of autumn?
Ans. In the poem the season of autumn is described because the leaves of the laburnum tree has turned yellow. The seeds have fallen to the ground.
Q. 9 Write summary of the poem ‘The Laburnum Top’. 5 marks
Ans. The poem 'The Laburnum Top' is written by Ted Hughes. It describes a beautiful picture of an autumn afternoon. The laburnum tree is bathed in the yellow light of the sun. The leaves of the tree are getting yellowish. The seeds of the tree have fallen to the ground. But the tree is still and silent because there is no bird twittering. Just then a goldfinch comes chirping and lands abruptly at the end of a branch. Like the alertness of a lizard, the goldfinch enters the thickness of the branches and feeds her young ones to the fill. The goldfinch's face has stripes on it. These look like a mask and also a symbol for the identity of goldfinch. The whole atmosphere has become attractive and thrilling due to its chirping on the laburnum tree. But when she comes out to the end of a branch and launches away towards the infinite sky, the whole atmosphere along with the laburnum tree becomes silent and still.
Note Down:
(i) the sound words
A: Chirrup, chitterings, tremor of wings, trillings, whistle-chirrup, whispering
(ii) the movement words
A: comes, enters, starts up, flirts out.
(iii) the dominant colour in the poem.
A: yellow
List the following:
1. words which describe sleek, alert and abrupt.
A: Lizard, machine, and suddenness
2. words with the sound ch, as in chart, and tr, as in trembles in the poem.
A: goldfinch, branch, chetterings, Lauches, trembles, trillings, tree.
3. other sounds that occur frequent in the poem
A: twitching, chitterings, wings, trillings, whisperings
Multiple Choice Questions:
(A) Shirley Toulson
(B) Walt Whitman
(C) Ted Hughes
(D) Nissim Ezekiel
Ans.(C) Ted Hughes
2. What is a laburnum?
(A) a lap-top computer
(B) a labourer
(C) a tree with yellow flowers
(D) a laboratory
Ans. (C) a tree with yellow flowers
3. Which month of the year is referred to in the poem?
(A) July
(B) September
(C) November
(D) October
Ans. (B) September
4. Which bird is mentioned in this poem?
(A) a crow
(B) a goldfinch
(C) a nightingale
(D) a sparrow
Ans. (B) a goldfinch
5. The goldfinch has been compared with:
(A) a lizard
(B) a cat
(C) a hawk
(D) a tiger
Ans. (A) a lizard
Q:6 What does 'machine' mean in the poem?
(A) part of a factory
(B) part of a car
(C) the goldfinch's family.
(D) the leaves of the tree
Ans. (C) the goldfinch's family
Q:7 What happens to the tree when the goldfinch's family chirps?
(A) it falls down
(B) it dries away
(C) it remains silent
(D) it trembles and thrills
Ans. (D) it trembles and thrills
Q:8 What does the goldfinch show on the branch end?
(A) its feet
(B) its wings
(C) its barred face identity mask
(D) its plumes
Ans. (C) its barred face identity mask
Q:9 What is the condition of the leaves of laburnum in the poem?
A) they are green
(B) they are brown
(C) they are black
(D) they are yellow
Ans. (D) they are yellow
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