English- When Great Trees Fall NB Answers

Q-1. Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow. 

a) When great trees fall in forests,

small things recoil into silence,

there senses eroded beyond fear.

i) What does the falling of a tree symbolise?

Ans- When a great soul departs it affects the hundreds or thousands of hearts he or she has touched during the time they lived. The air around becomes difficult to  in. People begin feeling lost, miserable, and unproductive. 

ii) What happens when great souls die?

Ans- The falling of a great tree symbolizes the loss of a great person. 

iii) How does the falling of great trees affect small things ?

Ans- Small things symbolise the physically small, children, etc. who also feel the effects of the loss as much as their older counterparts. It could also mean that those who are unknown, without fame or political significance, too, feel the effects of the loss just as the great minds of their day feel it. 

iv) Find the word from the extract which means the same as 'flinch'.

Ans- recoil 

b) And when great souls die,

after a period peace blooms,

slowly and always irregularly.

Spaces fill with a kind of

soothing electric vibration.

i) What theme does the poet highlight in the above lines?

Ans- The poet discusses or highlights the theme of hope. 

ii) How do the empty spaces get filled?

Ans- The empty spaces get filled with a kind of soothing electric vibration. 

iii) How does the loss of a great soul affect people?

Ans- The loss of a great soul alters people’s senses such that they cannot be restored again.

iv) Find the word from the extract which is the opposite of 'upheaval'.

Ans- peace

Q-2 Answer the following questions in 30-40 words. 

a) What does the poet mean by 'their senses eroded beyond fear'?

Ans- In the phrase ‘their senses erode beyond fear’ the poet emphasises that the ones at loss are not even sure what they feel for their senses (are) eroded beyond fear. This refers to the numbness of heart and soul that often immediately follows the loss of someone great. 

b) What feeling does the poet explore in the line 'Our memory, suddenly sharpened, examines, gnaws on kind words unsaid'? Why? 

Ans- In this line the poet explores the feeling of anger and regret as she highlights the baggage of having unexpressed feelings in the heart, that a person experiences. This loss has left her desperately longing for more time to express the love she felt in her heart for the person who was taken too soon. 

c) What insight does the poet give on the mental and emotional effect of losing someone?

Ans- The poet explains that loss can truly change a person’s reality. When one’s reality is bound up in the life of another, the loss of that person changes everything. She explains the way that our souls can depend on the nurture of another, and when that person dies, it leaves us feeling small like our very souls have shrunk. This has an immense strain on a person’s mental and emotional being. 

d) Describe the brief moments of 'hurtful clarity' mentioned in the poem.

Ans- The speaker describes the way in which those affected by a loss have a brief moment of hurtful clarity in which they are able to see and understand just what a valuable soul has been lost. These moments serve as a reminder of the loss of the person.

Q-3 Answer the following questions in 100-120 words.

 a) How does the poet strike a comparison between nature and humans ?

Ans- The poet opens the poem with the metaphor of the falling of great trees. In the literal sense it means when great trees fall the effect is felt for miles. Inanimate objects like rocks shudder. Animals big or small hunker and run for safety. Metaphorically the poet draws a striking comparison between the falling of great trees to the loss of a person making it very symbolic. When a great soul departs, the effects are felt deep and far. Just like the lions hunker, people too react to the loss of life with fear and the pressing need to hide away to safety. The speaker’s use of nature and animals to create the image of the effects of death allows the reader to connect with the feeling through the visual imagery presented.

 b) What theme has been discussed in the line 'They existed. They existed. We can be. Be and be better. For they existed'?

Ans- In these lines the poet explores the theme that life goes on despite a great loss. These lines give a new meaning and purpose to her life. She claims that because this great one existed, she can be better. It even offers great hope to all who have experienced loss. The speaker continues to identify with others who have lost loved ones which creates a sense in the readers that they are not alone. Readers can know that others have felt such grievous pain, and yet have not only healed but been made better by the loss. Even if they will never be the same again, and even if there will always be pain and sadness, there is hope for healing and joy in the midst of great loss.