Extract based - laburnum top Flashcards
i) What is the significance of the ‘Laburnum top’ here?
The laburnum is an Indian tree with yellow flowers. The significance of the tree top here is that the goldfinch bird has built her nest in its branch, not reachable easily, to bring up her chicks.
Why does the poet use the word ‘engine’? Do you think it is hyperbole or exaggeration?
The word ‘engine’ in the extract denotes the sudden and monotonous noise put up by the young ones of the goldfinch in the nest. The poet has definitely used hyperbole in a beautiful way to compare the sudden eruption of chitterings in the tree to that of an engine starting up.
What is the identification mask of the bird?
The little singing bird can be recognised from the stripes on her face.
What do you notice about the beginning and the ending of the poem?
The poem starts or opens with ‘silence and stillness’ on, the tree top. The poem closes with the emptiness or silence that returns after the bird has flown away.
