The Heart of the Tree by Henry Bunner- ICSE Hub
The Heart of the Tree- line by line analysis
The Heart of the Tree is one of the famous poems by Henry Cuyler Bunner. In this article, we have discussed a detailed line-by-line analysis of the poem The Heart of the Tree a very lucid English, which will surely help the students to understand the poem very clearly. Here we have also discussed the Summer of the poem The Heart of the Tree. Here you will also find important Question and Answer of The Heart of the Tree which you can also download a pdf for further reading. In a word, this article is a full package for the students of the ICSE board, Class 9 and 10.
Topics covered
The Heart of the Tree ICSE Hub
The Heart of the Tree questions and answers
The Heart of the Tree summary stanza wise
The Heart of the Tree Workbook answers ICSE Hub
The Heart of the Tree ICSE notes
The Heart of the Tree analysis
The Heart of the Tree analysis
What does he plant who plants a tree?
- This is an example of a rhetorical question.
- The poet actually does not want to answer his question or he is not actually asking it to someone.
- The poet here wants to tell us what other benefits of planting a tree are.
- This rhetorical question at the very beginning of the poem helps us to understand what the theme of the poem is going to be.
He plants a friend of sun and sky;
- Here the poet gives the answer to his question by himself.
- He says that planting a tree is not just planting a tree; it is also about making a new friend of the sun and the sky.
- A plant grows upwards and aims to reach the sun and the sky and thus makes a new of the sun and the sky.
He plants the flag of breezes free;The shaft of beauty towering high;
- The poet also says that when a man plants a tree he also plants a flag that flies freely in the breeze.
- Here Henry Cuyler Bunner describes the tree and its branches as the flag.
- When a tree grows to reach out to the sky, it looks very beautiful like a tower touching the sky.
He plants a home to heaven anigh;
- By planting a tree a man also makes a place for the birds to build their nest on. And when a tree grows up it becomes fairly high from the ground which makes our poet think that it becomes nearer to heaven.
For song and mother-croon of bird
In hushed and happy twilight heard—
The treble of heaven’s harmony—
These things he plants who plants a tree.
- Here the poet says that when the day is over the birds return to their nest and sing songs to make their babies fall asleep.
- The chirping of the birds at dusk is compared to the songs and lullaby of the birds.
- He even goes further and compared these songs to the music from heaven, which you can hear in a calm and happy twilight.
- These are the benefits of planting a tree.
STANZA - 2
What does he plant who plants a tree?
- In the second stanza, the poet repeats the same question in the same he has used it in the first stanza.
- To be more specific, here in this stanza our poet tells us about how much a tree is helpful for our environment.
He plants cool shade and tender rain,
- Here the phrase ‘cool shade’ hints at the fact that it is the tree who helps to control the temperature of the earth by maintaining the O2 and CO2 levels in the earth’s atmosphere.
- Not only the tree helps to control the temperature but also helps to rain. Since water is the source of life, trees make the earth lively and green by causing rain. Hence the phrase ‘tender rain’ means keeping the earth green and full of life.
And seeds and buds of days to be,
And years that fade and flush again;
- Here the words ‘seeds’ and ‘bud’ are related to the production of food and propagation.
- The trees not only produce food for themselves but almost for every living thing in world.
- Flowers produce fruits and these fruits contain seeds from which more new trees grow.
- When a year ends a new year starts, likewise when a tree dies more new trees grow in his place.
He plants the glory of the plain
- The poet has referred to the tree as the glory of the earth because it makes the world more prosperous with a very clean and green ecosystem.
He plants the forest’s heritage;
The harvest of a coming age;
The joy that unborn eyes shall see—
- This time poet describes the tree as the heritage of the forest because trees make a forest. Here ‘forest’ refers to a land where there is an abundance of green trees. When one plans a tree he makes a little contribution towards making the earth greener. This why our poet has used the phrase ‘forest’s heritage’.
- The term ‘coming age’ and ‘unborn eyes’ are used to mean the future-time and future generation simultaneously.
- A tree lives much longer than humans. So if you plant a tree, it will live longer than you, and after you die your next generation will enjoy the benefits of that tree planted by you.
These things he plants who plants a tree.
- These are the benefits of planting a tree.
STANZA - 3
What does he plant who plants a tree?
- Even in the third stanza, the poet repeats the same rhetoric question in the very same way.
He plants in sap and leaf and wood,
In love of home and loyalty
And far-cast thought of civic good—
- Here Henry Cuyler Bunner uses the word ‘sap’ perhaps to signify the medical properties of a tree.
- By mentioning the ‘sap’, ‘leaf’ and ‘wood’ our poet makes us count the benefits of a tree. Here he wants to say that every single part of a tree is useful for us.
- far-cast thought of civic good’ means future planning for the benevolence for the next generation.
- Here the poet wants to say that one who plants a tree is a visionary, and he selflessly does that for his next generation to get the benefits of a plant.
His blessings on the neighborhood
Who in the hollow of His hand
Holds all the growth of all our land—
- Here the poet has appreciated the man who plants.
- Because by planting a tree he also contributes to the growth of our land or nation.
- Because forest resources play an important role in the development of the country.
A nation’s growth from sea to sea
Stirs in his heart who plants a tree.
- In these concluding lines, the poet deals with a very important fact that is universal unity.
- The man who plants a tree believes that the whole world is one nation.
- Here the line “A nation’s growth from sea to sea” has been used to refer to the entire world and the one who plants a tree serves the whole world with his blessing.
- He is a real man who is selfless, kind, and benevolent to the mother earth and his neighbor.
