Short & Long Answer Question: Poem 2 - Laburnum Top | English Class 11 PDF Download

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS 
1. How does the Laburnum tree appear in September? 
Ans. In the afternoon of an autumnal September sunlight, the laburnum top appears silent and quite still. A few leaves of the tree are turning yellow. All the seeds of the tree have fallen. 
2. How does the poet, Ted Hughes, portray the arrival of the goldfinch on the end of branch of laburnum tree? 
Ans. The goldfinch chirps making sudden quick movements. She settles down at a branch end. Her arrival is marked with quickness, unexpectedness and sudden surprise.
3. Describe the movement of the goldfinch in the laburnum tree. 
Ans. At first the goldfinch settles at a branch end. Then it watches and suddenly she enters the middle part of the tree. Its movement is as smooth as that of a lizard.
4. What happens when the goldfinch enters the thickness? 
Ans. As the goldfinch enters the thickness, a confusion of sounds is stirred up as if a machine had started working. Slight shaking of wings and quavering sounds make the tree tremble and full of excitement. 
5. What do you think the goldfinch does in the thickness of the laburnum tree? 
Ans. As the goldfinch enters the thickness of the laburnum tree there is a spontaneous outbreak of twittering, quavering sounds and tremor of wings. The whole tree seems to shake slightly and is excited. 
6. How does the goldfinch depart from the laburnum tree? 
Ans. The goldfinch whistles and chirps in mysterious, frightening and delicate manner. Then she jumps forward with a lot of force from the branch and soars up to the sky.
LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS  
1. Give a brief account of the sounds and movement of the goldfinch on the laburnum top. 
Ans. The goldfinch chirps and suddenly settles on the end of a branch on the top of the laburnum tree. Then quite suddenly and watchfully she enters the middle part of the tree. She moves smoothly like a lizard. Then the tree is filled up with a series of short, quick, high pitched chattering sounds, shaking of wings and quavering sound. The whole tree shakes slightly and is excited. It seems as if a whole machine has started working. This thickness of the tree houses the family of goldfinch and she stokes the engine of her family before leaving the tree and flying off to the infinite. The laburnum top regains its silence and stillness.