By-Group A

Members Slides Made

 Ayush Kaushik 3

 Nipun Sharma 2

 Naman Rastogi 2

 Tanu Panwar 2

 Yash Mathur 2

 Palak Sharma 2
Edward James Hughes was an English poet and
children’s writer. He was the one of best poets of
his generation. He was married to American poet
Sylvia Plath from 1956 until her suicide in 1963 at
the age of 30. His last poetic work was Birthday
Letters in which he write about their complex
relationship. He was born at Aspinall street, in
Mytholmroyd in the west Riding of Yorkshire, to
William Henry and Edith Hughes. He loved hunting
and fishing, swimming and picnicking with his
family. In 1951, Hughes initially studied English at
Pembroke College. His first published poetry
appeared in Chequer.
 In august 1970, Hughes married Carol Orchard, a
nurse, and they remained together until his death.
He bought the house Lumb Bank near Hebden
Bridge, West Yorkshire, and maintained the property
at Court Green. He also won the annual Guardian
Children’s Fiction Prize, a once-in-a-lifetime book
award. He wrote many works for children. Nicholas
Hughes, the son of Hughes and Plath, died by
suicide in his home in Alaska on 16 March 2009
after suffering from depression. In 1959 he won the
Galbriath prize. In 2009, the Ted Hughes award for
new work in poetry was established with the
permission of Carol Hughes. The Poetry Society
notes “the award is named in honor of Ted Hughes,
Poet Laureate, and one of the greatest twentieth
century poets for both children and adults”. He was
dead in 28 October 1988.
 A laburnum or "golden chain" tree is a deciduous species with
yellow flowers often planted as an ornamental tree. Most
parts of the tree and its fruit are poisonous. A laburnum top
refers to the top of such a tree, the part with leaves and
branches and flowers. The poem consists of four stanzas
written in free verse. In the poem, a third-person narrator
describes watching the tree in September, just as a few of its
leaves start to turn yellow. The events of the poem take place
over a period of a few minutes. At the beginning of the poem,
the tree appears empty and quiet. A female goldfinch then
returns to her nest on the tree and the narrator can hear her
chicks chirping and see the leaves moving, even when the
mother bird is hidden by the leaves. The narrator compares
the return of the mother to an engine starting and setting a
machine in motion. The mother bird then heads out to the
end of a branch and flies off and the tree falls silent again.
 Laden with its foliage, and flowers, the
Laburnum tree stands silently in a quiet
September afternoon.
 The environment is so eerily calm. Some
leaves have started to yellow, and the seeds
have all fallen off the tree.
 The tiny bird, Goldflinch flies in from nowhere and perches
itself at the tip of a branch. Its whole body shakes naturally in
continuous small movements.
 In sudden bursts of energy, it hops from one stem to
another. It goes into the dense interior of the tree till it
vanishes from the poet’s sight.
 All along, the Goldflinch makes a shrill, high-pitched sound.
It seems, the tiny bird appears to inject a burst of energy to
the tree.
 Its agility and energy seem to fire up the dormant Laburnum
tree.
 The bird makes its return.
 It hops to the tip of a branch, and in the flick
of an eye, it flies off. The bird has a typical
black color head with a bright yellow pair of
wings.
 When it flies off, it shows its face fleetingly.
The Laburnum tree falls quiet suddenly.
Silence pervades again.
 Alliteration: September sunlight tree
trembles and thrills.
 Simile: sleek as a lizard.
 Metaphor: shaking of the tree on arrival
of Goldfinch is compared to starting up of
a machine.
 The entire poem is an example of
Symbolism.
Questions and Answers
1.What do you notice about the beginning and the
ending of the poem?
 There is a similarity in the beginning and the end of
the poem. The poem evokes the image of silence,
secularism and hollowness which are the integral
part of life. The Laburnum tree- the symbol of
silence and stillness is passing through decay and
deterioration in the autumn season.
2. To what is the bird movement compared? What is
the basis of comparison ?
 The bird’s movement has been compared with a
sleek and stealthy movement of the lizard. Before it
enters the thick foliage of the tree to go to its nest, it
stretches itself like a lizard in a very alert and abrupt
manner enters because it wants to protect its young
ones from any danger.
3. What does the phrase her barred face identify mask
mean?
 The laburnum tree has cluster of flowers which hang
like bars and it seems the ‘Gold finch’ hidden behind
these bunches looks as if standing behind bass. Gold
finch has characteristics yellow bars strips on her
face and wings which lend her identity so it is
perfectly camouflaged in the yellow flowers and
yellowing on the tree.
 Acknowledgement
 I would like to express my special thanks
of gratitude to my teacher Mrs. Anita
dogra, who gave us the golden
opportunity to do this wonderful project.
We came to know about many things we
are really thankful to them. This
assignment cannot be completed without
the effort and co-operation from our group
members Ayush, Tanu, Naman, Nipun,
Yash and Palak. We are also thankful to
SlideShare app which gives us an idea to
make it.