Important Questions and Answers for Class 11 English Chapter 3 Poem 2025-26

1. Which of the following best describes the state of the laburnum tree at the beginning and end of the poem?

• (a) Vibrant and full of sound
• (b) Silent and motionless
• (c) Filled with birds and activity
• (d) Covered in flowers

Answer: (b) Silent and motionless. Both the start and the end show the laburnum as quiet and still, highlighting the contrast with the activity in the middle.

2. In "The Laburnum Top," the movement of the goldfinch is compared to:

• (a) A squirrel
• (b) A lizard
• (c) A butterfly
• (d) A bee

Answer: (b) A lizard. The poem says the bird’s movement is “sleek as a lizard,” suggesting alertness and suddenness.

3. In "The Voice of the Rain," the phrase "I am the poem of Earth" refers to:

• (a) The song of birds
• (b) The music produced by rivers
• (c) The rain nourishing the earth
• (d) Thunder and lightning

Answer: (c) The rain nourishing the earth. The rain calls itself the ‘poem of Earth’ as it sustains and beautifies nature.

2. Very Short Answer (VSA).

1. What is the dominant colour described in "The Laburnum Top" poem?

Answer: Yellow is the dominant colour, mentioned as “yellow September sunlight” and “leaves yellowing.”

2. Name the local bird compared to the goldfinch in the poem.

Answer: The goldfinch is a small singing bird; students may mention a similar local bird like a sunbird or bulbul.

3. What does the word "impalpable" mean in "The Voice of the Rain"?

Answer: "Impalpable" means something that cannot be touched or physically felt.

4. What figure of speech is used in "And who art thou? said I to the soft-falling shower"?

Answer: Personification, as the rain is given a voice to converse.

3. Short Answer Questions.

1. Explain why the goldfinch’s arrival creates a sudden change in the laburnum tree.

Answer: The goldfinch’s arrival transforms the tree from stillness to activity. Her presence and feeding of her young bring sounds, movement, and energy, illustrating how life animates nature unexpectedly and then disappears, letting calm return.

2. How is the rain cycle described in "The Voice of the Rain"?

Answer: The rain describes rising from land and sea as vapor, going to the sky, and returning as rain. This mirrors the scientific water cycle, showing the rain’s journey and its importance in sustaining life on earth.

3. What is meant by “her barred face identity mask” in "The Laburnum Top"?

Answer: This phrase refers to the goldfinch’s unique facial markings, which help others identify her and distinguish her from other birds.

4. Long Answer Questions.

1. Discuss the imagery and main theme of "The Laburnum Top." How does the poet use sound and movement to enhance the poem?

Answer: "The Laburnum Top" uses vivid imagery and contrasting soundscapes to show the sudden burst of activity caused by the goldfinch. Initially silent and yellow, the tree becomes full of life—chirping, fluttering, and tremors—when the bird arrives. The goldfinch's abrupt, alert movements are likened to a lizard, employing simile for effect. The metaphor of an “engine” conveys the dynamic energy she brings to her family. After she leaves, peace returns. The poem’s main theme is how fleeting moments of life can transform even the quietest environments.

1. Silent tree introduces a theme of stillness
2. Arrival and activity of goldfinch fill the tree with life
3. Departure restores calm, showing the cyclical pattern

2. "The Voice of the Rain" draws a parallel between rain and music. Discuss the similarity and its effect on the theme of the poem.

Answer: Walt Whitman compares rain to a song: both originate, transform, return, and nourish their sources. Rain rises as vapor, becomes clouds, then descends to earth, just as a song emerges from a poet, spreads, and returns with love. This comparison deepens the sense of rain being essential, beautiful, and life-giving. The use of bracketed lines emphasizes universality. Both rain and poetry purify and give back more than they take, suggesting the perpetual, nurturing bond with the world.

1. Both start from their source (earth/poet)
2. They undergo transformation
3. Both return, enriched, to their origin

5. Assertion–Reason type questions.

Assertion (A): The laburnum tree appears lifeless without the goldfinch.
Reason (R): The arrival of the goldfinch brings movement and sound to the tree.

• (a) A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A
• (b) A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A
• (c) A is true, but R is false
• (d) A is false, but R is true

Answer: (a) A and R are true, and R correctly explains A, as the tree is lively only when the goldfinch visits.

Assertion (A): The rain in "The Voice of the Rain" poem calls itself the 'poem of Earth'.
Reason (R): Rain sustains and beautifies life on earth.

• (a) A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A
• (b) A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A
• (c) A is true, but R is false
• (d) A is false, but R is true

Answer: (a) Both A and R are true, and R explains why rain is called the poem of Earth.

6. Case-based questions.

Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow:
“The Laburnum top is silent, quite still. In the afternoon yellow September sunlight, a few leaves yellowing, all its seeds fallen. Till the goldfinch comes, with a twitching chirrup. A suddenness, a startlement, at a branch end.”

(i) What is the atmosphere around the laburnum tree before the bird appears?

Answer: It is silent, still, and somewhat lifeless.

(ii) How does the arrival of the goldfinch change the mood?

Answer: Her arrival suddenly fills the tree with sound and activity.

(iii) Identify one sound word from the extract.

Answer: “Chirrup” is a sound word used for the bird’s voice.

(iv) What season is depicted in the poem?

Answer: The poem is set in September, suggesting early autumn.

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