NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Beehive Poem On Killing a Tree

Thinking about the Poem

Question:- I. 1.Can a “simple jab of the knife” kill a tree? Why not?

Answer:– No, a simple jab of knife does not have the ability to kill the tree.  It must go through a number of steps. It will sprout again if the root is not removed from the ground.

Question:- 2. How has the tree grown to its full size? List the words suggestive of its life and activity.

Answer:- The tree reached its full size by consuming the soil, feeding on its crust, and absorbing years of sunlight, air, and water.

Absorbing, feeding, rising, consuming, and sprouting are terms that imply its life and activity.

Question:- 3. What is the meaning of “bleeding bark”? What makes it bleed?

Answer:- The “bleeding bark” marks the location of the tree’s cut. When trees are cut, they leak a liquid similar to how humans shed blood when they are injured.

Question:- 4. The poet says “No” in the beginning of the third stanza. What does he mean by this?

Answer:- The poet says “No” in the beginning of the third stanza. It indicates that just cutting or chopping down the tree will not result in its extinction.

Question:- 5. What is the meaning of “anchoring earth” and “earth cave”?

Answer:- The term “anchoring earth” refers to how the earth acts as a mother for the tree, preventing it from being uprooted.

The term “earth cave” refers to the depths of the mother earth, where the tree’s roots spread and are nourished.

Question:- 6. What does he mean by “the strength of the tree exposed”?

Answer:- He means that if you try to take a tree out of the ground together with its deep-rooted roots, you’ll realise  the strength of the tree.

Question:- 7. What finally kills the tree?

Answer:-  The tree is killed by removing it from the mother ground and burning and choking it in the sun and air. It becomes brown, dries out, and hardens. It eventually dies.

Read and Enjoy

           Trees

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

                                JOYCE KILMER