Treasure Chest Workbook Answers Poem 8 When Great Trees Fall
When Great Trees Fall Poem Comprehension Questions Answers
Question 1.
Read the following verse paragraph and answer the questions that follow:
When great trees fall,
rocks on distant hills shudder,
lions hunker down in tall grasses,
and even elephants lumber after safety.
i. What does the poet mean by the word “great”?
ii. How do the rocks behave when great tree fall? Where does the great tree fall?
iii. How do the lions and elephant behave when great tree fall?
iv. How do the small things react when great tree fall?
v. Explain the metaphor of the falling tree. Why does the poet use natural setting like forest in this poem?
Answer:
i. The word great literally means enormous. The poet here refers to the enormous height of the trees in the forest which are like “great souls”, having deep impact in our lives. Like the great trees which collapse to the forest ground with menacing effect, the death of our beloved ones too has shattering effect in our lives.
ii. When “great trees” fall to the forest ground, rocks on far away hills tremble and are sometimes dislocated due to the violent tremor caused on the ground. The enormous trees that the poet refers to in the poem fall on the forest ground with shuddering effect.
iii. Gigantic trees in the forest often collapse to the ground with thunderous sound. This however terrorizes even the big animals like lions and elephants. While lions crouch low in the field, elephants on the other hand, plod along in search of shelter.
iv. Even the small things are deeply affected by the loud noise on the forest bed, caused when big trees fall on the ground. Small things actually refer to the children who feel so terrified that it seems as if their senses are entirely shattered. In a way, they too are shocked like adults when “great souls” die.
v. The tree is an extended metaphor that runs throughout the poem. The speaker intends to suggest that the loss of great people in our lives is similar to the loss of great tree in the forest. The fall of enormous trees in the forest has catastrophic effect within its orbit. Similarly we too are deeply affected by the sudden loss of great people in our lives. Hence, the poet uses the natural setting just to express the idea that death natural no matter how painful it is.
Question 2.
Read the following verse paragraph and answer the questions that follow:
When great souls die,
the air around us becomes
light, rare, sterile.
We breathe, briefly.
Our eyes, briefly,
see with
a hurtful clarity.
i. Who are the great souls referred to in the given excerpt? With whom are they compared to? Explain the point of comparison.
ii. How does the death of great souls affect the air around us?
iii. How do we breathe and see when great souls depart?
iv. What actually gnaws us when great souls die?
v. When our memory is suddenly sharpened? What memory does the poet speak about?
vi. What happens when our memory is suddenly sharpened?
Answer:
i. Great souls refer to our beloved ones who leave us in a state of shock because of their sudden death. These great souls are compared to the big trees that grow in the forest. When big trees suddenly fall on the forest bed, the impact is felt far and wide. Similarly, the death of great souls affects our lives since we are used to being “bound to them”.
ii. Death of our loved ones deeply affects us. We feel so depressed that it seems as if the air around us is scanty and lifeless. We feel chocked up, failing to breathe smoothly in such lifeless air around.
iii. When great souls die we are chocked with grief. In such a state the air around us seems scanty and lifeless. We thus, find difficult to breathe smoothly in such lifeless air around. Moreover, with grieving heart we look around with mournful eyes, barely able to see things clearly.
iv. Death of our beloved ones torturously reminds us about the unfulfilled desire we once thought of fulfilling with our dearest ones. When we recall such unfulfilled plans like a simple walk or some kind words we thought of saying, we deeply regret failing to do so. We are continuously gnawed up from within.
v. Our memory is suddenly sharpened soon after the death of our beloved ones. Such memories are some comforting words which remained unsaid to our dearest ones. Moreover, it may also be a promised walk with our dearest ones, no more alive.
vi. When our memory is suddenly sharpened soon after the death of our beloved ones, we are simply gnawed from within remembering the words which remained forever unsaid to our beloved ones. Perhaps those kind words could have comforted our precious souls, no more alive. Moreover, we also regret remembering things like “promised walks”, never carried out due to sudden death of our beloved ones. The sudden sharpening of our memory thus, fills us with regret and remorse.
Question 3.
Read the following verse paragraph and answer the questions that follow:
Great souls die and
our reality, bound to them,
takes leave of us.
Our souls,
dependent upon their
nurture,
now shrink, wizened.
Our minds formed
and informed by their
radiance, fall away.
i. Why does the poet use “our” instead of me while referring to the loss of our beloved ones?
ii. Who are the great souls referred to in the given excerpt? In what way are we indebted to them?
iii. How does the death of our beloved ones affect our soul?
iv. How does the death of our beloved ones affect our mind?
v. How does the world around feel like after the death of our beloved ones?
Answer:
i. The poet intends to identify her loss with others who have faced the similar crisis after losing their loved ones. Death of mortals is quite natural. Hence, the poet speaks in the voice of “we”, giving voice to the shattering experience faced by those who survive the loss of someone “great.”
ii. The “great souls” referred to in the given excerpt are those dearest to our heart. Their greatness lies in their invaluable guidance which makes our life meaningful. In fact, we remain indebted to them all because of their constant support and guidance which has helped us to grow and move ahead in life. In a way, we move on, following their footsteps after they die.
iii. Death of someone great to us deeply affects our souls. Because of being attached to them, our souls fail to accept the death of our loved ones. In such an awful state of shock, our own souls shrivel up and make us feel small.
iv. Death of someone great to us deeply affects our mind. In a state of shock, we often lose control of our mind. In other words, our minds start losing their sanity due to being overwhelmed with grief.
v. Overwhelmed with grief due to sudden death of someone great to us, the world around appears hostile. We lose the control of our minds and become directionless immediately after the death of our loved ones. In such a miserable state, the entire the world around us appears hostile and crude like that of stone ages.
Question 4.
Read the following verse paragraph and answer the questions that follow:
And when great souls die,
after a period peace blooms,
slowly and always
irregularly. Spaces fill
with a kind of
soothing electric vibration.
i. What transformation do we see in us after a period of time?
ii. What is meant by “Spaces fill with a kind of soothing electric vibration”?
iii. With what assurance do we recover from the shock of losing our beloved ones?
iv. How do we motivate ourselves to move ahead in life?
v. Why does the poet make a striking comparison between death of humans and nature?
Answer:
i. Overcoming the grief of losing someone great in our lives, we finally start recovering. Our senses are finally restored to normality and we are constantly assured that once our beloved folks existed. Their guidance remains with us and we continue moving ahead in life I following their footsteps.
ii. The grief of losing someone great in our lives continues ‘ to heal up slowly. During such process when our mind, starts recovering from the shock we are filled up with a relaxing tremor like electric vibration which assures us ‘ that once our beloved folks existed. With such assurance, we continue moving ahead in life.
iii. It takes time to recover from the irreparable loss of; losing someone great in our lives. When our senses are I finally restored to normality, we are constantly assured that once our beloved folks existed. But now when they are no more alive, their guidance remains with us. With, such assurance, we finally recover from the shock of losing our beloved ones and continue moving ahead in life following their footsteps.
iv. The guidance of our loved ones is of great motivations for us to keep on going. Remembering their contributions in making our lives meaningful, we constantly feel that the deceased beloved of ours once existed. Such assurance, motivate us to move ahead in life following their footsteps.
v. Since it is natural for us to die, the poet brings in reference to the natural world to establish the fact that death is natural for all living being. Just as a tree collapse in the forest bed, humans too die because of nature’s ordain. The fall of trees are thus, compared to the death of humans whose death affects us in a major way.
When Great Trees Fall Poem Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
Question 1.
The fall of great trees leave a great impact upon
a. humans
b. water
c. air
d. forest
Answer:
d. forest
Question 2.
Name two animals mentioned in the poem
a. lion and tiger
b. tiger and elephant
c. elephant and lion
d. lion and deer
Answer:
c. elephant and lion
Question 3.
What does elephant do when great trees collapse to the ground
a. they leave the forest at once
b. they eat the trees instantly
c. they scare away other animals
d. they search for shelters
Answer:
d. they search for shelters
Question 4.
Great souls referred to in the poem are
a. renowned figures of the world
b. religious men
c. those dear to our heart
d. men of great deeds
Answer:
c. those dear to our heart
Question 5.
With the death of great souls the air around us becomes
a. lifeless
b. poisoned
c. fresh
d. violent
Answer:
a. lifeless
Question 6.
Which among these do we remember immediately after the death of our loved ones
a. our last dinner with them
b. the promised walk never undertaken
c. the last song sang together
d. the last opera seen together
Answer:
b. the promised walk never undertaken
Question 7.
How does the death of our beloved ones affect our mind?
a. our mind is at once refreshed
b. our mind is not affected
c. We lose the control of our minds and become directionless
d. our mind is temporarily affected
Answer:
c. We lose the control of our minds and become directionless
Question 8.
What helps us to heal up the loss of our loved ones?
a. consolation
b. involvement
c. time
d. None of the above
Answer:
c. time
Question 9.
What motivate us to move ahead in life?
a. good music
b. the assurance that our loved ones once existed
c. self motivation
d. meditation
Answer:
b. the assurance that our loved ones once existed
Question 10.
The poem When Great Tree Fall is on the whole
a. depressing
b. amusing
c. sarcastic
d. realistic
Answer:
d. realistic
When Great Trees Fall Poem Annotations with Comments
Stanza I:
Great trees: refers to the gigantic height of trees.
Shudder: shake, tremble
Hunker down: to lower the body to the ground by bending the legs
Lumber: move in a slow, heavy, awkward way
Comment:
Great tree: The adjective “great” lends a different meaning when the speaker speaks about the fall of great trees. The word “great” is deliberately used to mean “great souls”. In fact, the poet uses metaphor to compare the death of loved ones with large and powerful trees that fall in the forest. Like enormous trees which deeply affect the forest as they collapse, the death of great souls too have similar effect on us.
Stanza II:
small things: tiny objects which includes both living and non living objects in the forest
recoil: suddenly spring or flinch back in fear or horror
eroded: collapsed
sense eroded…. fear: the loud rumbling sound of the fall of gigantic trees in the forest deeply scares every living objects. It seems as if their senses collapse out of terrible fear.
Comment:
small things: Symbolically small things refer to the children who feel equally sad like adults, losing their loved ones. In fact, they feel so miserable that it seems as if their senses are entirely shattered.
Stanza III:
great souls: refer to great men
rare: unusual
sterile: barren
light, rare, sterile: the death of our loved ones affects the air around us. We feel so depressed that it seems as if the air around us is scanty and lifeless
breathe, briefly: find difficult to breathe smoothly
eyes, …… see: the death of our loved ones is so upsetting that we look around with mournful eyes, barely able to see things clearly.
Memory…. sharpened: our memory associated with those we love is sharpened soon after their death.
Gnaw: torment
Kind ….. unsaid: we repent failing to express things we thought of expressing those we love because of their sudden death.
Promised walk….taken: We repent for failing to fulfil the commitment of a simple walk with our loved one due to his/her sudden death.
Comment:
Memory sharpened suddenly sharpened……. never taken: When our memory is suddenly sharpened soon after the death of our loved ones, we are simply gnawed from within remembering the words which remained forever unsaid to them. Moreover, we also regret remembering things like a “promised walks”, never carried out due to their sudden death.
Stanza IV:
Great souls: refers to those having great impact on our daily life
Bound to them: we are deeply attached to those having great impact on our daily life. This is because of their care and guidance that we miss after their death
Leave of us: takes leave of us after their
sudden death
Shrink: shrivel
Wizened: wrinkled
Formed and informed: developed and nurtured
fall away: We lose our grip on our minds
maddened: incensed
We are ….maddened: we do not go mad failing to receive guidance and care from those we love. Instead, we become directionless
Unutterable: unspeakable
ignorance….caves: Minds that were developed and nurtured, suddenly collapse to ignorance. The world around us appears hostile after the death of our mentor like figures.
Stanza V:
Period: span
After a period: after some time has passed
Peace blooms: peace comes in
Irregularly: not smoothly
Space fill with a kind of ……vibration: the despair caused by the death of our beloved one slowly fades out as the wound starts healing slowly. During such process when our mind starts recovering from the shock we are filled up with a relaxing tremor like electric vibration which assures us that beloved folks once existed.
senses, restored: senses restored to normality
they existed: the speaker hallucinates of hearing a whisper assuring that though our loved ones are dead now, they once existed.
Be better: because our loved ones existed and inspired us for a better living, we can continue living with anticipation for a meaningful life
Comment:
We can be. Be and be better: The poem ends in a note of optimism. Despite the feeling that the world ends after the death of someone we love, life continues. We ultimately recover with time. Our senses are finally restored to normality.
We feel consoled with the assurance that our beloved folks once existed. And now when they no longer exits, their guidance leads us ahead. We continue moving ahead in life following their footsteps.
When Great Trees Fall Poem Paraphrase
Stanza I:
The entire forest is disturbed when enormous trees collapse to the ground. Rocks on far-away hills tremble and are sometimes dislocated due to the violent tremor on the ground. Big animals like lions crouch low in the field and elephants plod along in search of shelter.
Stanza II:
The entire forest is suddenly trapped in silence when colossal trees collapse to the ground. The loud noise caused and the tremor produced on the ground deeply scares the entire forest. Moreover, the small objects feel so afraid that it seems as if their senses are entirely collapsed.
Stanza III:
Death of our loved ones deeply affects us. We feel so depressed that it seems as if the air around us is scanty and lifeless. We find difficult to breathe smoothly as our heart is heavy with sorrow. Moreover, with grieving heart we look around with mournful eyes, barely able to see things clearly.
The memories associated with our loved ones are suddenly brightened up when they meet with unexpected death. For example, we repent recalling words unsaid or a simple walk never carried out. Such unfulfilled actions fill, us with remorse and we regret failing to fulfil the promises we once made to our beloved ones, no more alive.
Stanza IV:
The sudden death of those who were mentor like figures simply leaves us directionless. Those great souls had great impact on our daily life. We were deeply attached to them all because of their care and guidance. They developed and nurtured our minds which start collapsing soon after their death. In such a state, the world around us appears hostile and crude like that of stone ages even when our sanity is not at stake.
Stanza V:
The death of our beloved ones initially leaves us in the pool of sadness. But we ultimately recover with time no matter how slowly the process begins. Our senses are finally restored to normality and we are consoled with the avowal that our beloved ones once existed. With such consolation, we continue moving ahead in life following their footsteps.
When Great Trees Fall Poem Summary by Maya Angelou
The entire forest is at once disturbed when enormous trees collapse to the ground. Rocks on the far away hills shake violently and are sometimes dislocated due to the fierce tremor on the ground. Big animals like lions crouch low in the field and elephants plod along in search of shelter. Moreover, the small objects feel so afraid that it seems as if their senses are entirely collapsed.
Death of our loved ones too has similar effect on us. We feel so depressed that it seems as if the air around us is scanty and lifeless. We find difficult to breathe smoothly as our heart is heavy with sorrow. Moreover, with grieving heart, we look around with mournful eyes, barely able to see things clearly.
The memories associated with our loved ones are suddenly brightened up when they meet with unexpected death. For example, we repent recalling words unsaid or a simple walk never carried out. Such unfulfilled actions fill us with remorse and we regret failing to fulfill the promises we once made to our beloved ones, no more alive.
However, we often feel directionless when our mentor like figures dies. Those “great souls” leaves a great impact on our daily life. We were deeply attached to them all because of their care and guidance. They developed and nurtured our minds which start collapsing soon after their death.
In such a state, the world around us appears hostile and crude like that of stone ages, even when our sanity is not at stake. But though grief feels all-consuming initially, we ultimately recover with time. The process of healing may take time; but our senses are finally restored to normality. We feel consoled with the avowal that our beloved ones once existed. With such consolation, we continue moving ahead in life following their footsteps.
When Great Trees Fall Poem Introduction
Written in 1987 after the death of her friend and fellow writer/activist, James Baldwin, Maya Angelou’s When Great Trees Fall speaks about the way we behave, immediately after losing our beloved ones. The “great souls” who have influenced our lives are like “great trees” which shudders the entire forest when they collapse to the ground.
Similarly the death of our beloved ones deeply upset our lives. But we are eventually pacified remembering their invaluable support which helps us to continue moving ahead in life, following their footsteps. Angelou’s poem thus, ends in a note of optimism which teaches us to move onward even when grief may feel all-consuming.