LIWA

The Trees

CBSE Class 10 · English · Chapter 16

Past board exam questions

CBSE 2026 board paper · 3 marks

Support with textual evidence that the poem ‘The Trees’ symbolises emotion and exhaustion. (Answer in about 40-50 words.)

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(Content 2 – any two points with textual evidence; Expression 1) The poem traces the trees (symbolising women) breaking away from confinement. Words and phrases such as ‘disengage’, ‘the leaves strain toward the glass’ and ‘the twigs, stiff with exertion’ show the pain and struggle of this effort, and the branches, like ‘newly discharged patients half-dazed’, show exhaustion – change is difficult and painful but necessary for growth.

CBSE 2026 board paper · 5 marks

Read the given extract and answer the questions given below : I sit inside, doors open to the veranda writing long letters in which I scarcely mention the departure of the forest from the house. The night is fresh, the whole moon shines in a sky still open the smell of leaves and lichen still reaches like a voice into the rooms. (Trees) (i) Comment on the portrayal of the narrator in the given extract. (2) (ii) Complete the following suitably : (1) The trees’ movement from the house to the forest, reflect the broader theme of _______. (iii) What has the poet hardly mentioned in her letter ? (1) (iv) What kind of atmosphere is created through the given extract ? Select the correct option(s) : (1) 1. nostalgia 2. serenity 3. detachment 4. loss 5. joy (A) 1 and 4 (B) Only 2 (C) 1, 2 and 3 (D) 2 and 5

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(i) (Any two) The narrator is calm, reflective and observant, immersed in peaceful contemplation; she is introspective and hopeful; she is connected with her surroundings through sensory experiences such as the smell of leaves and lichen; she shows a heightened awareness of the trees’ movement. (ii) liberation (from patriarchy / regressive confinement) – the desire for independence, self-discovery and exploration / the conflict between man and nature. (iii) The departure of the forest from the house. (iv) (D) 2 and 5

CBSE 2026 board paper · 3 marks

How does the poet use imagery and symbolism to show the movement of the trees in the poem “The Trees” ? (Answer in about 40-50 words.)

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(Content 2 – at least two value points; Expression 1) Imagery: the poet describes the trees pushing out of the house – “the glass is breaking” – showing force and movement; the roots creeping, the branches straining and the leaves moving show change and action, a break from stillness. Symbolism: the trees leaving the house symbolise breaking free from confinement; the house represents control and silence, while the forest, “empty” but waiting, represents freedom and life, showing that nature wants to return to its place. The trees, like newly discharged patients, have suffered and are still acclimatising after breaking free.

CBSE 2026 board paper · 5 marks

Read the following extract and answer the questions given below : “All night the roots work To disengage themselves from the cracks in the veranda floor. The leaves strain towards the glass small twigs stiff with exertion long-cramped boughs shuffling under the roof like newly discharged patients half dazed, moving to the clinic doors (Trees) (i) What do the roots work upon all night ? (1) (ii) Each part of the trees works to get itself free. Describe their struggle. (answer in about 40 words) (2) (iii) Fill the blank with one word. (1) The long branches are compared to _______. (iv) The phrase ‘half-dazed’ is used for the branches as they adjust from being indoors to being in the open. It highlights the branches’ : (1) (A) disorientation and fragility (B) experience and privilege (C) hurt and injury (D) barrenness and pain

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(i) The roots work all night to disengage themselves from the cracks in the veranda floor / to break free. (ii) (Any two) The roots work all night to disengage themselves from the cracks in the veranda floor; the leaves strain towards the glass; the small twigs grow stiff with exertion as they force their way out; the long-cramped boughs shuffle under the roof towards freedom. (iii) patients (newly discharged patients) (iv) (A) disorientation and fragility

CBSE 2026 board paper · 5 marks

Read the following extract and answer the questions : The leaves strain toward the glass small twigs stiff with exertion long-cramped boughs shuffling under the roof like newly discharged patients half-dazed, moving to the clinic doors. (The Trees) (i) Complete the following suitably : (1) The phrase that implies that moving out was tedious for the small twigs is _______. (ii) What is the poet’s attitude towards the tree’s movement, as described in the extract ? (1) (iii) Fill in the blank : (1) The boughs are likened to newly discharged patients, suggesting that the tree is recovering from a state of _______. (iv) How does the image of the clinic doors contribute to the overall meaning expressed by the poet ? (2)

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(i) stiff with exertion (small twigs stiff with exertion) (ii) (Any one) One of gentle observation; she uses words like ‘strain’ and ‘shuffle’ to convey a sense of slow and laboured movement. (iii) confinement and restriction (iv) (Any two) The clinic doors symbolise confinement and recovery; they highlight the idea that the trees are moving back to their natural habitat, a healthy space; like patients recovering from illness, the trees leave a place they do not want to be in, just as patients leave a hospital.

CBSE 2025 compartment paper · 5 marks

Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow : The trees inside are moving out into the forest, the forest that was empty all these days where no bird could sit no insect hide no sun bury its feet in shadow (The Trees) (i) Where are the trees moving out from ? (1) (ii) How does the author’s use of descriptive language enhance the impact on the reader ? (1) (iii) Complete the following suitably : (1) The emptiness of the forest is highlighted by __________. (iv) Explain the phrase “no sun bury its feet” with reference to the extract. (2)

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(i) (Any one) From the house / the poet’s room / their confinement. (ii) (Any one) It enhances visualisation, clarifies the imagery and creates a clear picture of the empty forest. (iii) the absence of birds, insects, shadows (the sun burying its feet) and trees. (iv) The forest has no trees, so there is no shade for the sun’s rays (its ‘feet’) to hide in. The phrase reinforces the idea of trees breaking out of their confinement – while trapped indoors they could not cast shadows in the forest.

CBSE 2024 board paper · 3 marks

“The Trees” is a symbolic poem and Adrienne Rich has used trees as a metaphor for human beings. What do they symbolize ? Explain. (Answer in 40 – 50 words.)

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(Content 2 – any two relevant points; Organisation 1) The trees symbolise people, especially women, trapped by society, just as the trees are confined inside the house. Like the trees left in the dark, these people have been neglected and suppressed for too long. Just as the trees push against the walls and break out into the forest, they long for and struggle towards their freedom.

CBSE 2024 board paper · 5 marks

Read the given extracts and answer the questions for any one of the given two : My head is full of whispers Which tomorrow will be silent. Listen. The glass is breaking. The trees are stumbling forward into the night. Winds rush to meet them. The moon is broken like a mirror, its pieces flash now in the crown of the tallest Oak. (The Trees) (i) Identify the figure of speech used in the line : “The Trees are stumbling forward into the night”. (1) (ii) Explain the significance of the line : (2) “The moon is broken like a mirror, its pieces flash now in the crown of the tallest Oak.” Answer in about 40 words. (iii) Complete the sentence with the appropriate option. In the third line, the word ‘Listen’ is used to _______. (1) (A) serve no purpose but to complete the sentence. (B) emphasize listening carefully to the sound of glass breaking. (C) emphasize listening carefully as a change is about to take place. (D) make the reader more attentive. (iv) What does the line : “My head is full of whispers which tomorrow will be silent” tell us about the poet’s state of mind ? (1)

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(i) Personification (ii) The moon, seen through the moving branches, appears broken into pieces like a mirror, its fragments flashing in the crown of the tallest oak. The line signifies a complete change – the old order is shattered as the trees break free; read symbolically, it depicts change in society, with women breaking out of patriarchy and claiming their space, and the poem ending in the victory of this movement. (iii) (C) emphasize listening carefully as a change is about to take place. (iv) The poet is restless / confused / apprehensive and doubtful – her mind is full of thoughts about the change that is about to happen. (Any other correct answer is accepted.)