Previous Year Questions 2025
Q1: 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.”
(i) How does the comparison between the boughs and newly discharged patients contribute to the theme or message of the poem? (Answer in about 40 words.) (2 Marks)
Ans: The comparison between the boughs and newly discharged patients highlights a sense of renewal and struggle. Just as patients slowly recover and adjust to freedom, the boughs strain toward light after confinement, symbolising hope, transition, and gradual revival after a period of restriction.
(ii) Complete the sentence with the appropriate option.
The imagery and descriptions in the poem create a mood of ____________ (1 Mark)
(a) satisfaction and elation
(b) transition and uncertainty
(c) confusion and chaos
(d) pessimism and certainty
Ans: (B) transition and uncertainty
(iii) Fill in the blank with one word.
The stiff movement of the twigs in the above extract suggests the _______. (1 Mark)
Ans: Struggle
The stiff movement of the twigs in the above extract suggests the struggle.
(iv) Why does the poet describe the bough as ‘shuffling’? (1 Mark)
Ans: The poet describes the bough as ‘shuffling’ to show its slow, hesitant movement as it adjusts to freedom and light, much like someone recovering after a long period of stillness or constraint.
Q2: Read the following extract and answer the questions.
“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”
(i) What atmosphere or mood is created by the language and imagery used in the above lines? (1 Mark)
Ans: The language and imagery in the lines create a mood of calm reflection and quiet acceptance, suggesting peace mixed with a hint of melancholy over change or loss.
(ii) Choose the option that correctly pairs the two different meanings implied by the use of ‘open’ twice in the extract: (1 Mark)
(a) entry point – vastness
(b) sharing a common space – great view
(c) allowing access and vision – expanse of space
(d) advantage – obstacles ahead
Ans: (C) allowing access and vision – expanse of space
(iii) From the provided extract, what is conspicuously absent from the long letters the speaker is writing while they sit indoors with the doors open to the veranda? (1 Mark)
Ans: The departure of the forest from the house is conspicuously absent from the long letters.
(iv) How does the poet describe the night? (1 Mark)
1. dark
2. frightening
3. dense
4. fresh
5. bright
Select the correct option:
(a) 1 and 5
(b) Only 3
(c) 4 and 5
(d) 2 and 4
Ans: (C) 4 and 5
Q3: Both Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela and The Trees by Adrienne Rich explore themes of transformation, liberation, and the power to change. Examine the commonality of themes in both the works. (100-120 words) (6 marks)
Ans: Both “Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” and “The Trees” explore the themes of transformation, liberation, and the struggle for freedom. In Mandela’s autobiography, the transformation occurs as he moves from oppression to freedom, leading his people out of racial injustice and towards equality. His journey represents political and social liberation achieved through courage and sacrifice. In Adrienne Rich’s poem, the trees symbolise nature’s and women’s liberation from confinement, as they move out of the man-made house into the open, symbolising reclaiming their natural space and identity. Both works celebrate resilience and renewal, showing that freedom requires struggle and change, whether it’s for a nation or for the self, marking a powerful transformation toward independence and growth.
Q4: Read the given extracts and answer the questions. (5 Marks)
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.
(i) The metaphorical expression used by the poet to describe the movement of the trees is ________.
Ans: The metaphorical expression used by the poet to describe the movement of the trees is “The trees are stumbling forward into the night.”
(ii) Based on the tone, discuss how Adrienne Rich presents the conflict between man and nature. (2 Marks)
Ans: Adrienne Rich presents the conflict between man and nature through a tone of resistance and awakening. She portrays nature, symbolised by the trees, as struggling to break free from human confinement. The poem criticises humanity’s control over nature and celebrates nature’s powerful reclaiming of freedom and balance.
(iii) What is the mood or atmosphere conveyed by the imagery in the passage? (1 Mark)
(a) Calm and tranquil
(b) Eerie and foreboding
(c) Joyful and celebratory
(d) Melancholic and traumatic
Ans: (b) Eerie and foreboding
The mood is eerie and foreboding because the imagery of “whispers,” “glass breaking,” “trees stumbling,” and the “moon broken like a mirror” creates a sense of tension and unease. It suggests a powerful, unsettling moment of change as nature breaks free from human control.
(iv) Why would the whispers be silent tomorrow? (1 Mark)
Ans: The whispers would be silent tomorrow because the trees will have already broken free and left the house. Their quiet movement and struggle will end once they regain their freedom in the open, symbolising the completion of their liberation.
Previous Year Questions 2024
Q1: “The Trees” is a symbolic poem and Adrienne Rich has used trees as a metaphor for human beings. What do they symbolize ? Explain. (CBSE 2024)
Ans: In “The Trees,” Adrienne Rich uses trees as a metaphor for human resilience, growth, and liberation.
They symbolise:
- The ability of humans to transform and free themselves from limitations.
- The welcoming of new beginnings and opportunities.
- The journey of reconnecting with nature, reflecting the trees’ movement from captivity to the forest.
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Previous Year Questions 2020
Q2: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow: (CBSE 2020)
_______ Winds rush to meet them.
The moon is broken like a mirror,
Its piece flash now in the crown of the tallest oak.
(a) The above lines were written by
(i) Robert Frost
(ii) John Berryman
(iii) Robin Klein
(iv) Adrienne Rich
Ans: (iv)
The Trees is a poem by Adrienne Rich that explores themes of nature, freedom, and the environment.
(b) The crown of the oak lies in its
(i) top most branch
(ii) roots
(iii) rich and tasty fruit
(iv) broad leaves
Ans: (i)
In the poem, “the crown of the tallest oak” refers to the uppermost branches of the tree, symbolizing its height and grandeur.
(c) The winds are rushing to meet the _____.
Ans: trees
The winds in the poem are described as rushing to meet the trees, symbolizing the movement and freedom of nature.
(d) Find the word from the extract which means the same as ‘shine’.
Ans: Flash
The word “flash” in the poem conveys the meaning of something shining or reflecting light, like pieces of the broken moon.
Q3: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow: (2020)
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 forest that was empty all these nights will be full of trees by morning.
(a) What are the trees trying to do?
Ans: The trees are trying to move out into the forest.
(b) Why was the forest empty?
Ans: The forest was empty because there were no trees, birds or insects and it is because humans have destroyed the forest for building cities and other uses.
(c) All these days, the forest referred to here was
(i) filled
(ii) empty
(iii) hidden
(iv) separated
Ans: (ii)
The forest is described as empty because it lacks the natural flora and fauna that would usually inhabit it.
(d) The figure of speech used in these lines is______.
(i) Simile
(ii) Alliteration
(iii) Personification
(iv) Metonymy
Ans: (iii)
The poet personifies the trees, giving them human-like qualities of moving and leaving, which is characteristic of personification.
| Also watch: Poem – The Trees |
Previous Year Questions 2019
Q4: Why is the poet writing long letters? Why does she not mention the departure of the trees? (Al 2019)
Ans: The poet is writing long letters probably to keep herself busy in some activity. She does not mention the departure of the trees in her long letters because she doesn’t want anyone to know that the trees inside her house are rebelling and fighting their way out to reach the forest. The trees struggle silently at night to break free from their captivity when no one is watching them. She wants the trees to be liberated and be one with nature where they belong. Therefore, she feels that it is best not to say a word about it to anybody.
Previous Year Questions2017
Q5: What are the three things that can’t happen in a treeless forest? (Delhi 2017)
Ans: In a treeless forest, no birds could sit, no insect could hide and no sun could bury its feet in shadow.
Q6: In the poem ‘Trees’, where are the trees? What are their roots, twigs, etc. trying to do? (Al 2017)
Ans: The trees are inside the house. The roots, leaves, twigs, etc. all are trying to make an escape from the house. The roots disengage themselves from the cracks in the veranda floor, leaves strain towards the glass, small twigs and boughs move to the doors.
Q7: What happens to the house when trees move out of it? (Foreign 2017)
Ans: When the trees move out of the house, the doors remain open. The moonlight, the smell of the leaves, and lichen enter the rooms.
Previous Year Questions 2015
Q8: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow: (Al 2015)
long-cramped boughs shuffling under the roof like newly discharged patients half-dazed, moving to the clinic doors.
(a) What does the poet compare the branches to?
(b) Name the figure of speech used in these lines.
(c) What does the word ‘shuffling’ mean?
Ans: (a) The poet compares the branches to the newly discharged patients.
(b) Simile – boughs are compared with the patients.
(c) Shuffling means moving repeatedly from one position to another/ mixing up.
| Also watch: Poem – The Trees |
Previous Year Questions 2014
Q9: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow: (Foreign 2014)
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
(a) Which three things cannot happen in a treeless forest?
(b) Why was the forest empty?
(c) Which word here means ’hide from view’?
Ans: (a) In a treeless forest, no birds could sit, no insect could hide and no sun could bury its feet in shadow.
(b) The forests are empty because the trees have been cut down to create land for buildings, houses, etc. in other words, expansion of cities.
(c) Hide means to hide from view.