SECTION TWO

TITLE / TYPE OF THE LANGUAGE STUDY / WRITING SKILLS EXTENSION ACTIVITIES/ VALUES/
NO
TOPIC POETIC DEVICES FUNCTIONAL/ CREATIVE PROJECT LIFE SKILLS

2.1 Cherry Tree Alliteration, Narration, Story Writing Library Work Creative acitivity,
Antithesis, Respect to
Personification, Nature
Climax
2.2 The Sower Alliteration, Imagery Letter Writing Project Report Optimism
Library Work Patience
Hard Work

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2.3 There is Another Sky Hyperbole, Inversion, Letter Writing Web Search Positive Attitude
Alliteration Paraphrase
2.4 Upon Westminster Personification Composing a Poem Web Search Discerning Beauty
Bridge Library Work

2.5 Nose Vs. Eyes Prefix-Suffix Composing a Couplet Library Work Wit,
Proper Justice
2.6 The Planners Alliteration, Extended Dialogue Writing Library Work Planning,
Metaphor, Oxymoron Composing a Couplet Respect for
Parody, Climax and historical
Personification heritages
 SECT ION T WO
2.1 Cherry Tree

ICE BREAKERS

• Trees are revered because :

(a) They give us joy.
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
• Column A shows your involvement in growing a tree, as well as the stages
in the life of a tree. Column B shows the feelings you experience at all
the stages. Match them appropriately.

A B
1. You planted a sapling. a. Gave you a feeling of joy to see the
promising future.

2. You watered the plant. b. The new experience brought excitement

to you.
3. You saw the shoot for the first c. You were happy and satisfied because
time. you experienced what you had often
heard, that small beginnings can lead
to great achievements.

4. You fenced the plant. d. The colour, symbolizing life, gave

you a feeling of hope.

5. The plant gradually saw lush e. You wanted to make a humble

green leaves grow on it. beginning.

6. The tree had buds too. f. Your motive was to protect it.

7. Birds made a nest on the tree g. You cared for it.

which was fully grown and
laden with flowers.

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 Ruskin Bond : Born in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh, in
1934, Ruskin Bond has written hundreds of short stories,
essays, novellas and more than thirty books for children. His
first novel, 'The Room on the Roof', written when he was
seventeen received the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize in
1957. He has also published two volumes of autobiography,
'Scenes from a Writer's Life' and 'The Lamp is Lit', a collection
of essays and episodes from his journal. In 1992 he received
the Sahitya Akademi Award for English writing in India. He
was awarded the Padmashri in 1999. Ruskin Bond lives with his adopted family in
Mussoorie, Uttarakhand.
The poem, “Cherry Tree” is about the poet's ecstasy over a tree which he planted
that took eight years to grow. He is expressing his wonder at the ways of Nature
and how the cherry blossoms are fragile and quick to fall. The tree gives him
immense joy as he can see the stars and the blue sky through dappled green trees.

The thought which prompted Cherry Tree

the poet to plant the cherry
seed 1. 2. Eight years have passed
3. 4. were Since I placed my cherry seed in the grass.
a threat.
“Must have a tree of my own,” I said,
State whether the following
And watered it once and went to bed
statements are true or
false: And forgot; but cherries have a way of growing,
1. They destroyed the Though no one's caring very much or knowing.
Cherry tree.
2. The Cherry tree had an And suddenly that summer near the end of May,
instinct to survive. I found a tree had come to stay.
scythe : a tool with a long
curved blade at right angle It was very small, five months child,
to a long handle used to Lost in the tall grass running wild.
cut long grass and grain
Goats ate the leaves, the grass cutter scythe
blight : causing damage
Split it apart and a monsoon blight
shrivelled : dried Shrivelled the slender stem...... Even so,
The blossoms are fragile Next spring I watched three new shoots grow,
...... (True/ false)
The young tree struggle, upward thrust
thrust : pushed with force
Its arms in a fresh fierce lust
fierce : aggressive (here)
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For light and air and sun.
I could only wait, as one
Who watched, wandering, while Time and the rain
Made a miracle from green growing pain.......
I went away next year-
Spent a season in Kashmir- The poet felt richer
Came back thinner, rather poor, because ..........

But richer by a cherry tree at my door.

Six feet high my own dark cherry,
And I could scarcely believe it-a berry. blossoms : flowers that
bloom on trees.
Ripened and jeweled in the sun,
Hung from a branch-just one!
And next year there were blossoms small
Pink, fragile, quick to fall
At the merest breath, the sleepiest breeze. .....

I lay on the grass, at ease,

Looking up through leaves at the blue
Blind sky, at the finches as they flew dappled : having dark or
light patches
And flitted through the dappled green.
ecstasy : feeling of great
While bees in an ecstasy drank happiness

Of nectar from each bloom and the sun sank nectar : sweet liquid
produced by flowers
Swiftly, and the stars turned in the sky,
The beneficiaries of
And moon-moths and singing crickets and I
the cherry tree are
Yes, I! — praised Night and Stars and tree: ...............................

That small, the cherry, grown by me.

- Ruskin Bond

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 BRAINSTORMING
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
(A1) (i) Find proof from the poem for the following.
(a) The poet has mentioned different seasons.
(b) The poet’s minute observations of the steady growth of the cherry tree.
(c) The colour imagery in the poem.
(d) The struggle of the cherry tree for survival.
(ii) State whether the following statements are True or False. Correct the false
statements by finding evidence from the poem to support your remark.
(a) The cherry tree did not take long to grow.
(b) Birds and insects were benefitted from the tree.
(c) The poet was exalted at the sight of the cherry tree.
(d) The poem has an underlying message about the importance of trees.
(e) The poet repents planting the cherry tree.
(A2) (i) Discuss in groups, reasons / consequences / effects:
(a) The life of the cherry tree was threatened.
(b) The cherry blossomed.
(ii) A small thought, put in action, led to a great achievement. Pick out the
lines from the beginning and end of the poem and explain their significance.
(A3) The cherry tree has inspired the poet to compose the poem. Such poems,
describing Nature or aspects of Nature are called ‘Nature poems’. Find
out some expressions from the poem that bring out the elements of beauty
of Nature.
(A4) (i) Read the line.
Pink, fragile, quick to fall
Notice the arrangement of the words in the line:
They move from healthy to delicate
This figure of speech is called Climax where successive words, phrases,
sentences are arranged in ascending order of importance. Here, the cherry
blossom turns pink, ripens and is ready to be picked.
(ii) Find out examples from the poem.
Alliteration :
Antithesis :
Personification :
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(A5) (i) ‘Cherry Tree’ is a narrative poem. Features that make it a narrative poem
are given below. Justify them with proper examples.
(a) The poem has a beginning, a middle and an end.
(b) Different places are mentioned.
(c) Characters are referred to.
(d) Incidents are arranged in a sequence.
(e) There is a dialogue between the poet and the reader or the characters of
the poem.
(f) It is a time-bound poem.
(ii) Compose 8 to 10 lines. Narrate any incident in your life without using
any rhyming pattern.
(iii) Write an appreciation of the poem considering the following points :
• About the poem, poet and title.


• Theme/summary/gist of the poem.


• Poetic style/language, poetic devices used in the poem.


• Special features/novelties/focusing elements.


• Message/values/morals in the poem.


• Your opinion about the poem.

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 (iv) Write a summary of the poem using the following points.
• Title

• Introductory paragraph (about the poem, type, Nature, tone)

• Main body (the central idea, gist of the poem)

• Conclusion (opinion, views, appeal)

(A6) (i) Write the poem ‘Cherry Tree’ in the form of a story.
(ii) Write in 100 words what the cherry tree in the poem symbolises.
(iii) You have studied the lesson 'The Call of the Soil' from prose 1.3. Compare
'Cherry Tree' with 'The Call of the Soil' and find out the element of joy
of nurturing for the author and the poet.
(A7) Project
Visit the library and collect at least five poems of any Nature poet. Write the
poems along with their summary.
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