1. Who is the author of the poem Our Casuarina Tree?
a) Sarojini Naidu
b) Rabindranath Tagore
c) Toru Dutt
d) Kamala Das
Answer: c) Toru Dutt
Explanation: Toru Dutt, a 19th-century Indo-Anglian poet, wrote Our Casuarina Tree as a tribute to a tree from her childhood home. She is one of the earliest Indian poets to write in English and French. Her poetry often reflects themes of nostalgia, nature, and loss. She died young due to tuberculosis at just 21 years of age, but her literary works, including Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan, remain significant in Indian English literature.
2. What does the poet compare the creeper on the tree to?
a) A snake
b) A huge python
c) A dragon
d) A climbing plant
Answer: b) A huge python
Explanation: In the opening lines, the poet describes a creeper entwining around the Casuarina tree’s trunk and compares it to a huge python. This simile creates a strong visual image of the creeper wrapping around the tree’s rough bark, making the tree appear almost as if it is being strangled. However, the tree remains strong and resilient, symbolizing endurance despite challenges.
3. What poetic device is used in the line “Like a huge Python, winding round and round”?
a) Metaphor
b) Simile
c) Alliteration
d) Personification
Answer: b) Simile
Explanation: A simile is a literary device where a direct comparison is made using the words “like” or “as.” Here, the poet compares the creeper to a python using “Like a huge Python” to emphasize the way the creeper tightly coils around the tree. This vivid comparison enhances the imagery, making the tree appear almost alive and dynamic.
4. What kind of tree is being described in the poem?
a) Banyan tree
b) Mango tree
c) Casuarina tree
d) Peepal tree
Answer: c) Casuarina tree
Explanation: The Casuarina tree is the central focus of the poem and represents nostalgia, memory, and emotional connection. Toru Dutt associates the tree with her childhood and lost companions, making it a symbol of endurance and immortality. The tree is described as grand and majestic, standing tall despite the passage of time.
5. What significance does the Casuarina tree hold for the poet?
a) It is a symbol of her lost childhood and memories.
b) It provides shade and comfort.
c) It is a rare species of tree.
d) It is the tallest tree in her village.
Answer: a) It is a symbol of her lost childhood and memories.
Explanation: For Toru Dutt, the Casuarina tree is not just a part of nature but an emotional and symbolic entity. It represents her childhood, her lost loved ones, and her deep connection with her homeland. The poet’s intense emotions are reflected in the way she describes the tree, blending it with her memories and longing for the past.
6. What sound does the poet hear from the Casuarina tree?
a) The sound of leaves rustling
b) A dirge-like murmur
c) A roaring wind
d) The buzzing of bees
Answer: b) A dirge-like murmur
Explanation: A dirge is a mournful song, usually associated with lamentation or grief. The poet describes the rustling of the tree’s leaves as a dirge-like murmur, symbolizing sorrow and nostalgia. This could represent the poet’s longing for the past and her lost companions. The whispering sound of the tree expresses an eerie, almost spiritual, presence.
7. The poet personifies the tree by saying it “wears a scarf.” What literary device is used here?
a) Metaphor
b) Simile
c) Personification
d) Alliteration
Answer: c) Personification
Explanation: Personification is a literary device where human qualities are attributed to non-human objects. The Casuarina tree is described as “wearing a scarf”, referring to the creeper entwining its trunk. This makes the tree appear almost human-like, reinforcing its symbolic role as a guardian of memories.
8. What does the poet remember while looking at the tree?
a) The beauty of nature
b) The birds and bees surrounding it
c) Her childhood and lost companions
d) The history of the tree
Answer: c) Her childhood and lost companions
Explanation: The Casuarina tree serves as a reminder of the poet’s childhood and the companions she lost over time. Through the tree, she recalls the joyful moments spent playing under its shade. Despite the passing years, the tree remains, preserving the poet’s emotions and memories, making it a symbol of time, love, and nostalgia.
9. What is the rhyme scheme followed in the poem?
a) AABB CCDD EE
b) ABBA CDDC EEE
c) ABC ABC
d) ABAB CDCD
Answer: b) ABBA CDDC EEE
Explanation: Each stanza in Our Casuarina Tree follows a fixed rhyme scheme of ABBA CDDC EEE. This structure is inspired by the Petrarchan sonnet style but modified uniquely. The closing triplet (EEE) gives each stanza a reflective and conclusive tone, emphasizing themes of memory, loss, and nostalgia.
10. Which poetic device is used in “The water-lilies spring, like snow enmassed”?
a) Metaphor
b) Simile
c) Alliteration
d) Hyperbole
Answer: b) Simile
Explanation: A simile is used when two things are compared using “like” or “as.” Here, the poet compares white water-lilies to “snow enmassed” to highlight their purity and abundance. This visual imagery enhances the beauty of the landscape surrounding the tree, further reinforcing the romantic and nostalgic tone of the poem.
11. What is the theme of the poem?
a) Scientific growth
b) The importance of trees
c) Nostalgia and memory
d) Love and romance
Answer: c) Nostalgia and memory
Explanation: The poem centers on the poet’s deep emotional connection to the casuarina tree, which serves as a powerful symbol of her past and the loved ones she has lost. While the tree’s physical beauty and grandeur are vividly described, its true significance lies in its association with memories of “sweet companions, loved with love intense” who are now gone. Lines like “Blent with your images, it shall arise / In memory, till the hot tears blind mine eyes!” highlight how the tree evokes nostalgia and a poignant sense of loss. The poem transcends mere appreciation of nature, focusing instead on personal history, grief, and the enduring presence of the past, making “nostalgia and memory” the central theme.
12. Where does the poet recall hearing the tree’s lament in the past?
a) In her dreams
b) In a different forest
c) In distant lands by sheltered bays
d) In the streets of her village
Answer: c) In distant lands by sheltered bays
Explanation: In the fourth stanza, Toru Dutt writes, “Ah, I have heard that wail far, far away / In distant lands, by many a sheltered bay,” indicating that the sound of the tree’s lament—described earlier as a “dirge-like murmur”—echoes in her memory from far-off places she has visited or imagined, such as the shores of France or Italy mentioned later in the stanza. This suggests that her connection to the tree transcends physical space—wherever she goes, the memories of the tree and its lament follow her. The phrase “sheltered bays” implies a calm and reflective environment, reinforcing the melancholic tone of the poem.
13. What does the poet wish for the Casuarina tree?
a) That it grows taller than all other trees
b) That it is worshipped
c) That it is remembered like the deathless trees of Borrowdale
d) That it is cut down and made into a monument
Answer: c) That it is remembered like the deathless trees of Borrowdale
Explanation: In the final stanza, Toru Dutt expresses her desire: “Mayst thou be numbered when my days are done / With deathless trees—like those in Borrowdale.”The poet expresses a deep desire for the Casuarina tree to achieve immortality, similar to the legendary trees of Borrowdale (a valley in England known for its ancient yew trees). She hopes that the tree will never be forgotten, and that it will be preserved through poetry and love, ensuring its permanent place in history and memory. This highlights her emotional bond with the tree and her fear of oblivion.
14. What emotions does the poet express in the poem?
a) Happiness and excitement
b) Nostalgia and longing
c) Fear and anger
d) Love and jealousy
Answer: b) Nostalgia and longing
Explanation: Throughout the poem, the poet expresses a deep longing for the past, particularly her childhood and the people she loved. The tree symbolizes memories that refuse to fade, despite the passage of time. The nostalgic tone is reinforced by references to her lost companions, the tree’s lament, and her hope that the tree will remain immortal in memory.
15. What happens when the poet first opens her window at dawn?
a) She sees a gray baboon sitting alone.
b) She hears the sound of rushing wind.
c) She sees a group of children playing.
d) She smells the fragrance of flowers.
Answer: a) She sees a gray baboon sitting alone.
Explanation: In the second stanza, Toru Dutt writes, “When first my casement is wide open thrown / At dawn, my eyes delighted on it rest; / Sometimes, and most in winter,—on its crest / A gray baboon sits statue-like alone.” This vivid image describes the poet’s initial sight upon opening her window, where her gaze settles on the casuarina tree and the solitary baboon perched on its crest, watching the sunrise.
16. Which mythical figure does the poet mention in the poem?
a) The water-wraith
b) A phoenix
c) A centaur
d) A mermaid
Answer: a) The water-wraith
Explanation: In the fourth stanza, Toru Dutt writes, “When slumbered in his cave the water-wraith,” referring to this mythical entity as part of the imagery of distant lands and tranquil bays. A water-wraith is a mythical water spirit, often associated with melancholy and mystery. The poet refers to this figure to enhance the eerie, dream-like quality of her memories, reinforcing the poem’s mystical tone. The reference suggests that just as the water-wraith is believed to haunt bodies of water, the memory of the tree “haunts” the poet wherever she goes, symbolizing the inescapable nature of nostalgia.
17. What does the poet hope will protect the tree from being forgotten?
a) Poetry and love
b) The government
c) Worship by future generations
d) New scientific discoveries
Answer: a) Poetry and love
Explanation: In the final stanza, Toru Dutt concludes with, “May Love defend thee from Oblivion’s curse,” expressing her wish that love—tied to her deep affection for the tree and the memories it holds—will preserve its legacy. Additionally, the act of writing this “lay” (poem) in its honor, despite her self-described “weak verse,” reflects her hope that poetry itself will contribute to keeping the tree’s memory alive. This aligns with her invocation of the “deathless trees” of Borrowdale, immortalized through Wordsworth’s poetry, suggesting that love and poetic tribute together will shield the casuarina from oblivion.
18. In which season does the poet describe the gray baboon sitting like a statue?
a) Summer
b) Winter
c) Spring
d) Autumn
Answer: b) Winter
Explanation: In the second stanza, she writes, “Sometimes, and most in winter,—on its crest / A gray baboon sits statue-like alone.” This means that while it happens at different times, she sees the baboon sitting still on the tree’s top most often during the winter season.
19. What kind of imagery is used in the line “Fear, trembling Hope, and Death, the skeleton, And Time the shadow”?
a) Romantic imagery
b) Natural imagery
c) Dark and symbolic imagery
d) Historical imagery
Answer: c) Dark and symbolic imagery
Explanation: This line uses dark and symbolic imagery to personify abstract concepts such as Fear, Hope, Death, and Time. By describing Death as a skeleton and Time as a shadow, the poet evokes a sense of transience and inevitability. This imagery highlights the fragility of human life and the contrast between the mortal world and the poet’s wish for the Casuarina tree to remain immortal.
20. What message does the poet convey through this poem?
a) The importance of planting more trees
b) The beauty of nature should be captured in paintings
c) The power of memory and love in keeping things alive
d) The dangers of deforestation
Answer: c) The power of memory and love in keeping things alive
Explanation: The core message of the poem is that love, memory, and poetry can preserve things beyond their physical existence. Though time takes away loved ones and childhood, their essence remains through remembrance. The Casuarina tree serves as a symbol of nostalgia and emotional resilience, proving that as long as something is cherished in memory and literature, it never truly dies.
