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Tuesday, February 16, 2010

The writer is a medium-THE LABURNUM TOP

Do you know why Ted Hughes compares the laburnum tree to a machine?

It is a clear example of the profound influence of industrial revolution where villages/countries are slowly giving way to cities and the natural bounty, agriculture etc. are replaced by concrete buildings, machines, industries etc. The poet too gets the picture of a machine in his mind since he lives in a world of machines. You can't expect a poet to compare the tree to a computer in Shakespearean age as there were no computers.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

What the hell? It is a wrong explaination. The correct explaination is as follows-

"The poem talks about "machine" and "engine". We all know that engine is inside a machine and it is the driving force of a machine. The engine also needs fuel to work. When the poet looks at the tree in the beginning , it is silent and still. When the goldfinch enters its thickness, a machine starts up. The tree is compared to a machine which starts working when the engine is filled with fuel. The following lines makes this clear. "It is the engine of her family. She stokes it full". Engine refers to the chicks int nest. When goldfinch feeds them(fuel), the engine starts working and naturally the machine too. So, tree is the machine. Inside it the baby chicks in the nest, the engine and the food for them is the fuel."

Unknown said...

nice explanation.......really helped....

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ashna said...

Sir this is Ashna here the explanation of the poem THE LABURNUM TOP really helped in understanding the poem in a much better way.

pranav said...

but y is de tree called de engine of her family..??/

zaid said...

everyone have a different understanding of a poem, so no one have right to criticize anybody's
explanation........
thanks to Mr.santhosh