CBSE ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE

Detailed explanation-1: -The Trees, by Philip Larkin Is written down in rings of grain. In fullgrown thickness every May. Last year is dead, they seem to say, Begin afresh, afresh, afresh.

Detailed explanation-2: -Note the way Larkin uses human activities throughout this poem, to personify the trees: they come into leaf like something ‘almost being said’; their age is ‘written down’ in their rings of grain; the trees ‘seem to say’ that last year is in the past, so the trees begin ‘afresh, afresh, afresh’.

Detailed explanation-3: -The poem ‘The Trees’ sends a strong message against deforestation. It highlights how trees are important to all living creatures. The poet says that if trees are cut, then there will be no shadow, no forest, and no shelter for the birds and insects.

Detailed explanation-4: -Simile. The speaker uses a simile to compare the newly budding trees to “something almost being said"-they’re like a word on the tip of the tongue. This suggests that the leaves haven’t yet fully budded, infusing the poem’s opening with a sense of anticipation.