THE BANYAN TREE by Rabindranath Tagore

Running notes

POEM PARAPHRASE
A speaker is asking the tree if he remembers a child that used to rest on his branches but has
now left. He then asks if the tree remembers the women coming near to fill up their water
jugs, the sunlight dancing on the water, and the animals playing as the child would sit and
think. The child wanted to play on the branches of the tree, and be a part of nature’s elements
– its flora and fauna.

Do not copy the poem in the following pages, take down the glossary and theme only.
THEME: Appreciate nature, for it is a place where you can think quietly about the facts of
life as well as draw inspiration for your own behavior.
TO BE WRITTEN IN PEN
ABOUT THE POET:

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POETIC DEVICES:
Metaphor: The tangle of branches and leaves compared to an unkempt head
Simile: The tangle of branches and leaves compared to an unkempt head
Apostrophe: Addressing the tree directly, talking to it – “O you shaggy-headed banyan
tree.
ANNOTATION-
• “Sunlight danced on the ripples like restless tiny shuttles weaving golden
tapestry.”
• Q1. What is the sunlight compared to?
• A1. In this poem The Banyan Tree , The most brilliant image is that of the sunlight
dancing on the ripples like a weaver’s shuttle weaving fine golden tapestry. The
sunlight is compared to the shuttles of a weaver’s loom that weaves glistening,
golden cloth.
• Q2. How is it described? What does it do?
• A2. The sunlight is described as ‘dancing’ on the surface of the water- this means to
say that the rays of golden light are falling on the ripples in the pond, giving the
appearance of ‘dance’.
• Q3. Mention the poetic device used in the poetic line.
• A3. Simile, alliteration
Answer the following:
• Q1. What would the child sit and think about? Why does he think about these
things?
• Answer: The child wished to be a bird and perched on the tree’s topmost twig. He
wanted to fill the water jugs himself and he was also wondering about the tangles of
the roots of the tree.
He thought about these things because these things were of the past. Now, he is
talking to the banyan tree that whether the tree remembers his childhood or not.
• Q2. How is the tree addressed by the poet in the very beginning of the poem?
What caused the tree top to become like this?
• Answer: The speaker calls the tree shaggy-headed because the branches of the tree are
long, thick, and twisted giving it an untidy appearance.
The tree-top became like this because many years ago, birds had nested in its
branches, and children were playing around it but now, all have left the tree alone.
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