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3. Therefore I fain would consecrate a lay

Unto thy honor, Tree, beloved of those

Who now in blessed sleep for aye repose,—

Dearer than life to me, alas, were they!

Mayst thou be numbered when my days are done

With deathless trees—like those in Borrowdale,

Under whose awful branches lingered pale

‘Fear, trembling Hope, and Death, the skeleton,
And Time the shadow;’ and though weak the verse

That would thy beauty fain, oh, fain rehearse,

May Love defend thee from Oblivion’s curse.

a. How does the poet wish to honour the tree?

b. Apart from the poet, who else loved the tree?

c. How have Fear, Hope, Death and Time lingered under the tree?
d. What does she wish in the last stanza?

Time to think and answer

1. Why are trees ‘deathless’?
life skill critical thinking
2. What does the poet mean by ‘unknown land’? What does the poet hope might reach

that land?

3. State two aspects of the poem that have appealed to you. life skill self-awareness
4. What wish does the poet have for the tree?

Time to enjoy

Sometimes, poets use symbols to signify ideas or to represent something else. Symbols help to
associate and connect things with ideas or concepts. For example, a chain can represent ‘a bond’
or ‘imprisonment’. The use of a physical object to represent an idea is called symbolism.

1. Discuss the symbolism used by Toru Dutt in the poem.

2. Name the things that have been personified in the poem.

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