THE POPLAR FIELD - MAGIC OF WORDS - GRADE 11

General English

The Poplar Field

Some Important Point

By William Cowper|

•     The speaker express his view in defence of the nature.

•     The poplar field represents the whole nature including ecology, environment, and wildlife and so on.

•     The poet feels sad when he sees poplar trees lying down on the ground.

•     Twelve years back, the poet went to the popular field. He was happy to sit down in the shade of trees.

•     He listened to the songs of birds.

•     He enjoyed taking rest in the shade of trees hearing the melodious song blackbird.

•     He heard the sound of wind whispering in the leaves.

•     He saw the beautiful reflection of the poplars on the bosom of the river Ouse.

•     After twelve years, the whole scene has been changed.

•     The poplar trees have been cut down.

•     They are lying down on the ground.

•     He sit on the dead tree.

•     The blackbirds have migrated to another place.

•     He neither listens to the bird’s song nor hears the wind whispering in the leaves.

•     The green forest has been changed into desert.

•     The sight of dead poplars makes the poet feel that he is approaching the death.

•     He realise that he will die in the future and lie in the grave like the dead popular.

•    The sight of dead trees makes the poet realise that human life is short and our pleasures and enjoyment are still shorter.

•    He shows the connection between cutting down of trees and end of human life.

•    Due to short sighted view and immediate benefits, human beings have destroyed the nature.

•    They don’t know the importance of nature.

•   The poet says that the whole ecology and environment will be affected if we continue to destroy the nature.

•    There will be bad impact of ecological destruction in the world.

•    As a result, the existence of human beings and wild life are on the verge extinction.

•    The poet indirectly suggests us taking preventive measures to protect the nature.

•     He says that nature is the part of human life.

Summary

Cowper’s “The Poplar Field” speaks in defence of the conservation of the nature. In this poem, the poet is made unhappy by the sight of the poplar field. The poplars are cut down and they are lying dead on the ground. Twelve years before, the poet had enjoyed the beautiful sense of the poplar field. He had taken rest in the shade of the trees enjoying the sweet song of the blackbirds. He had heard the whispering of the wind that used to play and sing in the leaves of the trees. How beautiful the reflection of the trees on the bosom of the Ouse River was!

However, the poplars are no longer is existence. They are felled for the momentary pleasures of human beings. The poet bids farewell on the shade of trees. Nothing is left now. The poet sits on the trees which are lying on the grass. There is no reflection of the poplar on the bosom of the river. The blackbirds have flown away and they can no longer enjoy their melodious song. The absurd sight of the poplar field makes the poet realise that his days are passing quickly. In the near future, he will die and die and lie in the grave just like the poplars. By then, however, the new poplars will not be grown in the place of the felled ones. The poet finally thinks that the worldly pleasures of man are momentary and perishable.

      1 .  What changes did the poet see in the poplar field when he came back after 12 years?

  ü When the poet came to the poplar field after twelve years, he saw many changes. The poplar field was no longer in existence. The trees were felled and their reflection on the bosom of Ouse river was lost. The blackbirds had flew away and the poet no longer heard their sweet song. The wind was no longer playing and shining with the leaves. In stead of sitting in the shade of the tree, the poet had to sit on the trees. The sight o the poplar field made the poet very unhappy.

    2.  Why do you think the poet has written this poem in the first person?

  ü  I think that the poet has written this poem in the first person to express his personal feelings and experiences. The poet compares and contrasts his past and present experience. He compares his approaching death with the dead tress lying on the ground.

    3.  Write an essay on "Rural Life".

  ü Living in the country is living in the lap of the nature. The life in the village is really enjoyable. There is no pollution and crowed of people, rivers, lakes and vehicles. The environment is fresh. There are forests. There are many species of birds and animals in the forests and fishes in the rivers and lakes. The people in the village are very healthy and energetic. They grow corns and vegetables in their fields. They are very laborious. They keep cattle and have fresh milk and ghee. They keep goats and fowls and eat fresh meat.

Rural life is full of pleasure. People are selfless and co-operative. The villagers share the pain and pleasure among each other. At the time of planting and harvesting rice, people work together in the field. At various festivals, people gather together and enjoy eating, talking and playing. There are traditional people in the country. They carry out various traditional, cultures, rituals, customs and so on. People get up very early in the morning and take a scared bath. They go to the temples and worship the Gods and Goddesses. Rural people are afraid of God. They are honest and various. They live with nature. They are, however, ignorant about the bad impact of the damage of environment. They go to the forest and cut down tress for various purposes. They are unaware about the devastating effect of deforestation upon the human and wild life. Bu cutting down trees and killing wild animals, they are destroying the whole ecological system. By doing so, they are endangering their own existence. However, they are innocent.