To Blossoms | Poem 2 | English 9th | Tulip Series | JKANSWERS |

Poem 2 – To Blossoms [Tulip Series] Free NCERT Solutions | JKANSWERS |

(Robert Herrick)

Robert Herrick was born in Cheapside, London. In 1607 he became apprenticed to his uncle, Sir William Herrick, who was a goldsmith and jeweler to the king. The apprenticeship ended after only six years when Herrick, at age of twenty-two, matriculated at St John’s College, Cambridge. He graduated in 1617. He spent some time preparing his lyric poems for publication and had them printed in 1648 under the title Hesperides; or the Works both Human and Divine of Robert Herrick, with a dedication to the Prince of Wales.

To Blossoms

FAIR pledges of a fruitful tree,

Why do ye fall so fast?

Your date is not so past

But you may stay yet here awhile,

To blush and gently smile;

And go at last.

What! were ye born to be

An hour or half’s delight,

And so, to bid good-night?

‘Taws’ pity Nature brought ye forth

Merely to show your worth,

And lose you quite.

But you are lovely leaves, where we

May read how soon things have

Their end, though ne’er so brave:

And after they have shown their pride

Like you, a while, they glide

Into the grave.

Central Idea of the Poem

            The poem ‘To Blossoms’ is compared to human life. Just like a human life ends after passing a few stages, blossoms also wither away after a short span of time. The poet wishes the blossoms to stay longer but it is not so. The poem depicts a message that nothing is immortal in this world.

Summary of the Poem

                The poem ‘To Blossoms’ has been written by Robert Herrick. In this poem, the poet compares human life with blossoms. Blossoms are actually the flowers of a plant or tree that bears fruits. The poet praises these flowers and reminds them of the promise of yielding or giving out the rich crops. The poet is grief-stricken and asks the blossoms why they have fallen early if they have a lot of time to stay and bloom. The poet wants the blossoms to stay for a while again, enjoy their blooming life and then go away.

            The poet questions himself whether the blossoms were born to spend an hour of their happiness and then bid a good night. The poet takes pity on them by saying that Nature has only brought the blossoms to show their worthy beauty for a while and then disappear completely.

            ‘Lovely leaves’ means the leaves of a book. Here the poet compares the leaves of flower to the leaves of a book. The leaves of a flower fall down with the timely growth of fruit. The wants to say that no life lasts forever. A time comes when every life has to glide into the grave. The poet says that the people will learn from you how things are destined to an end after showing their pride like him for a short span of the time and then move easily into the grave.

            In this poem, the poet conveys a meaningful message to the people by comparing the short life of blossoms to human life. A person should be proud of his beauty or strength. Every life has an end. The men come and go but the movement never ends.

Structure of the Poem

                The poem is written in three stanzas and every stanza consists of six lines. The last words of every second, third, and sixth lines have rhyming words. Similarly, the fourth and fifth lines also have rhyming words.

Understanding the Poem

Q1. In what way are the blossoms pledges of the fruitful tree?

Ans. The blossoms are the pledges of the fruitful tree because it is these blossoms who are responsible to bear fruits for a tree. They bloom for a short period of time, fade away, and fall down to give rise to the healthy fruit.

Q2. What is the poet’s wish, about blossoms?

Ans. The poet wishes the blossoms to stay for a long time, bloom with a beautiful smile, and then make its way to death.

Q 3. What does the poet mean by saying `why do you fall so fast?

Ans. By saying ‘why do you fall so fast’ the poet means say that the blossoms live for a short span of time and fade away and fall down within no time.

Q 4. Why does the poet compare human life to blossoms?

Ans. The poet compares human life to the blossoms because they also fade away when getting old and ultimately move into the grave after death. Although they have a longer life than blossoms, but they also die with the passage of time.

Q 5. Name some blossoming trees in the state of J&K.

Ans. All those fruit-bearing trees that bear flowers in the month of April, such as, apple trees, apricot trees, cherry trees, pear trees etc., are the blossoming trees. These trees shed their flowers to give rise to fruits.

Q 6. What is `pity’ referred to in the second stanza?

Ans. ‘Pity’ in the second stanza of the poem means the disappointment and is referred to as the withering away of the blossoms. Here, the poet is disappointed and sorry to say that Nature has brought the blossoms to die after showing their worthy life.

Learning about the literary device

Personification: representation of an abstract quality as human: a representation of an abstract

quality or notion as a human being, especially in art or literature

Q. What is personified in the poem?

Ans. Since the poem is about life and death, either of the blossoms or human life. We may say that life and death, both humans and blossoms are personified in the poem.

Discussion

Q. What is your idea of a beautiful life? Do you think life can be beautiful even though short?

Ans. The word ‘beautiful’ is the adjective of the word ‘beauty’. We know that, the adjective describes the quality of anything, either it is good or bad quality. On the other hand, beauty does not only mean the splendidness or anything that is attractive or that attracts. The real beauty is the good inner conscience of a person. So in my point of view, the life is not only to live a luxurious life, with all the pleasures and facilities but it is also sharing our joys, helping the needy, showing sympathy and kindness. Even in a short span of time, life can be more beautiful if lived just like the Prophets taught us.

Helping hands are more precious than the lips that pray.

Suggested Reading

Gather Ye Rose Buds by Herrick