Laburnum Top

The Laburnum Top
THE RATTRAP
By Selma Lagerlof
A Poem by:
TED HUGHES
JUSTIFICATION OF TITLE
Literal:
 the Laburnum tree has been described in detail by the poet
 poem gives a vivid description of the transformation that the tree
undergoes. The entire scenario revolves around the tree
Figurative: (realistic aspect of nature)

 the laburnum symbolizes hardships in life. The poem describes
the laburnum tree whose seeds have not only fallen but also the
leaves have turned yellow.
KEYWORDS AND MEANING
1. Goldfinch – a small singing birds with yellow feathers on its wings
2. Twitching – sudden jerk movement
3. Chirrup – a bird making repeated high pitched sounds
4. Startlement – feeling or showing sudden shock
5. Abrupt – rapid
6. Chitterings – to make a chattering sound
7. Tremor of wings – involuntary vibration of the wings
8. Trillings – to produce a chirruping sound
9. Trembles – to shake
10. Thrills – a sudden feeling of excitement

KEYWORDS AND MEANING
Flirts out – lead on to
Stokes – to add fuel to the engine
Barred – stripy
Eerie – weird and strange
Whistle-chirrup – gentle whisper like the chirping of the bird
Subsides – diminishes
Paraphrasing
THE LABURNUM TOP IS SILENT, QUITE STILL
IN THE AFTERNOON YELLOW SEPTEMBER SUNLIGHT,(SUNLIGHT IS NOT
VERY HARSH)
A FEW LEAVES YELLOWING, ALL ITS SEEDS FALLEN. (DECAYING OF
THE TREE)
 The tree’s top is still and silent in the day time of September month
 It is autumn season
 all the seeds of the tree had fallen
 poet has used the word ‘yellow’ for leaves and sunlight.
 Yellow also symbolizes silence, death, and beauty.
 He describes the whole scene of the tree with this colour.
TILL THE GOLDFINCH COMES, WITH A TWITCHING CHIRRUP
A SUDDENNESS, A STARTLEMENT, AT A BRANCH END.
THEN SLEEK AS A LIZARD, AND ALERT, AND ABRUPT,
SHE ENTERS THE THICKNESS, AND A MACHINE STARTS UP (MACHINE- SOUND
PRODUCED BY THE YOUNG ONES)
OF CHITTERLINGS, AND A TREMOR OF WINGS, AND TRILLINGS—
THE WHOLE TREE TREMBLES AND THRILLS. (TREE HAS COME ALIVE)
 A Goldfinch comes to end the inactive scene of the tree and makes a sudden chirrup sound.
 The bird while being rapid and alert, precautions like a lizard, sits on the branch of the tree.
 As she moves towards the thickness of the branch, her younger ones started chirruping and
making vibrations with their wings, making a sound like a machine.
 Because of the movement of the bird and her young ones, the tree starts to shake and thrill
 The poet has given two opposite scenarios of the tree; complete inactivity and liveliness
IT IS THE ENGINE OF HER FAMILY. (WITHOUT BIRD BOTH THE TREE
AND THE YOUNG ONES ARE LIFELESS)
SHE STOKES IT FULL, THEN FLIRTS OUT TO A BRANCH-END
SHOWING HER BARRED FACE IDENTITY MASK (VISUAL IMAGERY)
 the goldfinch is the engine of her family. She provides food to her young ones and moves to the
other branch end
 Her dark coloured striped face is visible as her body is yellow colored and hides behind the
yellow leaves of the tree
 The Image of the Engine: As an engine is the source to run a machine, the bird is compared to
the engine as she is the feeder of her family. Just like a machine cannot work without an
engine, her family can’t last without her.
THEN WITH EERIE DELICATE WHISTLE-CHIRRUP WHISPERING (EERIE
DELICATE- SOUND MADE BY THE BIRD IN THE SOLITUDE RESONATING
IN THE ATMOSPHERE)
SHE LAUNCHES AWAY, TOWARDS THE INFINITE
AND THE LABURNUM SUBSIDES TO EMPTY.
 After reaching the end of the branch, the bird makes a sweet chirping sound just like
whispering and flies away towards the infinite sky.
 It again makes the Laburnum tree silent and inactive
LITERARY DEVICES
1. Alliteration - repetition of a consonant sound at the beginning of two or more consecutive words. The
instances of alliteration in the poem are as follows-
 September sunlight
tree trembles
2. Simile – comparison between two things using like or as.
 Sleek as a lizard
3. Personification – the attribution of personal nature characteristics to something non-human
 The whole tree trembles and thrills.

LITERARY DEVICES
4. Metaphor – an indirect comparison between two things. Generally, a quality is compared.
 “She enters the thickness, and a machine starts up” - the noise created by the movement of the birds is compared to the machine’s
noise
 “It is the engine of her family.”
 “Showing her barred face identity mask”
5. Transferred Epithet – a figure of speech where an adjective/adverb is transferred to another noun
 her barred face identity mask (face=bird itself)
The laburnum tree has flowers that fall like bars and when the bird sits behind the flowers the shadow on her face looks like she is
wearing a mask that has bars on it.
6. Onomatopoea- Use of sound words… chirrup
THEMES
1. THE BEAUTY OF MUTUAL
RELATIONSHIPS
Provides energy and

liveliness Provides Shelter
 Laburnum Tree is large, beautiful but quite alone and the

goldfinch bird is quite amusing, beautiful but without shelter.
2. LIFE AS AN EXCHANGE OF
ENERGY
People are alive because they undergo exchange of energy. The goldfinch transforms the
tree and makes it come alive. Without the goldfinch and its chicks the laburnum is just
another tree.
3. SILENCE AND HARDSHIPS
 The poem describes the laburnum tree whose seeds have not only fallen but have
also turned yellow. It is an afternoon in September and the tree top is silent until a
goldfinch appears

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The Laburnum Top

Figurative: (realistic aspect of nature)

2. Twitching – sudden jerk movement

3. Chirrup – a bird making repeated high pitched sounds

4. Startlement – feeling or showing sudden shock

6. Chitterings – to make a chattering sound

7. Tremor of wings – involuntary vibration of the wings

8. Trillings – to produce a chirruping sound

10. Thrills – a sudden feeling of excitement

Stokes – to add fuel to the engine

Eerie – weird and strange

Whistle-chirrup – gentle whisper like the chirping of the bird

2. Simile – comparison between two things using like or as.

3. Personification – the attribution of personal nature characteristics to something non-human

 The whole tree trembles and thrills.

 “It is the engine of her family.”

 “Showing her barred face identity mask”

5. Transferred Epithet – a figure of speech where an adjective/adverb is transferred to another noun

 her barred face identity mask (face=bird itself)

Provides energy and

 Laburnum Tree is large, beautiful but quite alone and the

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