You may read the poem 'On Killing a Tree' by Gieve Patel (Beehive - Textbook in English for Class IX, NCERT). Compare and contrast it with the poem you have just read.

Explanation

Both the poems .The Trees. and .On Killing a Tree. are a beautiful study in contrast. In .The Trees., Adrienne Rich describes man.s attempt to disturb the natural balance of the environment. Here, there is a futile attempt of confining the all powerful nature within artificial barriers. There is a stupid but arrogant attempt to shift trees from their natural habitat - the forest. The trees don.t value freedom less than men. They struggle, break open the artificial barriers and march victoriously to their original home, the forest. In .On Killing a Tree. Gieve Patel describes man.s attempt to kill the natural wealth of this worldtrees and forests. Man.s greed leads to deforestation. But the killing of a tree can.t be taken for granted. A tree is not killed suddenly with a blow. Every part of a tree struggles. The roots, the twigs, branches and even leaves put up a heroic fight before dying in the end. Man.s arrogance and cruelty is challenged step by step. Man.s diabolic attempt to subdue and destroy nature is vehemently challenged by nature itself. The only difference is that man.s arrogance and cruelty ultimately succeeds in .On Killing a Tree.. On the other hand, the victorious march of the trees to the forest in ‘The Trees. tells the story of victory of nature over man.