The Laburnum Top

The poet says that he saw a Laburnum tree whose leaves were yellow. The tree’s top is still and silent in
the day time of September month. It is autumn season and all the seeds of the tree had fallen.
The poet has used the word ‘yellow’ for leaves and sunlight. Yellow symbolizes silence, death, and
beauty. He describes the whole scene of the tree with this colour.

A Goldfinch comes to end the death-like scene of the tree and makes a sudden chirrup sound. The bird
while being rapid, alert and precautions like a lizard, sits on the branches of the tree. As she moved
towards the thickness of the branch, her younger ones started chirruping and doing vibrations with
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. The tree first being death-like and still and then
giving life and shelter to the bird (and by extension her young ones).

The Laburnum tree and the goldfinch bird 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
coloured and hides behind the yellow leaves of the tree.

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 death-like.

 Imagery: Hughes uses vivid and descriptive imagery throughout the poem to bring the laburnum
tree and its surroundings to life. For example, he describes the tree's "yellow" leaves, the
"goldfinch wings" that "flash", and the "trilling" of the birds.
 Onomatopoeia: the ‘tremor’ and ‘chirrup’ words certainly evoke sounds.
 Personification: Hughes personifies the laburnum tree, attributing human-like qualities to it. For
example, he writes that the tree "hangs" and "sways". This personification helps to create a more
intimate and personal connection between the reader and the tree.
 Simile: Hughes uses a simile to compare the goldfinch to "a lizard" in the third stanza. This simile
helps to highlight the bird's agility and quickness.
 Metaphor: Hughes uses a metaphor to compare the goldfinch to a "machine" in the third stanza.
This metaphor helps to emphasize the bird's energy and vitality.
 Alliteration: Hughes uses alliteration, the repetition of consonant sounds, throughout the poem
to create a sense of rhythm and flow. For example, he writes "the light falls on the laburnum top"
in the first line.
 Enjambment: Hughes uses enjambment, the continuation of a line of poetry without a pause, to
create a sense of forward momentum in the poem. For example, the first stanza of the poem is
written as a single, long sentence.
 Transferred Epithet:
 Synecdoche: The poet uses synecdoche in the first line when he refers to the "laburnum top."
The word "top" here refers to the entire tree, not just the topmost branches. This is a type of
synecdoche known as pars pro toto, which means "part for whole."
Hughes also uses synecdoche in the third stanza when he refers to the "goldfinch wings." The
word "wings" here refers to the entire bird, not just its wings.