Paraphrases of Poem 4 They have cut down the pines
Class 10 English Notes
Stanza 1:
They have cut down the pines where they stood;
The wind will miss them——— the rain,
When its silver blind is down.
They have stripped the bark from the wood—
Paraphrase:
The pine trees have been cut down by the people. The wind and heavy rain will feel their absence. The outer covering of the trees has also been removed from them.
Stanza 2:
They needy boughs, and the brown
Knobby nuts trod into the ground.
The kind and friendly trees,
Where all day small winds sound,
Paraphrase:
The pointed branches of the trees and the brown cones are crushed under the feet. The trees are very kind and friendly. When the winds pass through the trees, a rustling sound is produced in the trees.
Stanza 3:
And all day long the sun
Plays hide and seek with shadows
Till the multiplying shadows turn to one
And the night is here.
Paraphrase:
In the woods, the sun and the shadows replace each other throughout the day. It is like the sun and shadows play hide and seek with one another. The shadows in the woods increase during the day but when the night comes, the multiplying shadows turn to one shadow.
Stanza 4:
They have cut down the trees and ended now
The gentle colloquy of bough and bough.
They are making a fence by the creek,
And have cut down the pines for the posts.
Paraphrase:
The trees have been cut down and because of it, the sweet conversation among the branches of the trees has also ended.
The pine trees have been cut down to make posts which will be used in making a fence along the stream.
Stanza 5:
Wan in the sunlight for ghost
The naked trunks lie.
A bird nested there——- it will seek
In vain: they have cut down the pines.
Paraphrase:
The naked trunks of the trees lie under the sunlight in a miserable condition. They are of no use except for providing a haunting place for the ghosts. A bird which made a nest in the trees will not be able to find its nest because the trees have been cut down.