Summary and Critical Appreciation of Poem The Tree of Life by Toru Dutt

Introduction to the Poem: 

The poem entitled The Tree of Life is the best example of the poetess’ mysticism. The poem is an account of those daylight visions which come to mortals but rarely. It shows an emotional and affectionate attachment between daughter and father. Her father's tender affection and delicate touch soothed her wearisome feelings. Both of them had mutual emotional understanding. It shows that the poetess felt mental repose in her father's company. In this poem, the poetess recalls a day when, in broad daylight, she saw visions in her day dreaming.

Summary and Critical Appreciation of Poem The Tree of Life by Toru Dutt

Summary of the Poem:

The poetess gives an account of those daylight visions which come to mortals but rarely. The poetess was oftenly lost in daylight visions. She had great emotional attachment with her father. She felt mental repose in her father's company. Whenever she suffered from any kind of mental stress, weariness and conflict, she craved for an affectionate touch of her father. The only presence and an affectionate touch of her father provided her great relief. She recalls a day when the sunshine was extended. Due to having a sense of weariness, she was sitting in the company of her father. Her eyes were closed, but she was not asleep. Her hand was in her father's and she felt his presence near her. She felt great comfort in her father's presence. Her feelings were greatly relaxed in her father's affectionate company. Thus they spent many hours silently. There was no need of interchanging words because the thoughts which arose in their hearts were known to each other. The pulse beating kept tune with time. There was a rhythmical attachment with pulse and time.

While sitting to her father under the impact of emotions and tender affection, she closed her eyes and in broad daylight she took a flight of fancy. Though she was not asleep and was also in conscious state, she engrossed herself in daydreaming. When her eyes were closed, she saw a vision which was related to her fancy. In her vision, she saw a strange and wonderful light. This light gave a sudden change to the scene. In her awakening state she saw an open plain which was very vast. It was extended far and wide. It seemed as if it had no limit. She was greatly astonished to see this limitless field. The strange light was falling over this field. It looked like a glorious light of the stars shining in a clear, cloudless frosty wintry night and spreading their light over the snowy field. The glorious light was intense. It had a kind of serenity and calmness. It provided her a kind of peace and consolation. It had also an extraordinary fascination. In her vision seen by her during broad day when her eyes were closed , but she was in awakening state , she saw a tree whose branches laden with different kinds of leaves , were spreading . The leaves hanging on the boughs of the tree were of dull silvery and bright gold colour. The boughs were moving to and fro in the faint bright light. The beauty of the boughs laden with silver and gold leaves was beyond description. They presented an enchanting sight . In her vision the poetess saw an angel standing near the tree. The angel plucked a few tender and small sprigs and bound them round her head.

When the angel bound a few tender twigs around the poetess’ forehead, she felt a kind of delicate touch of those strange leaves . Her brows stopped throbbing and she did not feel any feverishness in her limbs. She requested the angel to bind her father's forehead with those leaves. The angel took a leaf and with it he touched her father's forehead. On seeing the angel's face, she felt great wonder. She had never seen such a gracious face which was full of holy pity and divine love. Indeed the angel had a wonderful divine grace. She could not believe at the sight of the angel and his extraordinary grace. For a while she looked around with great wonder and amazement. Seeing the divine and holy look of the angel, the poetess became somewhat emotional. Her eyes were full of tears and due to having tearful eyes, her vision had become dim. Then, under the impact of this wonderful sight, she, at once opened her tearful eyes, but the strange and glorious light like that of the stars shining in the clear sky during snowy wintry night, had vanished. Now the angel's face was no more seen. She found her father watching patiently by her bed and holding her hand in his own hand.

Critical Appreciation of the Poem:

Introduction: 

The poem entitled The Tree of Life is the reflective poem. It is imaginatively sad, autobiographical, and perhaps premonitory of the poet's early end. It is dreamy in its texture, and is in the manner of a mystical experience of Wordsworth. It is perhaps the best example we have of the mysticism which lay deep in Toru's nature. It is a vision in sleep. How vividly Toru Dutt describes in it the vision of the tree of life: 

“And in the mist of that vast plan I saw, 

For I was wide awake, it was no dream 

A tree with spreading branches and with leaves 

Of divers kinds, dead silver and live gold, 

Shimmering in radiance that no words may tell! " 

Thought - Content: 

The poetess had great emotional attachment with her father. She felt mental repose in her father's company. The only presence and an affectionate touch of her father provided her great relief. She recalls a day when, in broad daylight, she saw visions in her daydreaming. In one of her visions, she saw a boundless plain, stretching very far. In her next vision, she saw a strange and glorious light as the stars shed over snow covered fields in a clear, cloudless and frosty winter night was spreading over it. It was more intense in its calm brilliance. Next she saw the boughs of the tree laden with the leaves of dull silvery and bright gold colour. The boughs were wavering in the faint bright light. They looked indescribably beautiful. In her next vision, she saw an angel standing beside the tree. He, plucking a few small sprigs, bound round her head. But she did not feel feverishness in her limbs. She requested the angel to bind her father's forehead with those leaves. Taking a leaf, the angel touched her father's forehead. She was highly fascinated to the divine and holy face of the angel. She was astonished and full of emotions to see the angel and at this sight her eyes were full of tears. When she opened her eyes, all the visions disappeared. 

Biographical Elements: 

The poem is an account of those daylight visions which come to mortals but rarely. Biographically, it is of interest as the last poem written by her. The opening line is vividly suggestive: 

“Broad daylight, with a sense of weariness!” 

It describes how, as the invalid lay with her father's hand in hers, in that intimate, voiceless communion which the two knew and loved so well:

“Suddenly there shone 
A strange light and the scene as sudden changed. " 

In the midst of an illimitable plain stretched out before her eyes, the visionary saw:

“A tree with spreading branches and with leaves 
Of divers kinds, -dead silver and live gold. "

Beside the tree stood an angel, who plucked some of the leaves and bound them round the poetess ' brow, till its wild throbbing ceased. So wonderful was their effect that she pleaded for some to be bound round her father's brow also:

“Once leaf the Angel took, and therewith touched 
His forehead, and then gently whispered ‘Nay’! " 

Her Craftsmanship: 

The poem evinces remarkable development in Toru Dutt's poetic craftsmanship. Her poetic style attained maturity. Her expression is flawless and her words are well chosen, for example: 

“It was an open plain 

Illimitable, stretching, stretching - oh, so far! 

And o'er it that strange light, a glorious light 

Like that the stars shed over fields of snow 

In a clear, cloudless, frosty winter night, 

Only intenser in its brilliance calm.” 

The Use of Imagery: 

The imagery is quite western in the sense that no oriental poet ever craved for the binding of any laurel wreath over his head, nor does he ever expect an outside agency, however representative of God, to do it in recognition of excellence. But the thought “Bind too my father's forehead with these leaves” is Indian, and expresses her love for her father between whom and herself she could scarcely see and difference, because she owed her being, physical as well as spiritual , entirely to him . This poem seems to have been composed on her death - bed when thoughts of the here - after were already buzzing in her brain. The super ambient atmosphere has been cleverly manipulated to be chilly and sepulchral with an imagery which is weird .