Trees (Emily Dickinson) — NCERT Solutions

The image of “Hindered Flags” refers to the bright flowers that seem to be trying to rise but are partly held back by their stems. They look like flags that are prevented from fully fluttering. The poet then calls them “Sweet hoisted”, suggesting that the flowers are lifted up beautifully, as if on a mast. This makes the flowers look graceful and colourful.

The pronouns referring to the Sun are capitalised because the Sun is personified in the poem. Emily Dickinson treats it like a living being with its own will, as seen in lines like “As if Himself were optional” and “To let the Orchards grow.” Capitalising the pronouns gives the Sun dignity and makes it seem powerful and almost human.

The poem shows that great poetry comes from careful observation of nature. Emily Dickinson notices tiny details and turns them into striking images: trees “like Tassels”; the sun shining “whole at intervals — / Then Half — then utter hid”; a bird “careless on the fence”; a snake “winding round a Stone”; and flowers that “slit a Calyx / And soared upon a Stem.” Such precise observation makes the poem fresh, vivid, and beautiful.