The Laburnum Top — Class 11 MCQs with Answers
Class 11 CBSE English · Chapter 5
20 practice questions · 20 Medium · Updated
Practise the most important Class 11 CBSE English questions from Chapter 5, "The Laburnum Top". You get 2 timed quizzes made from 20 NCERT-based MCQs, with answers and explanations. The questions are split into 20 Medium. Warm up on the basics, then move on to the exam-level questions that top scorers in CBSE Board exams get right.
To score well in "The Laburnum Top", focus on comprehension, grammar and writing skills. Each MCQ here is timed and uses exam-style marking (+4 correct, −1 wrong, 0 skipped). This helps you stay accurate when time is short, just as real papers need. Every question has a short explanation, so a wrong answer becomes a quick lesson. It is the fastest way to fix gaps before a test.
Use this chapter for focused revision. Start with the Easy set to check your basics on The Laburnum Top, then move to Medium to practise applying them. Your accuracy, streaks and XP save automatically. This chapter also adds to your overall Class 11 English mastery score. Try the sample question below: tap an option to see the answer and a worked explanation. Sign in free to start practising.
The Laburnum Top — important questions & MCQs with answers (Class 11 English)
1 solved question from this chapter's difficulty levels, each with its answer and explanation. Tap an option to check yourself.
- Q1Medium
What is notable about the beginning and the ending of the poem?
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Answer: Both show the tree silent and empty, so the poem comes full circle
Explanation: It opens 'silent, quite still' and closes as 'the laburnum subsides to empty' — the burst of life is framed by stillness.
Key concepts: The Laburnum Top (Class 11 English)
Ted Hughes's short poem watches a still September tree burst into noise and movement when a goldfinch returns to feed her young, then subside into emptiness again. The poem's shape is a circle: silence, life, silence.
- The opening stillness
- 'The Laburnum top is silent, quite still / In the afternoon yellow September sunlight, / A few leaves yellowing, all its seeds fallen.' The tree is inert and near the end of its season.
- The goldfinch's arrival
- She comes 'with a twitching chirrup / A suddenness, a startlement, at a branch end' — the abruptness is the poem's turning point.
- Sleek as a lizard
- A simile. The comparison rests on the manner of movement — sleek, alert and abrupt — not on appearance or habitat.
- The machine starting up
- 'She enters the thickness, and a machine starts up / Of chitterings, and a tremor of wings, and trillings.' The nestlings turn the tree into working machinery.
- The engine of her family
- The tree, filled with noise and vibration, is called the engine that sustains the brood — and 'She stokes it full', a word borrowed from feeding a furnace.
- Barred face identity mask
- The striped markings on the goldfinch's face, which identify her to her young — a face read as a mask.
- Trembles and thrills
- Alliteration binds the two verbs, and personification gives the tree the bird's own excitement. A tree cannot literally thrill.
- Sound words
- Chirrup, chitterings, trillings, and 'eerie delicate whistle-chirrup whisperings' — the poem is built as much from sound as from sight.
- Movement words
- Suddenness, startlement, enters, tremor, flirts out, launches away. Note that 'startlement' names an effect, not a sound.
- The dominant colour
- Yellow runs throughout: September sunlight, yellowing leaves, the laburnum's flowers and the goldfinch's wing feathers.
- The departure
- 'She launches away, towards the infinite / And the laburnum subsides to empty.' The poem opens outward to the sky, then closes on absence.
- The circular structure
- Beginning and ending both show the tree silent and empty, so the burst of life is framed by stillness — the bird alone animates the tree.
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Start this chapter free →The Laburnum Top — FAQs
What are the key concepts in Class 11 English The Laburnum Top?+
Ted Hughes's short poem watches a still September tree burst into noise and movement when a goldfinch returns to feed her young, then subside into emptiness again. The poem's shape is a circle: silence, life, silence. Key ideas include The opening stillness, The goldfinch's arrival, Sleek as a lizard, The machine starting up, The engine of her family, Barred face identity mask.
What does Class 11 English Chapter 5 (The Laburnum Top) cover on XamBaaz?+
It has 20 NCERT-based MCQs on "The Laburnum Top": 20 Medium. Together they make 2 timed quizzes, and you never get the same set twice. Every question has an instant explanation. They help you prepare for CBSE Board exams.
Are these "The Laburnum Top" questions free to practise?+
Yes. Sign in with Google to practise "The Laburnum Top" free. Full unlimited access is ₹999/year. One year from the day you pay. You stay in Class 11 till 31 March; on 1 April your account moves up to Class 12 and the rest of your year carries over. No chapter is charged separately.
How should I revise "The Laburnum Top" for the exam?+
Start with the Easy quiz to check your basics, then try Medium to practise applying them. There are 2 timed quizzes on this chapter, so you can come back for a fresh set instead of one you have seen. Read each explanation, retry the questions you miss, and track your accuracy until it stays high.
Are these "The Laburnum Top" MCQs available with answers?+
Yes. A sample question is on this page with answers: tap an option, or "Show answer", to see the correct option and a step-by-step explanation. Sign in free with Google to start practising, with instant scoring.
Is there negative marking in the "The Laburnum Top" quizzes?+
Yes. The timed quizzes use exam-style marking: +4 for a right answer, −1 for a wrong one and 0 for a skip. MHT-CET and CBSE board papers have no negative marking. Our mocks for those are scored their way.
What are the important questions from The Laburnum Top (Class 11 English)?+
The questions that matter most test The opening stillness, The goldfinch's arrival, Sleek as a lizard, The machine starting up, The engine of her family, Barred face identity mask. This page shows 1 solved important MCQs with answers and explanations. Sign in to practise all 20 questions on the chapter as timed quizzes.
Is there an online quiz for The Laburnum Top?+
Yes — Class 11 English The Laburnum Top has timed online quizzes at Medium levels, with instant scoring and a worked explanation on every question. The first quiz on the chapter is free.