Back to: Tamil Nadu Class 10 English Guide & Notes
Table of Contents
Introduction
‘The House on Elm Street’ is written by Nadia Bush. She used this poem for her English class because she was told to write a ‘dark’ poem. She decided to write about a house that no one knows what happened inside. The poem describes a mysterious house and a never-growing tree. The poet fears going inside the house.
No one knows, what happened inside the house. It remains to be a mystery. The house begins to fade each day. The house remains to be a mystery always. Besides the house sits a tree that never grows leaves in any season. The poet metaphorically tells that our life in this world is a mystery. We can’t go deep inside to know the purpose of the mystery behind our life.
Stanza 1
It sat alone. What happened there is still today unknown. It is a very mysterious place, And inside you can tell it has a ton of space, But at the same time it is bare to the bone.
The poet talks about the house on Elm Street that stood all alone. No one knows why it has been abandoned till now and seems to be a mysterious place. Inside the house, there is to be a lot of space. But at the same time, it is empty everywhere, emptiness is being found in every corner of the house.
Stanza 2
At night the house seems to be alive, Lights flicker on and off. I am often tempted to go to the house, To just take a look and see what it is really about, But fear takes over me.
At night, the house seems to look alive because of the lights flickering now and then. The lights are on and off during the night. The poet often gets tempted to go into the house only take a look at it. She wants to know what it is really about. But her fear forbids her to do so.
Stanza 3
I drive past the house almost every day. The house seems to be a bit brighter On this warm summer day in May. It plays with your mind. To me I say, it is one of a kind.
The poet drives past that house almost every day. The house seems to be a bit brighter during May on the warm summer days. This mysterious house plays with our minds since no one knows what is happening there. To the poet, it is one of the strange kinds.
Stanza 4
Beside the house sits a tree. It never grows leaves, Not in the winter, spring, summer or fall. It just sits there, never getting small or ever growing tall, How could this be?
There is a tree at the side of the house that never grows any leaves in any of the seasons at all. Not a leaf grows in winter, spring, summer, or autumn. The tree stands there constantly never getting small or forever growing taller. The poet wonders how could this happen.
Stanza 5
Rumors are constantly being made, And each day the house just begins to fade. What happened inside that house? I really don't know. I guess it will always be a mystery.
Rumors are continuously being made about the house. Each day, the house just beings to lose its brightness. It begins to fade and look dull. The poet wonders again about what happened inside that house. She doesn’t know. She just guesses that it will always be a mystery to her.
Conclusion
The poem, ‘The House on Elm Street’ by Nadia Bush is a dark poem. The house and the tree depict darkness and also a mysterious feel. Trees generally grow green. It is a representation of fertility and robust nature. Unlike a tree’s characteristic features the tree beside the mysterious house is also mysterious.
The tree stands erect with no leaves in them. There is no fall of leaves during autumn and no leaves are sprouting during spring. There aren’t any leaves on the tree for the leaves to dry during summer nor for the snow to cover the leaves with snow during winter. This tree doesn’t grow tall nor does it get small. It is quite a mystery to see a living tree appearing lifeless.
