The Trees Flashcards
introduction
This poem is a contemplation of nature by man, in which the trees (objects of nature) become a metaphor for the poet’s experience. The trees are used as a vehicle to convey the universal themes of death, rebirth, time and nature as the poet contemplates the inevitability of his personal ageing.
paragraphs
1) stanza 1 (youthful regeneration)
2) stanza 2 (structural heart of poem: directly contemplates age)
3) stanza 3 (admiration for the trees endurance)
paragraph on stanza 1 (youthful regeneration)
1) “coming into leaf” - this is a liminal image, suggesting the transition from winter into spring. Spring is associated with the ideas of growth, renewal and rebirth.
2) “Like something almost being said” - A sense of intimacy is created here as the poet seems to communicate with nature. However, the two qualifiers suggest that he is on the verge of understand but due to the indeterminate and imprecise nature of the message, he has yet to fully grasp the trees meaning.
3) ““recent buds relax and spread” - The buds seem to symbolise potential which then lead on, through the verbs relax and spread, to the idea of consummation, as though they have realised their potential.
4) “their greenness is a kind of grief” - The last word of the stanza marks a tuning point in the poem. Whilst previously this poem seemed to be one in celebration of the ability of the trees to regenerate every spring, the abstract noun grief, which conveys mournfulness and sadness, seems to conflict with this idea. The word grief, emphasised through the guttural alliteration, subverts the literary convention of spring as a time of celebration. It suggests that, to Larkin, the trees constant regeneration makes him feel envious, as he realises the irrevocability of his own loss of youth.
5) The envelope rhyme scheme, reflects both the idea of the trees’ cyclical renewal and Larkin’s entrapment as he is forced to observe it time and time again.
paragraph on stanza 2 (structural heart of poem: directly contemplates age)
1) “Is it that they are born again and we grow old?” - The inclusive pronoun “we” makes this a universalizing gesture, including the reader in his feelings. The dramatic contrast between “born” and “old” reveal how the trees symbolise for him the passage of time, making him conscious of his own ageing. The rhetorical question, placed at the center of the poem, questions his own mortality and reveals the main source of his sorrow.
2) “their yearly trick of looking new” - Larkin here introduces the theme of appearance versus reality, revealing how in reality they are ageing just like him but it is concealed by a facade where they appear to defy death.
3) “written down in rings of grain” - This is a visual representation of the cyclical nature of time for the trees and, although Larkin experiences time as a linear thing, it feels as though the tress and him are both ageing, even if they go about it in a different manner. Larkin seems to find solace in the trees own mortality.
paragraph on stanza 3 (admiration for the trees endurance)
1) “unresting castles thresh” - Heraldic image suggests the new found admiration that Larkin has gained for the trees. The continuous present suggests the tress ongoing defiance to their own ageing. Although Larkin suggested the trees were in their peak in the first stanza, in the last stanza he does not suggest their decline. The trees seem to have endured the passage of time, shown by the 3 regular stanzas passing, and continue to relish their existance.
2) “they seem to stay” - Larkin still uses a qualifier when referring to the trees’ message. There is a sense that it is a personal message which he has taken from the trees as opposed to them giving to him. There regeneration and determination has inspired and motivated him.
3) “Begin afresh, afresh, afresh” - The tricolon suggests conviction through the repetition and emphasises the importance of the message. The voice of the trees seems reasuring through the repetition of the soft soothing “sh” sound. As the final word of the poem, it creates a sense of hope, showing how larkin has progressed from his self-pitying envy of the trees to embracing their revitalization and determination.
conclusion
By the end of the poem it feels as though Larkin views the trees with a sense of awe and reverence. However he is still somewhat ambivalent. Larkin wishes not to age but is constricted by his own mortality but although wistful he seems accepting by the end of the poem. The poem feels cathartic as he expresses his worries and anxieties, ultimately concluding on an image of renewal and hope.
