Sometimes a tree is like a friend.
It stands by you until the end.
Unless, of course, it is cut down,
It stands by you until the end.
Unless, of course, it is cut down,
Or death puts you into the ground.
The trees in the three poems, “Under the Walnut Tree,” “Tree at My Window,” and “The Girt Woak Tree” are significant in different ways to the narrators, but all function in and relate to some aspect of the narrators’ lives.
In “Under the Walnut Tree,” the tree functions as shelter from the weather outside and the turmoil within the narrator. The poem has a heavy mood with undertones of mystery and sorrow. The narrator stands alone in the darkness, hiding from what is inside, even risking the cold and the rain to escape. There he is, underneath the Walnut Tree, sheltered perhaps, or maybe kept company by the tree. The tree itself represents a place of refuge, something that might bring comfort to the narrator
In the poem, “Tree at My Window,” the tree located near the bed of the narrator supposedly is put there by fate herself. The tree is personified in that it experiences circumstances similar to the narrator. The tree understands the narrator’s struggles. The narrator speaks directly to the tree, almost longingly, desiring that the tree would reply with comments of affirmation. The tree outside the window has been with him through the ups and downs of his life, and has itself experienced similar “weather.” The narrator would dare not separate himself from his firmly rooted companion, even by pulling down the blinds. This tree is similar to the tree of “Under the Walnut Tree” because it is close in location to the narrator. The tree does not, however, offer any physical shelter for the narrator. The shelter provided can be seen as being inward shelter; it could be a sense of sympathy and understanding sheltering him from pain.
The tree in “The Girt Woak Tree” is unmistakably treasured by the narrator. It is the blanket that every young child clings to, and looks on with loving nostalgia in older years. Like the tree in “The Tree at My Window,” this tree has been with the narrator through thick and thin. It has seen his childhood days, his days of happiness and days of sorrow, and will be forever rooted in the heart of the narrator. The narrator would go so far as to defend the tree from anyone who would cut it down because the tree represents all that is and was precious to him.
Each of these three trees has unique aspects about them that relate to the main idea of the poem in which they are mentioned and that concern the purpose of their being mentioned. The Walnut Tree is mere shelter and company; the tree outside the window is a friend and confidant; and the Great Oak Tree is a landmark containing memories of the narrator’s life.
1. Martin, Lynn. “Under the Walnut Tree.” Blue Bowl. Blue Begonia Press. 5 Oct 2011. <http://www.gratefulness.org/poetry/under_the_walnut_tree.htm>
“Under the Walnut Tree” is a short poem written by Lynn Martin that chronicles a solitary evening spent in the dark, damp and icy outdoors underneath a walnut tree. The poem is very simple. It lacks many adjectives and uses common words that are easily understood. The effect of this straightforwardness is profound. The poem is structured in such a way as to emphasize certain words and phrases. The poem is a series of lines that do not necessarily being with the beginning of each sentence. To the eye, the poem resembles a wide, leaning tree. It is not uniform in shape, nor does it rhyme or contain any notable meter. It is free-verse. I used this poem because of the potential symbolism of the walnut tree. The author does not try to convince the reader that the tree represents anything specific, leaving that up to the reader. It is because of this that I was able to relate the walnut tree to the other poems I used.
The poem “Under the Walnut Tree” is relatable for all people. Anyone can say that he has had a rough life and sometimes feels he cannot even tell the night what he knows. This sense of sorrow and pain is easy to understand. The walnut tree does not have a strong part in this poem because the main theme, the suffering of the narrator, is written into the motif of darkness and bleak weather. The walnut tree stands out against these as perhaps a ray of hope. Unlike the cold and the rain, the tree is living and covers the man beneath it. The last sentence of the poem is baffling to me because I do not understand its meaning. Does the author mean that the narrator is giving up hope? Or does he mean that the narrator is embracing his fear?
2. Frost, Robert. “Tree at my Window.” Internal.org. 5 Oct 2011 <http://www.internal.org/Robert_Frost/Tree_at_my_Window>
The “Tree at my Window,” by Robert Frost, describes the relationship that the narrator imagines is between him and the tree that is directly outside of his bedroom window. In the first stanza the narrator is unwilling to be separated from the tree even by the curtains that are used to cover a window. The narrator has a noticeable attachment to the plant that is solid. He compares this loyal tree to dreams which are never as faithful, nor as deep. The narrator then nostalgically relates his experience of the stormy weather of his life with the physical weather that the tree has had to endure. The narrator concludes his ode with praise to fate for having placed the tree in a spot where he would see it and understand how similar his life and the tree’s life were.
I chose this poem because it related easily to the topic. It is clear that the tree is used by the narrator to reveal his own chaotic life without directly stating the facts. The poem betrays the narrator’s need to be accepted and understood. His not wanting to be severed from his view of the tree discloses this inborn desire. The rhyme scheme is more structured and easily discerned, and the structure of the four stanzas is basic and traditional. These aspects of the poem make it an easy read. I do not understand the second stanza of this poem. I enjoy the way in which the tree is seen as a parallel to the narrator, but I don’t comprehend what the author was attempting to convey in the second stanza other than the faithfulness of the tree.
3. Barnes, William. “The Girt Woak Tree That’s in the Dell.” 5 Oct 2011 <http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-girt-woak-tree-that-s-in-the-dell/>
First, this poem is written in such a way as to convey an accent that seems to be either Irish. This forces the reader to place himself or herself in the shoes of someone from this region of the world. The narrator states explicitly that he loves the tree because he spent many a day climbing it and fetching acorns from it; and his mother and father would rest beneath it at evening time. The tree was also present when the narrator was courting a young woman and, at the sight of the tree, the narrator is reminded of this benign love affair that death cut short. The structure of the poem is three long stanzas, each dedicated to one specific topic concerning the great oak tree. The clerihew rhyme scheme used throughout the poem creates a bright, skip-along feeling that is cheerful and pleasant to read.
I enjoy the use of dialect in this poem immensely. When read aloud, the poem has an Irish or Scottish sound. The tree is the central theme of the poem, unlike “Under the Walnut Tree” and more intensely than “Tree at my Window.” The walnut tree lacks much importance, the tree beside the window is more important, but the great oak tree is the most important. The Great Oak Tree represents times and events gone by-events that are treasured greatly by the narrator. The tree also represents the homeland of the narrator. He proclaims that he would go to sea to fight for the land where the Great Oak Tree stood if it were necessary. He means that if an invading force threatened his homeland he would willingly fight.
Someone or Something?
She dances with me, yet out of rhythm.
She whips around and shakes.
The winds are wild, she gives into to them,
And bends until she breaks.
Trees can be used in poetry to represent someone. They can also gain a human characteristic, which is known as personification. Representing someone as a tree and personifying a tree can be used to convey a variety of messages.
In Johanna Herrick’s Poem, “Pruning,” the tree takes on the characteristics of a human being. The tree “trusts” the narrator even while she is cutting away limbs. The tree also “responds” to the process of pruning. The use of verbs that are often associated with human action gives the tree a human characteristic. The narrator also “offers” a lei to the tree as reconciliation for what she has done, as a token of goodwill. The relationship between the tree and the narrator is brought into focus in the second stanza of the poem. The narrator ceases to prune and gazes upon her lime tree. The tree takes on the quality of a child at this moment because it is cherished in the eyes of its owner, the narrator. The relationship between the tree and the narrator becomes “reciprocal,” as though the tree were experiencing what the narrator was. The message of this poem is the ability to relate real-life experiences to a tree and the process of pruning.
In “The Foolish Fir Tree,” Henry Van Dyke narrates the tale of a fir tree that is unsatisfied with his looks, similar to the way many young people are. The desire of the fir tree to be handsome is relatable to the way many young people want to be attractive. As the title reveals, this fir tree is foolish. The tree wishes that the fairies would give him golden leaves that would make him appear striking. He gains his wish only to have his leaves stolen by a greedy man. He wishes two more times for a better set of leaves. Finally, when all his wishes have failed him, he regrets having wished for a new set of leaves and is humbled. He wakes up the next morning only to find that he had dreamt the entire experience! He is overjoyed to have his old leaves back and is content with what he had before. The message that this poem perpetuates is that one should be grateful for what he has, regardless of its lackluster quality.
In the short poem written by William Blake, the narrator compares his lover to a rose tree. In the beginning of the poem the narrator relays a chance occurrence in which he is offered a rare and captivating flower. The flower represents another woman. The narrator faithfully declines. He goes back to his rose tree and tends to her. He does his best to grow the relationship between himself and the woman whom he loves. When the woman discovers that the man was offered another rose, she rejects him because of envy. The use of the physical aspect of the thorns is vivid in demonstrating the impact that her rejection has on the narrator. The message that this poem carries is the pain of loving and being hurt by the one that is loved.
In “The Foolish Fir Tree,” Henry Van Dyke narrates the tale of a fir tree that is unsatisfied with his looks, similar to the way many young people are. The desire of the fir tree to be handsome is relatable to the way many young people want to be attractive. As the title reveals, this fir tree is foolish. The tree wishes that the fairies would give him golden leaves that would make him appear striking. He gains his wish only to have his leaves stolen by a greedy man. He wishes two more times for a better set of leaves. Finally, when all his wishes have failed him, he regrets having wished for a new set of leaves and is humbled. He wakes up the next morning only to find that he had dreamt the entire experience! He is overjoyed to have his old leaves back and is content with what he had before. The message that this poem perpetuates is that one should be grateful for what he has, regardless of its lackluster quality.
In the short poem written by William Blake, the narrator compares his lover to a rose tree. In the beginning of the poem the narrator relays a chance occurrence in which he is offered a rare and captivating flower. The flower represents another woman. The narrator faithfully declines. He goes back to his rose tree and tends to her. He does his best to grow the relationship between himself and the woman whom he loves. When the woman discovers that the man was offered another rose, she rejects him because of envy. The use of the physical aspect of the thorns is vivid in demonstrating the impact that her rejection has on the narrator. The message that this poem carries is the pain of loving and being hurt by the one that is loved.
4. Herrick, Johanna. “Pruning.” Tree Stories: a Collection of Extraordinary Encounters. Sunshin Press. Hygiene, CO. 2002. 5 Oct 2011. <http://www.spiritoftrees.org/poetry/herrick/pruning_herrick.html>
The narrator of the poem, “Pruning,” is pruning her lime tree in the evening time. She describes the process and the thoughts that come to her during this sacred time. The narrator cuts the branches and places them in a circular formation around the base of the tree. The second stanza of the poem further develops the person of the tree. The narrator pauses in a dazed moment of realization and comes to the conclusion that she shares a bond with the lime tree and that their lives are intertwined and parallel each other’s. The structure of the poem is not conformed to any standard. There are two stanza of unequal word count and no rhyme scheme to guide the sound or flow of the poem.
This poem has significant spiritual parallel, such as the pruning metaphor used in the New Testament by Jesus. The Father prunes His children so that they will grow even stronger. The personification of the tree is also very obvious. The narrator of the poem, similar to the poems discussed in Journal Posting #1, experiences a connection with the tree that is intimate and comparable to the relationship one would have with a human being. The tree understands the process of growing in holiness and the narrator understands what it feels like for the tree to be pruned by its master.
5. Van Dyke, Henry. “The Foolish Fir-Tree.” Carols.org. 5 Oct 2011. <http://www.carols.org.uk/foolish-fir-tree-henry-van-dyck.htm>
This poem tells a story about a fir tree that believed his leaves were dreadful and wanted a new set that would garner attention from passersby. It is a clever old poem that is told with the sole purpose of amusing children at Christmas time. The little fir tree first asks for golden leaves from the forest fairies, but the golden leaves are stolen by a man. He then asks for leaves of glass, but a strong wind causes the leaves to break and fall to the ground. He finally asks for leaves of lettuce, but a goat eats them all for dinner. He is ashamed of himself and regrets having wished for a better set of leaves. However, he awakes in the morning to find that it was all a dream. The story unfolds much like Ebenezer Scrooge. The main character repents at the end of the story.
The tree in this poem is personified as unwise and childlike. The tree behaves like a young boy would. It is very clear from the very beginning of the poem that the tree is personified. The lesson that is gleaned from the poem is that one should not wish that his situation were better, else he might receive his wish. The story ends happily, with the lesson successfully learned. What would have happened if the tree were not dreaming? The tree would have to live without clothing for the rest of his life. He might die of the cold. He certainly wouldn’t be any use as a Christmas tree with bare limbs.
6. Blake, William. “My Pretty Rose Tree.” About.com. New York Times Company. 5 Oct 2011. <http://quotations.about.com/cs/poemlyrics/a/My_Pretty_Rose_.htm>
The rose tree in this poem is representative of a woman that the narrator is faithfully nurturing. He is given the chance to take another beautiful flower but refuses because he can find many more roses on his rose tree. His rose tree finds out what happened-that he was offered another flower-and she withdraws from him because she is jealous. Employing a rose tree to represent the woman allows the author to make use of the different physical aspects of the rose, such as its thorns and beauty. The poem structure is simple, making its effect on the reader very precise and bold. There are only two short stanzas that are broken up according to the plot of the poem. The rhyme creates an ease of flow for the reader.
This poem is easily understood as describing the relationship between a man and a woman. It is clear by the second stanza that the tree represents the woman by the way that the tree is personified. A tree cannot truly turn away from anyone. It is rooted fast to the ground and does not have any voluntary movement. I like the use of a rose tree but I think that the author could have thought of something less cliché. Maybe he could have used an apple tree and related it back to Eve and the apple in the Garden of Eden. He could have symbolized the woman by using a cat instead of a tree. The woman seems cruel and greedy, which would probably be more relatable to a cat because they are generally slick, sly predators that seek solitude most of the time.
Beautiful Creation
A calm fall breeze scampers through your leaves
And takes them hand in hand.
Each one his own chance does he seize
To dance and feel so grand.
And takes them hand in hand.
Each one his own chance does he seize
To dance and feel so grand.
Some poems are written with the sole intent of pointing out the divine, and sometimes normal, qualities of trees.
In the poem written by Joyce Kilmer we see that the beauty of a tree surpasses in every way the beauty of a poem. The exquisiteness of a tree is possible because only God can create trees, but even humans can write poetry. The simile at the beginning of the poem automatically suggests that trees are lovelier than the author of the poem can paint with her words. The author personifies the tree by saying that her upraised branches are like hands reaching out to God to pray, making the tree appear to be pious. The simple rhyme scheme of the poem also emphasizes the simple beauty of the tree. The lack of adjectives in the poem leaves the reader with a broad experience of the beauty of trees in the most general terms.
In “The Tree,” by Anne Kingsmill Finch, the narrator is looking for a way to repay the tree for its usefulness and splendor. The author makes many parallel between the birds, travellers, and others that have benefitted from the tree in that they all repaid the tree in some way. This emphasizes the worthiness of the tree to receive some kind of recompense. From the birds the tree receives music in return for shelter. From travellers the tree receives commendation in return for keeping them safe from the storm. The narrator refers to the shade the tree provides in a way that gives it a rejuvenating effect. The author also implicitly praises the strength of the tree when commenting on the “vain” efforts of the wind to topple him.
In “The Tree,” by Anne Kingsmill Finch, the narrator is looking for a way to repay the tree for its usefulness and splendor. The author makes many parallel between the birds, travellers, and others that have benefitted from the tree in that they all repaid the tree in some way. This emphasizes the worthiness of the tree to receive some kind of recompense. From the birds the tree receives music in return for shelter. From travellers the tree receives commendation in return for keeping them safe from the storm. The narrator refers to the shade the tree provides in a way that gives it a rejuvenating effect. The author also implicitly praises the strength of the tree when commenting on the “vain” efforts of the wind to topple him.
In “Trees in the Garden,” Lawrence describes many different kinds of trees that are found in a certain garden. He describes the lime tree with a hint of personification. The lime tree has qualities analogous to a tall woman who is agreeably perfumed. To convey the light, airy look of a white tree full of flowers the author uses the word “foam.” This word brings to mind other adjectives such as plush, plump and pleasant. The author underlines the purity of whiteness of this tree by repeating the word “white” twice within the same line, and by using alliteration, such as “creamy colored,” to draw the eye to such words. The white tree is also personified as seizing herself in the midst of the grass. There is a motif bound up in the white tree of being ghost-like, which adds to the sense of airiness of the appearance of the tree and makes her existence seem questionable. The narrator then goes on to describe in a few short lines the other trees in the garden. The finally quality he points out is the silence of the trees contrasted with the thunder. Their silence gives the narrator a sense they are all strangers in this garden scene. This personification gives the reader a vivid image of the trees standing perfectly still, unmoved by the wind or anything else.
The three poems describe completely different qualities that trees can possess. “Trees” imbues a religious piety in the tree, while “The Tree” focuses on the fatherly protection and strength of its tree. “Trees in the Garden” focuses on the different characteristics of individual trees within a garden and the general quality of silence that trees naturally possess which separates and yet binds the trees together.
7. Kilmer, Joyce. “Trees.” 5 Oct 2011. <http://www.writingfix.com/PDFs/poetry_prompts/classics/Personification_Trees_RailwayTrain.pdf>
This poem briefly describes some general qualities of trees. The author implies that trees are captivating by using a simile to compare trees to poems. She then goes on to describe how trees are dependent upon the earth for nourishment as a baby is dependent on his mother. The tree is then personified as being pious toward God because her branches appear to be lifted toward him all day long. The author personifies the tree as a woman wearing an adornment in her hair, but of the nests of birds. The seasons change and the tree is covered by snow, and then encounters the rain. The overarching theme of the poem is that the tree is God’s creation and is therefore lovelier than any human machination.
This poem was difficult to use in relation to the topic of describing attractive qualities of trees because of its being so short. The main theme is the beauty of the tree, but the author does not go into much detail beyond quick, superficial glances. The poem caught my eye because it referenced God as the Creator of trees and held man in lower esteem than God, which I did not see in any of the other poems that I found in my research. The divine quality of trees that the author pointed out was their appearance of being devout and reverent towards God.
8. Finch, Anne Kingsmill. “The Tree.” Famous Poets and Poems.com. 5 Oct 2011. <http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/anne_kingsmill_finch/poems/7433.html>
Finch’s poem, “The Tree” is an ode to the strength, protection and comfort that a specific tree has provided for the characters in the poem and for the narrator especially. The poem is written as a letter or response to the tree, having almost a prayer-like tone. The narrator uses parallelism to describe the grateful gifts that the birds, travellers and then the shepherd bestow upon the tree in return for what the tree provides them. The birds and the travellers receive shelter from harsh weather; the shepherd receives relief from the heat of the day; and the narrator has been given a cool shade to rest in, too.
The difficulty of this poem is like that of the last. The length is greater, but the description therein of the tree seems to be about the same amount. The purpose of the poem is to convey the gratitude that the narrator feels in her heart toward the tree, not to provide a detailed account of the tree. In her applause, however, the reader can glean the qualities of the tree that the narrator is praising with ease. The final wish of the narrator for the tree is that it would pass gracefully into death and then be blown down by the wind and not by a saw. The narrator wants the tree to main its dignity, even after it is dead.
9. Lawrence, David Herbert. “Trees in the Garden.” 5 Oct 2011. <http://www.inspirationalstories.com/poems/trees-in-the-garden-david-herbert-lawrence-poems/>
The poem “Trees in the Garden,” by David Herbert Lawrence, paints a simple word picture of a garden in which are many different kinds of trees, all with unique qualities about them. The lime tree is perfumed and stands alone in quietness. The white tree appears to be a ghost because of her many white flowers that give her the gentle appearance of a pillow. She stands out from all the other trees that are green, so much so that the author says that she is ivory white against the incoherent green of the other plants. The narrator then describes the heights of the larch that past beyond the reach of the eyes; and the balsam-pines that are blue like the ocean contrast with the copper beech and its rustic red color. The one thing that binds them all together is their silence in the storm. To the narrator they appear to be like strangers sharing the same garden.
This poem combined a lot of different qualities that are pleasant about trees. It mentions the height of the lime and the larch trees, which are lofty. It also includes the beautiful blossoming of a tree that has white flowers. This magnificent aspect is captured well in the author’s use of imagery and sensory diction. The reverent silence of the trees in the garden and the mentioning of the garden remind me of the Garden of Eden and also of the first poem, “Trees,” in which the tree is religiously pious before God. These silent trees could be seen as pious. Their silence binds them all together, for all trees are still and quiet at some point in their existence.
Something to Sing About
“Take your hat off when you’re talking to me
And be there when I feed the tree (12.)”
And be there when I feed the tree (12.)”
Trees can be used in lyrical poetry to convey a specific message.
Rush’s “The Trees” is a comic-inspired rendition of what it would be like if trees had personalities and could function with the same abilities as humans. The writer imagines that the maples would feel belittled beneath the oaks and would rise against them in order to feel equal. The royal law is passed that keeps everyone at the same level by using terrible means: hatchets, axes or saws. This song is said to be only fun and jest, but the political and social implications are unavoidable. The clearest parallel that can be seen is the parallel between the maples and the working class, and the oaks and the owning class of Karl Marx’s communist theory. Marx encourages the working class to band together, much like the union of the maple trees, and topple the power of the owning class, the oaks. The theory itself suggests that this action is morally justified because the end result is equality. The ending of the song suggests otherwise. The lowest common denominator becomes the standard, causing a pain-filled sawing off of great chunks of innocent trees.
Mellow Motif’s remix of “Lemon Trees” is a smooth, jazzy mix that revamps the song with a sound that fits the song lyrics much better than the original. The female singer’s sultry voice gives the song more depth and, when added to the bass and Latin ensemble instruments, gives it more rhythm and flow. The main theme of the song is the boredom and depression of being caught inside on a rainy Saturday. The narrator was told of a blue sky the day before, but she awoke only to find a lemon tree. The lemon’s yellow color contrasts blazingly against the blue of the sky. The blue sky symbolizes happiness and freedom, while the lemon tree symbolizes bitterness and depression. The lemon tree is an existential symbol because it portrays a lack of meaning through its randomness.
Mellow Motif’s remix of “Lemon Trees” is a smooth, jazzy mix that revamps the song with a sound that fits the song lyrics much better than the original. The female singer’s sultry voice gives the song more depth and, when added to the bass and Latin ensemble instruments, gives it more rhythm and flow. The main theme of the song is the boredom and depression of being caught inside on a rainy Saturday. The narrator was told of a blue sky the day before, but she awoke only to find a lemon tree. The lemon’s yellow color contrasts blazingly against the blue of the sky. The blue sky symbolizes happiness and freedom, while the lemon tree symbolizes bitterness and depression. The lemon tree is an existential symbol because it portrays a lack of meaning through its randomness.
“Feed the Tree” is a very problematic song to discern. The tree in the poem could be a metaphor for many things. It seems most plausible that the tree represents the death of the old man that the writer mentions at the beginning. The old man could be the father of the writer. The relationship of the writer to the tree is curious. The writer feeds the tree, but the audience does not know what feeding the tree symbolizes. Is she breaking her own heart to feed the tree since this is how the tree was formed? ("This old man I've talked about/Broke his own heart and poured it in the ground/Big red tree grew up and out") If the tree represents her father, then feeding the tree may mean that the writer is mourning the loss of her father. The repetition of the phrase “So take your hat off when you’re talking to me” and “I know this and so much more” implies that the writer has been through a considerable amount of misery during her lifetime and deserves respect for her experiences.
The trees in each of these songs represent something that is central to the purpose of the song. The trees in the first song are the actual characters that make up the plot; the lemon tree is a symbolic reinforcement of the bitterness of the life of the writer of “The Lemon Tree;” and the giant red tree of “Feed the Tree” is the mysterious, ritual-requiring artifact of the writer’s life.
10. Rush. “The Trees.” Hemispheres. Mercury, 1978. 6 Oct 2011. Music Video. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWHEcIbhDiw>
This song personifies trees and creates a fictitious situation in which the oak trees are taller than the maple trees and the maple trees are dissatisfied with their lower standing. This situation could be seen as being representative of the political situation in the 70’s. The writer of the song says that it was inspired not by political or social conflicts but by a comic strip that he saw. Regardless, the oppression that the maples feel and the height of the oaks can be seen as a comparison between the bourgeoisie and proletariat of Marxist theory. The maples eventually get their way by making everyone equal by means of “hatchet, axe and saw.”
The political message that can be gleaned from this song is strong. The equality that the maples want will only be achieved when the oaks are cut violently down to size. I think this relates well to the way most of American society is today, or at least in liberal social circles. We want everything equal, even to the point of hurting others in order to gain equality. The powerful ideological opposition to capitalism that I see in many of my classes reflects the maples’ points of view. People want equality in every arena of life and some will go to the extreme to achieve this desire.
11. Mellow Motif. “Lemon Tree.” 6 Oct 2011. Music Video. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2HcuP2Zs58&feature=related>
This song is about the angst of being bored and lonely. The lemon tree in the song represents the sour quality of the life that the narrator is living. The lemon tree is also a symbol of the mundane in the narrator’s life that is threatening to consume her. The narrator is speaking to someone specific when she says “Yesterday you told me ‘bout the blue blue sky,” taunting that person for having lied to her. The bitter lemon tree stands in contrast to the sweet blue sky, even in the yellow color contrasting with the blue sky. The music has a Latin jazz feel. The tone is calm and matter-of-fact which reemphasizes the point that the narrator is making about her melancholy life.
This song is easy to relate to for the average teenager who is bored on a rainy Saturday afternoon. It could happen to anyone. The bland tone of the objects referred to and the lemon tree motif creates an acrimonious sensation in the mind of the listener. The conflicting interests in the mind of the narrator come out in the desire to go outside in the rain but she has a cloud in her head that prevents her. The lemon tree could symbolize a drug of some sort, also. At the end of the video the narrator is told to go to bed by members of her family which leads me to believe that they are concerned for her health, mental or physical.
12. Belly. “Feed the Tree.” WMG 2005. 6 Oct 2011. Music Video. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQJjUbMrt8w>
This song is open-ended in the many ways it can be interpreted. The first two lines tell of a man who “broke his own heart and poured it in the ground.” A tree grew up in that spot. This old man could be representative of the narrator’s father. The phrase “poured it in the ground” could symbolize the burial of her father upon his death, as hinted at with the phrase “broke his own heart”, and the tree that grew in his place of rest represents his death. The narrator tells about an event in her childhood in which she fell down the stairs, lost her teeth and had to receive silver teeth in their place. In spite of this the girl still smiles. The phrase “I’ll only hurt you in my dreams” implies that her father may have been abusive to her. It is possible that the story about her falling down the stairs is a cover-up for what really occurred. The narrator says that “this old man I used to be,” comparing her prior characteristics to her father’s. Feed the tree could mean various things, but I believe that it means that the narrator has overcome whatever anger was between her father and herself.
The tree in this song could represent so many things that it is difficult for the reader/listener to discern what is really meant. From my own personal experience I was able to construct a vague idea of what the songwriter may have had in mind, but without their input it is impossible to be certain what the song means. The “big red tree” springs up from the self-imposed broken heart of an elderly man which to me means that the man committed hari-kari. The feeding of the tree is either the death of the narrator that will soon come, or the healing of the broken hearts of the narrator and the old man.
In Conclusion,
At times all the ideas run dry
And it takes a few minutes and two wet eyes
To see that not all is lost just like that
Soon they come back, soon they come back…
And it takes a few minutes and two wet eyes
To see that not all is lost just like that
Soon they come back, soon they come back…
In my final post I simply want to point out the different ideas posed by the authors in the following poems about trees and what I find to be interesting about each poem.
The author of “Learning the Trees” is a thinker. He explains first that in order to appreciate the trees one must learn about them from a book. The pages in the book, of course, even came from tree pulp! But the poem suggests that the vast complexities of the leaves of the trees expose the oversimplification of the book and the inability of the book to fully capture the essence of the trees. He then moves on into asking the reader to consider language itself, how it attempts to conquer experience and also work with experience. What I believe he is implying is that one cannot describe in full the beauty and intricacy of trees. Finally, in all that can be learned about trees, the trees themselves are unchanged. They remain the same no matter how much is known of them.
“Trees Against the Sky” is similar to journal excerpts. The author is in a specific location where there happen to be certain trees and he relates these trees to his experience at that spot. Each tree that stands against the sky has a unique quality or is a metaphor to the author. The pines are gigantic, awakening gusto in the heart of the author upon viewing them. The palms represent youthful dreaming. The oaks stand for the solid determination that the author desires to have and the olive trees represent relaxation and comfort. Finally, the cypresses meet the author in the night as a place for rest. The narrator of the poem finds great joy in the sight of the sky and the trees so much so that he decides that their infinite beauty is what brings purpose and meaning to his existence.
“The Maple Tree” is a spring that pours forth grand descriptions that are luscious and rich. The tree is stately with its tassels of leaves that are bright green. It is garnished with pure white hemlock, which makes it seem innocent and wholesome. The moss on the tree ages it in the mind of the reader, making it seem that the tree has reached an age and has had an experience that requires the respect of the reader. The author does a handsome job of using language to capture every aspect of the tree.
“The Maple Tree” is a spring that pours forth grand descriptions that are luscious and rich. The tree is stately with its tassels of leaves that are bright green. It is garnished with pure white hemlock, which makes it seem innocent and wholesome. The moss on the tree ages it in the mind of the reader, making it seem that the tree has reached an age and has had an experience that requires the respect of the reader. The author does a handsome job of using language to capture every aspect of the tree.
13. Nemerov, Howard. “Learning the Trees.” All Poetry. 6 Oct 2011. <http://allpoetry.com/poem/8496729-Learning_the_Trees-by-Howard_Nemerov>
This poem is written as though it were a how-to guide to learning about trees. The narrator is delighted by even the names of the different kinds of trees and the numerous types of leaves. After being so instructed by the book, one can now go out and explore the world of trees. But each tree contains a million leaves and not one looks the same as the picture in the book. The narrator advises the reader to learn the function of language because it has failed at this point to explain the scores of leaves present on a single tree, having limited them down to one. The narrator points out at the end of the poem that, even though one may know the names of all the trees and call each one as he sees them; this knowledge does not change their eternal silence.
I find the author’s notice of the limits of language and the struggle that it has to be able to encompass an experience profound. There are only so many words and yet there are billions more ways that need to be used to express experiences. The failing of language to represent fully the intricate designs of a tree is one way to note its limits. The knowledge of the trees, as pointed out by the author, only informs us and does nothing to or for the trees. They have a god-like quality of never changing. Though we know more and more about them they were the same before we knew these things.
14. Service, Robert William. “Trees Against the Sky.” Famous Poems and Poets .com. 6 Oct 2011. <http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/robert_william_service/poems/13473.html>
The narrator of this poem dedicates each stanza to the description of his reaction to one specific category of trees. Each tree is mentioned as being “against the sky” because the narrator also wishes to praise the beauty of the sky as well. The narrator describes his childlike reaction of enthusiasm at the sight of the pine trees. He announces that the palms encourage him to dream in youthful anticipation. The steadfastness of the mighty oaks inspires the narrator to be strong and keep working at whatever he does. The olive trees give the narrator a sense of relaxation and peace, and the cypresses offer a place of rest. The narrator boldly declares that life is made worthwhile by the majesty of the trees and the sky.
The experience of the narrator and his ability to relate a different kind of tree to each situation he describes in his poem inspires me in some small way. Each tree has unique qualities that could be used as metaphors for life experiences that I have and that others around me have. The author shares my interest in the beauty and glory of trees and the vastness of the sky and is able to successfully weld them together into a poem. I think that the poem could have been much more descriptive, like “The Maple Tree,” because it merely mentions the trees and does not include many details of how they relate to the situations he experiences.
15. Clare, John. “The Maple Tree.” Readbookonline.net. 6 Oct 2011. <http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/33853/>
The author of the poem, “The Maple Tree” describes the pleasant sight of his beloved maple tree. He elaborates on the shape and texture of the tree, using vivid imagery that gives the reader a well-developed painting of the maple tree. The narrator explains the color of the leaves, the texture of the bark, the white hemlock and the moss that grows on the tree. The author uses repetition, a lot of alliteration and a variety of rhyme schemes that give the poem a smooth flow and ease of reading. The poem’s structure gives it a warm, earthy feeling and is rather traditional in its style.
The warmth of this poem captured me. The tree is described with much visual diction and the poem itself has a nice flow. The structure of the poem is pleasing to the eye because it is only one stanza. Though the poem is short, it is meaty. The author hints at the age of the tree, the wonderfully delightful colors and the edging in of autumn in them. The way that the author ties it all together into one large stanza gives the poem a feeling of being wholesome and complete. There is no more to be said and it is finished.
