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Find, in the first stanza, three things that cannot happen in a treeless forest.
The first stanza of Adrienne Rich's "The Trees" mentions three things that cannot happen in a treeless forest:
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What picture do these words create in your mind: “… sun bury its feet in shadow…”? What could the poet mean by the sun’s ‘feet’?
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Where are the trees in the poem? What do their roots, their leaves, and their twigs do?
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What does the poet compare their branches to?
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How does the poet describe the moon: (a) at the beginning of the third stanza, and (b) at its end? What causes this change?
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What happens to the house when the trees move out of it?
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Why do you think the poet does not mention “the departure of the forest from the house” in her letters? (Could it be that we are often silent about important happenings that are so unexpected that they embarrass us? Think about this again when you answer the next set of questions.)
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Now that you have read the poem in detail, we can begin to ask what the poem might mean. Here are two suggestions. Can you think of others?
(i) Does the poem present a conflict between man and nature? Compare it with A Tiger in the Zoo. Is the poet suggesting that plants and trees, used for ‘interior decoration’ in cities while forests are cut down, are
‘imprisoned’, and need to ‘break out’?
(ii) On the other hand, Adrienne Rich has been known to use trees as a metaphor for human beings; this is a recurrent image in her poetry. What new meanings emerge from the poem if you take its trees to be symbolic of this particular meaning?
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You may read the poem ‘On Killing a Tree’ by Gieve Patel (Beehive – Textbook in English for Class IX, NCERT). Compare and contrast it with the poem you have just read.
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The trees inside are moving out into the forest,
the forest that was empty all these days
where no bird could sit
no insect hide
no sun bury its feet in shadow
the forest that was empty all these nights
will be full of trees by morning.
(a) What does the poet mean by empty forest? Why is it empty?
(b) 'No sun bury its feet in the shadow'. Explain this line.
(c) Give another word for “put or hide underground.”
(a) In the poem, the "empty forest" likely refers to a forest that lacks life and activity due to the absence of trees. Trees are a crucial part of a forest ecosystem, providing habitat for birds, insects, and other wildlife, and influencing light and shadow patterns. The forest is described as empty because it lacks these essential elements, creating an image of a barren or lifeless place.
(b) The line "No sun bury its feet in shadow" is a poetic way of describing the absence of shadows cast by trees. In this metaphor, the 'feet' of the sun could represent its rays that touch the earth. When there are trees, the sun's rays create a play of light and shadow on the forest floor. Without trees, there are no shadows for the sun's 'feet' (its rays) to 'bury' themselves in.
(c) Another word for “put or hide underground” is "bury". This word conveys the idea of placing something beneath the ground or concealing it within the earth.
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All night the roots work
to disengage themselves from the cracks
in the veranda floor.
The leaves strain toward the glass
small twigs stiff with exertion
long-cramped boughs shuffling under the roof
like newly discharged patients
half-dazed, moving
to the clinic doors.
(a) Why do the roots work all night?
(b) Why do the twigs get stiff?
(c) Give another word for “repeatedly moving from one position to another.”
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Adrienne Rich (1929-2012) was an influential American poet, essayist, and feminist. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, she graduated from Radcliffe College in 1951, and her first volume of poetry, "A Change of World," was chosen by the renowned poet W.H. Auden for the Yale Series of Younger Poets Award in 1951.
Rich's poetry is noted for its exploration of various social issues, particularly those related to women's rights and identities. Her works often embody a strong feminist perspective, and she became an influential figure in the women's liberation movement during the 1960s and 1970s.
Some of her most notable collections include "Diving into the Wreck" (1973), for which she won the National Book Award, "The Dream of a Common Language" (1978), and "An Atlas of the Difficult World" (1991).
1. Nature's [resilience ] and autonomy
One major theme in "The Trees" by Adrienne Rich is the [resilience ] and autonomy of nature. The poem shows the trees striving to return to their natural habitat, the forest, from the unnatural confines of a house. Despite the challenges and strain, they....
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"The Trees" by Adrienne Rich employs several poetic devices that contribute to the richness of its imagery , symbolism , and overall impact. Here are some of the main ones:
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"The Trees" by Adrienne Rich is a richly symbolic poem, utilizing various elements to signify deeper meanings and themes. Some of the symbols in the poem include:
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strain
: make efforts to move
Despite her fatigue, she continued to strain
and make efforts to move the heavy box.
bough
: branch
The wind blew fiercely, causing the bough
of the tree to sway dangerously.
shuffling : moving repeatedly from one position to another
The old man sat in his rocking chair, shuffling back and forth as he tried to find a comfortable position.
Disengage - To detach or separate oneself or something from another.
He tried to.............................
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