THE TREES

Summary of "The Trees"

"The Trees," by Adrienne Rich, is a short symbolic poem focusing on the movement of trees that are
initially indoors but seeking to escape to freedom in the forest. The trees represent nature but also the
nature of being—womanhood in particular.
What makes this poem unusual is the speaker's attitude towards the trees. In the first two stanzas
there is a definite attachment as the speaker objectively describes the escape of the trees to their new
environment.
In the last two stanzas the speaker, now a first-person "I," seems to want to ignore this profound
shifting of the trees but paradoxically by mentioning her own aloofness brings the whole situation into
sharper [Link] use of simile is clear as the branches of the trees are seen like newly discharged
patients heading for the clinic doors. This portrayal of the trees as people in need of medical help
means the poem cannot be taken literally.
The poem then is an extended metaphor; the trees are indeed people, specifically females, females
who are in need of healing or having been healed, are now ready for their true purpose, renewing the
empty [Link] Trees" is influenced by Robert Frost's poem "Birches," yet it has its own distinct,
quiet revolution going on.

Poem Analysis
"The Trees" is a curious poem that demands several read-throughs before the reader can fully grasp
what is happening with both form and content. The varying line length, unusual syntax and powerful
imagery needs careful handling.
Although enjambment is used throughout to convey a sense of flow and maintain sense, there are
certain lines that cause hesitation for the reader because of the need for a natural break or pause
(caesura). This adds to a feeling of slight unease which enhances the idea that this movement of
trees is anything but natural.
Since when have trees moved of their own accord? Only in fairy tales, only in the imagination. But
here they are, breaking out of their interior, be it house, conservatory, greenhouse, or covered
veranda. They're shifting away from domestic confines and out into the forest. This is a highly
significant change.
Why so significant? Well, trees normally make up the forest but until now it's been empty - for many
days and nights. This is symbolic of certain types of people being left in the dark for too long not
knowing their true identities and where they belong.
Knowing the poet's feminist leanings and yearnings it is safe to suggest that the forest is the forest of
womanhood.
The new forest will take shape very quickly, overnight says the speaker, pointing towards a sort of sea
change in identity, a collective identity.
All of this action is taking place at night—the change is profound, of roots and all, the whole tree—
note the imagery and sense of physical movement in the second stanza:
work/disengage/strain/stiff/shuffling/moving
An extra clue in line 14 gives the reader more clarity, that simile like newly discharged patients surely
suggesting that the trees were sick or unhappy, in need of medical help and healing, but now they're
healed and free to go and live their lives.
The third stanza introduces the speaker, in the first person. Here is a woman, the reader must
presume, writing long letters (to whom?) and remaining aloof from all this tree action. She doesn't
bother to mention the quiet revolution, or rather, she scarcely mentions it—which means she does
acknowledge it but isn't that surprised by it?
She has seen it coming perhaps, she has known for quite some time that the trees would one day
break out. As this exodus takes place she can still smell the remains of the trees—like a voice—that
turns into whispers in her own head? The whispers are the last messages of her old life, soon to be
renewed.
In the final stanza the speaker exhorts the reader to listen. She wants attention. Glass is breaking, a
sure sign that this change is serious and permanent; there may be damage done.
Then the imagery completely takes over, the poem becoming cinematic as the moon, that symbol of
femininity, emotion and physical change, breaks like a mirror (another symbol of the reflected former
self) the fragmented image lighting up the tallest tree, an oak, the strongest, most durable of trees.
 Literary and Poetic Devices
"The Trees" is a free verse poem of four stanzas, making a total of 32 lines. There is no set rhyme
scheme and no regular metric beat pattern—each line is different rhythmically—and the lines vary
from short to long.
The poem begins with a description of the actions of the trees as they start to move out at night. This
is quite an objective view of the scene, the first two stanzas going into lots of objective detail.
 Repetition (anaphora) occurs in the first stanza (the forest that was empty), reinforcing the idea that
previously there was no life outside. Take note also of: where no bird/no insect/no sun.
 Similes, in the second, third and final stanzas, involve both human and domestic elements: like newly
discharged patients/like a voice/like a mirror.
 Personification is to be found in the first stanza (no sun bury its feet in shadow), the second stanza
(small twigs stiff with exertion/long-cramped boughs shuffling) and the fourth stanza (The trees are
stumbling forward).

Syntax
Syntax is the way the sentences, clauses and grammar work together and in this poem there is an
uncertainty as the poem progresses.
Some lines end without punctuation, but no true enjambment is in evidence (lines 2, 3, 4 and 5 for
example) suggesting the reader is free to carry on regardless or, treat the line ending as a natural
caesura (pause).
The first stanza for example is a single sentence with just one comma at the end of the first line and
a full stop at the end of the seventh. In between is chaos, a quite deliberate ploy by the poet to instill a
free if disturbing flow line to line.
The second stanza is two complete sentences, one short, the other long. The first three lines use
enjambment (sense is continued on into the next line) but the next several are a mix and require the
reader to affirm a natural caesura (pause) between lines 4/5 and 6/7.
The third stanza is made up of three sentences and is the only stanza with the true personal voice of
the speaker.
Finally, the fourth stanza urges the reader to listen as the trees break out of their prison. Five
sentences of varying length are contained, which means more pausing for the reader, increasing the
drama.

The Trees
The Trees shows the conflict between man and nature. Nature is not happy with activities of human
being. With the growth and development of society, human beings have used nature for their own
benefit and caused a lot of harm to it. In order to use natural resources men have forgotten the
importance of nature. The trees from the poet’s house are going out of the forest to free themselves.

Summary
This is a poem about the decorative plants. These plants are grown in houses for beautification.
These grow in small pots and pans. They have taken the place of large forest trees which have been
cut by human beings. This poem presents the picture of harm done to nature by human beings.
Adrienne Rich’s poem ‘The Trees’ is a voice with a body engaged in activities and sensing intrusions
that are not organic to the conventions of a nature poem. This poem narrates the struggle of a
population of trees to escape the confines of a green house or container of nature. The poet tells us
that how trees want to break out of the bondage of man-made things and reunite with their natural
surroundings. The message is that the forests have disappeared. So people have plant in their
homes. Trees are revolting as they have lost their natural usefulness. No bird nests in them, nor do
they spread their shadows to the tired people.
Explanation

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

Explanation : The poet observes that the trees in his house are moving outside into the forest which
has been empty for a long time. It is important to understand that the trees are not actually moving,
but it has been used as an imaginary by the poet to show the destroyed forests and the false nature
that humans have tried to keep in their houses for creating a false impression of nature or for
decoration. Since the forest outside was empty, no birds could sit on the branches of trees, no insects
could hide in the trees and sunlight could never disappear under the shadows of the trees. The poet
says that as the trees are moving out , the forests which were empty all these nights will be full of
trees by the morning.

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 patientshalf-dazed, moving
to the clinic doors.

Explanation : It seems like the trees work silently in the night in order to complete their mission of
getting free from the boundaries of the house. Therefore, the roots of the tree work all night to free
themselves through the cracks on the Veranda floor. The leaves of the trees try very hard to put a lot
of pressure on the glass window so that they could break it and go outside. The small twigs have
become very hard due to applying so much pressure to free themselves. The larger branches of the
trees have shrunk and had bent because of being inside all the walls and under the roof , where they
cannot grow much. Trees try to move slowly from there and look like newly discharged patients from a
hospital, who become half-shocked on coming to the outside world.

I sit inside, doors open to the verandah

Writing long letters
In which I scarcely mention the departure
of the forest from the house.
The night is fresh, the whole moon shines
in a sky still open
the smell of leaves and lichen
still reaches like a voice into the rooms

Explanation : The poet sits in her house, writing long letters, with the doors of house opening to the
Veranda. She mentions in her letters about the trees that are moving out to the empty forest. It is a full
moon night where the moon is shining in the open sky and the night is very fresh. The smell of leaves
and lichens reaches the poet like a voice coming from the rooms of the house.
 My head is full of whispers
which tomorrow will be silent.
Listen. The glass is breaking.
The trees are stumbling forward
into the night. Winds rush to meet them.
The moon is broken like a mirror,
its pieces flash now in the crown
of the tallest oak.

Explanation : The poet listens to the sounds coming from the leaves and lichens of the trees. These
sounds will not be there in the morning as the trees will move out to the forest in the night and will not
be in the house by morning. Now, the poet can hear the glass breaking due to the efforts of the twigs.
The trees hurry outside stumbling on each other. As the trees go in the open, it seems like the wind is
moving fast towards them to meet them. After going out into the forest, the tall trees stand straight in
the forest. Its branches cover the moon due to which it looks like a broken mirror. The broken pieces
of the moon seems like a crown of the tallest oak tree.

Difficult Word Meanings

Word Meaning Word Meaning

disengage remove strain pressure

twigs small stem exertion effort

cramped restricted boughs branch

shuffling mixing discharged send out

dazed stun
Q1: Find, in the first stanza, three things that cannot happen in a treeless forest.

A: The three things that cannot happen in a treeless forest are the setting of a bird on trees, the hiding
of insects and the sun burying its feet in the shadow of the forest.

Q2: 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’?

A: The sun radiates heat and the given words create a picture of the hot, radiating sun cooling its feet
in the cool shadow of the forest. The sun’s ‘feet’ refers to its rays that reach the earth.

Q3: Where are the trees in the poem? What do their roots, their leaves, and their twigs do?

A: In the poem, the trees are in the poet’s house. Their roots work all night to disengage themselves
from the cracks in the veranda floor. The leaves make efforts to move towards the glass, while the
small twigs get stiff with exertion.

Q4: “The forest that was empty”- What would happen if the forest remains empty?

A: Without the trees, there is no existence of the forest. Forest is the natural habitats of trees, birds,
birds, insects, and other wild animals. In the absence of the trees in the forest ecological balance
would be disturbed. All the activities of the beasts and birds would stop. They need protection from
the hunting and other natural calamities.

Q5: What is the central theme of the poem?

A: Adrienne Rich’s “The Trees” is a nature poem. The poet has given a visual picture of an alternative
space where the trees have managed to escape from an artificial house. Here, the poet has
personified nature. This poem brings the body and mind of trees together, which extend to the
unconscious mind. The uprooted trees are kept in the modern artificial house and it depicts the trees
have become free breaking all the artificial barriers.

Q6: Why does the poet compare the trees with ‘patients’?

A: The poet has used a conceit where she compares the ‘long-cramped’ branches that have been
shuffling under the roof to newly discharged patients who look half-dazed as they move towards the
hospital doors after long illnesses and wait to get out of the hospital. As, the patients want to get free
from the hospital, in the same manner, the trees urge to be free from the prison house. The poet
shows like a human, the trees also need freedom and they can achieve it when they are in the forest
not in an artificial house.
Q7: How does the poet describe the moon: (a) at the beginning of the third stanza, and (b) at
its end? What causes this change?

A: In the beginning of the third stanza, the poet says that the whole moon is shining in the open sky in
the fresh night. However, at the end of the stanza, she describes the moon as broken into many
pieces such as a shattered mirror.
This change is caused by the trees that have made their way from her home to outside. Their
branches have risen into the sky, blocking the moon, which is why the moon seems to be broken into
many pieces. These pieces can be seen flashing at the top of the tallest oak tree.

Q8: “All night the roots works” How do the roots work?

A: In this poem, the trees are kept in the poet’s house where the trees become captive in the house
and urge for freedom. Thus, the roots work all night to disengage themselves from the cracks in the
veranda floor. The leaves make efforts to move towards the glass, while the small twigs get stiff with
exertion.

Q9: 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’?

A: The sun radiates heat and the given words create a picture of the hot, radiating sun cooling its feet
in the cool shadow of the forest. The sun’s ‘feet’ refers to its rays that reach the earth.

Q10: How does the poet describe the moon?

A: In the beginning of the third stanza, the poet says that the whole moon is shining in the open sky in
the fresh night. However, at the end of the stanza, she describes the moon as broken into many
pieces such as a shattered mirror. This change is caused by the trees that have made their way from
her home to outside. Their branches have risen into the sky, blocking the moon, which is why the
moon seems to be broken into many pieces. These pieces can be seen flashing at the top of the
tallest oak tree.

Q11: What happens to the house when the trees move out of it?

A: When the trees move out of the house, the glass gets broken and the smell of the leaves and
lichens still reaches the rooms of the house.

Q12: What does the poet feel at night?

A: The poet feels that night is fresh and the full moon is showering its mercy on living beings equally.
She also experiences the smell and voice of the leaves and the lichen in the ears.

Q13: 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?

A: If trees are symbolic of human beings, then it could be said that humans too want to break away
from the shackles of the busy and selfish lives they lead. They also want to go out into nature and be
free. They work all day and sometimes all night to try and achieve something though they do not have
the time to enjoy it. They keep striving hard in their routines as they feel cramped under the roofs of
their homes and offices. Even they want to break free and go out into the peaceful nature.