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“The Oak Tree” is the poem that Orlando writes for nearly 300 years in Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, and it represents Orlando’s identity as poet and his—later, her—growth as a writer and a person throughout the novel. The narrator first mentions “The Oak Tree” in the second chapter, which is set some time during the 17th century; however, Orlando refers to the poem as his “boyish dream,” which implies it has been around for much longer. After Nicholas Greene gives one of Orlando’s original plays a poor review, Orlando burns all his work but retains “The Oak Tree,” claiming it is “very short.” Orlando can’t bring himself to burn “The Oak Tree” because it is central to his identity as a poet. It also is different from Orlando’s other works, which are long and pretentious.
Throughout Orlando’s nearly 400-year life, “The Oak Tree” goes through many revisions and rewrites. The first date written on the poem is 1586, and by the time Orlando places her poem under the oak tree on her family’s estate in 1928, it hardly resembles the poem it began as. Over the years, “The Oak Tree” goes from “gloomy” and “in love with death” to “sprightly and satirical,” and Orlando’s style changes from poetry to prose, then to drama and back again to poetry. Orlando, too, changes with her poem, but through all these changes, Orlando remains “fundamentally the same.” She remains a poet, and the constant presence of “The Oak Tree” throughout the book and throughout Orlando’s long life is evidence of this. This consistency is reflected in the physical representation of the oak tree, which connotes sturdiness, strength, and longevity. Orlando recalls seeing the tree for the first time 1588, just after beginning her lifelong poem, and the two are intimately linked in Orlando’s mind. By placing the poem at the base of the oak tree at the end of the novel, Orlando returns her work to nature, her ultimate inspiration.
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“The Oak Tree” and the Oak Tree Symbol Timeline in Orlando
The timeline below shows where the symbol “The Oak Tree” and the Oak Tree appears in Orlando. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
...the time Orlando turns just 25, he has already written “some forty-seven plays, histories, romances, poems; some in prose, some in verse; some in French, some in Italian; all romantic, and...
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...of 30, Orlando takes to burning each of his “fifty-seven poetical works, only retaining “ The Oak Tree ,” which is “his boyish dream and very short.” He now puts his trust in...
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Orlando is sure to avoid writers and foreign women, and he often works on his poem, “The Oak Tree.” By now, the poem has been scratched out and rewritten so many...
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Chapter 3
...strewn about the “disordered” room, and many contain lines of poetry and mention of “an oak tree .” Among the papers is also a marriage deed between Orlando and Rosina Pepita, a...
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...Orlando makes ink from berries and takes to writing in the small margins of “ The Oak Tree .” As she writes, the Romani people become increasingly “suspicious” of her. When she is...
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Chapter 4
...servants’ dining room, and her hand absentmindedly goes to her bosom, where she keeps her poem, “The Oak Tree,” “hidden safe.” Her mind wanders to “the great lines of Marlowe, Shakespeare,...
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...and begins to write. Suddenly, a shadow crosses the window, and Orlando “hastily” hides her poem. She looks out the window and immediately sees that the shadow is a “familiar” one,...
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Chapter 5
...the husband, [Orlando’s] ambiguous position must excuse her.” In the meantime, Orlando picks up her poem, “The Oak Tree,” and turns to the first page. It is dated 1586. She has...
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Chapter 6
...“And if I were dead, it would be just the same!” Looking down at the poem, Orlando knows that “it must be read.” If not, it will surely “die in her...
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...He talks of “royalties,” “publishers,” and “reviews,” then leaves Orlando in a rush. With her poem gone, Orlando feels “a bare place in her breast.” She has nothing to do but...
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...and laughs. “Fame! Seven editions. A prize.” (Here, the narrator says, Orlando alludes to “ The Oak Tree ,” which she had won a prize for. The narrator also takes a moment to...
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...about the year 1588. She throws herself at the ground beneath the tree, and her poem, “The Oak Tree,” flies from the breast of her jacket. “I should have brought a...
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