The Full Text of “The Trees”
The Full Text of “The Trees”
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“The Trees” Introduction
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“The Trees” Summary
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“The Trees” Themes
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Mortality and Renewal
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-12
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Trees”
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Lines 1-4
The trees are ...
... kind of grief. -
Lines 5-8
Is it that ...
... rings of grain. -
Lines 9-10
Yet still the ...
... thickness every May. -
Lines 11-12
Last year is ...
... afresh, afresh, afresh.
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“The Trees” Symbols
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Spring, Trees, and New Leaves
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Lines 1-4
- Lines 5-8
- Lines 9-12
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“The Trees” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Simile
Where simile appears in the poem:- Lines 1-2: “The trees are coming into leaf / Like something almost being said;”
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Metaphor
Where metaphor appears in the poem:- Line 4: “Their greenness is a kind of grief.”
- Lines 7-8: “Their yearly trick of looking new / Is written down in rings of grain.”
- Line 9: “the unresting castles”
- Line 11: “Last year is dead”
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Personification
Where personification appears in the poem:- Line 3: “The recent buds relax and spread,”
- Lines 5-6: “Is it that they are born again / And we grow old?”
- Lines 11-12: “Last year is dead, they seem to say, / Begin afresh, afresh, afresh.”
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Sibilance
Where sibilance appears in the poem:- Line 2: “something almost,” “said”
- Line 3: “recent,” “relax,” “spread”
- Line 4: “greenness”
- Line 9: “still,” “unresting castles”
- Line 10: “thickness”
- Line 11: “Last,” “seem,” “say”
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Assonance
Where assonance appears in the poem:- Line 1: “trees,” “leaf”
- Line 2: “being”
- Line 3: “recent,” “relax”
- Line 4: “greenness,” “grief”
- Line 6: “grow old? No”
- Line 9: “unresting,” “thresh”
- Line 11: “dead”
- Line 12: “afresh”
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Consonance
Where consonance appears in the poem:- Line 1: “trees are,” “coming,” “leaf”
- Line 2: “Like,” “something almost,” “said”
- Line 3: “recent,” “buds,” “relax,” “spread”
- Line 4: “Their,” “greenness,” “grief”
- Line 5: “born again”
- Line 6: “And,” “grow,” “old,” “die”
- Line 7: “Their yearly,” “trick,” “looking,” “new”
- Line 8: “written down,” “rings,” “grain”
- Line 9: “still,” “unresting castles,” “thresh”
- Line 10: “fullgrown,” “thickness,” “every”
- Line 11: “Last,” “year,” “seem,” “say”
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Irony
Where irony appears in the poem:- Lines 5-8
- Lines 9-12
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Rhetorical Question
Where rhetorical question appears in the poem:- Lines 5-6: “Is it that they are born again / And we grow old?”
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Caesura
Where caesura appears in the poem:- Line 6: “old? No,” “, they”
- Line 11: “dead, they”
- Line 12: “afresh, afresh,” “, afresh”
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Epizeuxis
Where epizeuxis appears in the poem:- Line 12: “afresh, afresh, afresh”
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“The Trees” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Coming Into Leaf
- Buds
- Rings of Grain
- Unresting
- Castles
- Thresh
- Afresh
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(Location in poem: Line 1: “coming into leaf”)
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Trees”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“The Trees” Speaker
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“The Trees” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “The Trees”
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More “The Trees” Resources
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External Resources
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"Rings of Grain" — Learn a little about how to determine the age of a tree by studying the rings in its trunk: a practice known as dendrochronology!
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Portraits of the Artist — The National Portrait Gallery has several portraits of Philip Larkin, including a painting and several photographs.
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Hear the Poem — Listen to Philip Larkin himself read "The Trees."
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About the Poet — For more information about Philip Larkin, check out this brief overview of his life and work.
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The Paris Review Interview — Read The Paris Review's "The Art of Poetry" interview with Philip Larkin.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Philip Larkin
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