A Critical Analysis of The Trees, by Phillip Larkin
Introduction:
The theme of the poem Philip Larkin's 'The Trees' is a short and compact but very suggestive poem. It was first published in his collection of poems entitled "The Less Deceived" (1955). Like most of the poems published in this collection, the present poem deals with the theme of old age, death and the hope of a new beginning in life.
The poem brings out the poet's grief over the transitoriness of human life and his enthusiasm for a fresh start. The poet illustrates both these points with the help of an analogy from nature. The title of the poem is, in fact, a metaphor to define human condition.
At first, Larkin expresses his 'grief' over the yearly renewal of trees. Then he argues that the coming to leaves of trees is nothing but "their yearly trick of looking new". Finally, he comes to the conclusion that the human beings should not worry about the reduction in their life-span with the passing of every year. On the contrary, they should "begin afresh, afresh, afresh".
Development of Poetic Thought
After the departure of autumn, spring has come. The leafless trees have begun to regain their greenness again. Fresh buds spread over the branches of the trees. But instead of producing a feeling of pleasure, the greenness of the trees inspires "a kind of grief" in the heart of the poet. For a moment, he thinks over the source of his grief.
He realizes that the root cause of his the sorrow is that while trees have a ycarly rebirth, the human beings grow older and older and finally die. However, reason comes to his help. He argues that trees are also subject to old age and death just like the human beings. To prove his point, the poet offers the logic that the outward yearly rebirth of the trees is merely a deception.
In reality, with the passing of every year there appears a ring on the wood inside the trunk of trees. The number of these rings represents the actual age of trees. Every year in the month of May, the crops are harvested, and the grains and the hay are separated with the help of threshing machines. But that does ot signify the final end of crops.
After a short interval, there not comes the time when the new crop is sown. This process is repeated every year. It seems to convey a message of hope to the human beings. And, the message is that the human beings should not see the passing of a year as a step towards death. On the contrary, they should regard it as an inspiration to make a fresh start with new enthusiasm.
A Poem of the Movement
Philip Larkin belonged to the group of the 'Movement' poets of the 1950s. The poetry of the Movement, as a whole, was sceptical, moderate, rational, ironic, precise, colloquial and argumentative in style.
The Trees is undoubtedly a representative Movement poem. It shares most of the elements that belong to the Movement poetry. Like a typical Movement poem, the tone of this poem is rational. Here, Larkin offers his arguments in a witty manner.
Looking at the trees covered with green leaves, the poet is full of grief. But soon he comes to the conclusion that not only the human beings, but trees also grow old and die. He gives a rational argument:
Is it that they are born again
And we grow old? No, they die too.
Their yearly trick of looking new
Is written down in rings of grain.
Use of irony is another feature of a Movement poem. In the present poem, the line, "Their greenness is a kind of grief", produces an ironical effect because green colour is a symbol of hope, growth and fertility.
The anti-romantic and anti-rhetoric tone of the poem also makes it a poem of the Movement. Though The Trees deals with the theme of old age and death, the poet's treatment is neither emotional nor metaphysical, but intellectual. Scepticism is yet another element of the poetry of the Movement.
The Trees does have this element. Here, Larkin establishes an uncontroversial middle ground. The poem begins with a note of grief, but towards the end the message of hope and a new beginning revives the poet's mood.
Use of traditional verse-forms and precision are also the characteristics of the Movement poetry In the present poem, the poet has made use of the traditional four-line stanzas with a set rhyme-scheme. Larkin has conveyed his ideas with great precision in the fewest possible words. Simplicity and clarity, perhaps, are the most striking things about the poem. In this way, The Trees is a representative Movement poem.
Structure of the Poem: Thematic Unity
The Trees consists of three stanzas of four lines each. All the three stanza are united together by the poem's theme. They mark the different phases of the poet's thought-flow. In the first stanza, Larkin expresses his grief to see the green trees which have a yearly rebirth.
In the second, he pauses for a moment, looks into the matter logically and finds out "their yearly trick of looking new". This stanza marks the turning point of the poem. In the third stanza, his 'grief' disappears and a ray of hope flashes across his mind. The poem thus has an organic unity.
Use of Imagery: Its Pictorial Quality
The poem is remarkable for its pictorial quality. Its images have visual effect and concreteness. The whole poem is dominated by the single image of 'The trees'. Wherever the third person plural pronoun is used (they, their, for example), it refers to the trees.
In the first stanza, we have the image of the trees which are "coming into leaf", and on which" the recent buds relax and spread". Then there is the image of the "ring of grain" which disclose the real age of trees.
This is followed by the image of" the unresting castles" which signifies the threshing machines. The images in the last stanza represent the end of one crop season which indicates the beginning of the sowing season of another crop.
Artistic Qualities: Diction, Metre and Rhythm
The Trees may be cited as a model of simplicity and clarity. The language used here is so lucid that even an average reader can appreciate it. Most of the words used in the poem are monosyllabic.
The lines have a natural flow. The subtle repetition of the word 'afresh' adds to the musical effect and emphasizes the idea of making a new beginning. The poet has avoided all linguistic complexities and intricacies. In the line, "Like something almost being said", we have the use of simile figure of speech; and, in the line, "Their greenness is a kind of grief", there is a beautiful use of metaphor.
The Trees consists of three quatrains with a particular rhyme scheme. The rhyme-scheme of the poem is abba which is maintained throughout. The metre employed in the poem is iambic terrameter.
