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Feminist Symbolism in "The Trees"

The poem 'The Trees' by Adrienne Rich symbolizes the conflict between man and nature, using trees as a metaphor for women who seek freedom and renewal. It highlights the oppression faced by women and their desire to break free from confinement, paralleling the trees' struggle to leave their cramped spaces. Ultimately, the poem conveys a message of freedom and equality for all living beings, emphasizing that no one's rights should be suppressed.

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28 views2 pages

Feminist Symbolism in "The Trees"

The poem 'The Trees' by Adrienne Rich symbolizes the conflict between man and nature, using trees as a metaphor for women who seek freedom and renewal. It highlights the oppression faced by women and their desire to break free from confinement, paralleling the trees' struggle to leave their cramped spaces. Ultimately, the poem conveys a message of freedom and equality for all living beings, emphasizing that no one's rights should be suppressed.

Uploaded by

jincyjoeldennis
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Poetry - Trees

Introduction
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.

The poem has a symbolic meaning; the trees are an extended metaphor for women.
The poet says that the women have rested, healed and recovered and are ready for
their primary purpose – to renew the empty forest of mankind.

About the Poet


Adrienne Cecile Rich (16 May 1929- 27 March 2012) was an American poet,
essayist and feminist. She was called "one of the most widely read and influential
poets of the second half of the 20th century", and was credited with bringing "the
oppression of women and lesbians to the forefront of poetic discourse".

Theme
The poem “The Trees” by Adrienne Rich is a metaphor which compares the trees
to women. The poet is a feminist and highlights the desire of women to be free and
go out in the open. The trees want to free themselves from the floor of the house
and go in the open forest. They are cramped in the houses and their feelings can be
felt and heard by the poet.

Summary
The poet talks about trees symbolically. They refer to women who have been
healed and are ready to move out of their houses to fulfil their primary purpose – to
renew the forest of mankind. As women have remained indoors, the forest has
become empty, the birds and insects rendered shelterless. The Sun’s rays do not
have the tree trucks and leaves to fall upon and thus, reach the earth. She says that
the forest will be full of trees the next morning. The roots of the trees are working
hard to separate from the floor of the veranda where they have remained fixed. The
leaves and branches are moving towards the glass windows. They are desperate to
move out just like a newly discharged patient who has not recovered completely,
moves to the exit door of the hospital in a hurry. The poet is sitting in her house
with the doors of the veranda open. She is writing letters but does not mention this
movement of the trees. It is night time, the sky is clear and a bright moon is visible.
She can smell the leaves and lichen which seem to be calling out desperately. She
hears the glass of the window pane breaking. The trees are moving out and the fast
blowing wind embraces them. As the trees have reached the forest, the tall and
strong oak tree overshadows the moon and it seems that the moon has been broken
into several pieces.

Message
The message of the poem The Trees is that freedom and equality should be for all
the living organisms in the world. Whether we take this poem as nature's poem or a
feminist oriented poem, the poet gives a clear message that we should have equal
rights. No one's freedom should be taken away.

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