The Trees

Adrienne Rich

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.

Literally the poet sees that the trees in his house are moving outside into the forest
which has been empty for a long time, but the word ‘trees’ 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 vacant, 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​
on the veranda floor.​
The leaves strain toward the glass​
small twigs stiff with exertion​
long-cramped boughs shuffling under the roof​
like newly discharged patients​
half-dazed, moving​
to the clinic doors.

The stanza is devoted toward showing the efforts of the ‘trees’ to leave the house to fill
in or replenish the forests. 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 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 veranda​

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.

The poet sits in her house, writing long letters, with the doors of the 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.

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 seem like a crown of the tallest oak tree.

POETIC DEVICES in the Poem ‘THE TREES’

Rhyme scheme: There is no rhyme scheme in the poem. It’s written in ‘free verse’

Imagery: The words and phrases in the poem create their visual representations in mind.
It is done through the use of figurative language to create pictures and visuals in the
mind of the readers to convey the views and thoughts of the poet. In short, the poem
floats and moves through our imagination.

The whole poem keeps creating visuals in our mind about the struggle of the trees and
different incidents and happenings associated with it.

See the following examples:

●​ The trees inside are moving out into the forest.

●​ The forest that was empty all these days​
where no bird could sit …
 ●​ Like newly discharged patients​
half-dazed, moving​
to the clinic doors …..
●​ The glass is breaking​
The trees are stumbling forward ….
●​ Its pieces flash now in the crown of the tallest oak.

Simile: It is used to draw a clear comparison between two or more things or people
having the same qualities using words ‘like’ and ‘as’.

●​ Like newly discharged patients.

●​ Still reaches like a voice into the rooms.
●​ The moon is broken like a mirror.

Repetition: Words or lines are repeated to emphasise a feeling or idea, create rhythm,
and or develop a sense of urgency.

‘The forest that was empty’ (in the first stanza)

Personification: A prominent figure of speech in which a thing is given human attributes.

See the following examples as how the trees, the sun and the winds are shown as
behaving like human beings.

●​ The trees inside are moving out into the forest.

●​ No sun buries its feet in shadow.
●​ All night the roots work.
●​ Winds rush to meet them.

Symbolism: The use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities.

The poet uses ‘the trees’ to connote the significance of forests and raise the issue of
‘deforestation’

People keep plants and trees in their homes and have the false impression that it can
replace the lost forests. The poet uses the trees as symbolism to say that the issue of
deforestation can be tackled only by planting trees.

Alliteration: A literary device in which a series of words begin with the same consonant
sound.

Example: long letters, leaves and lichen

Anaphora: Anaphora is a rhetorical device where a word or phrase is repeated at the
beginning of successive clauses or sentences.

In the first stanza, the repetition of the word “the” in the first two lines.

Metaphor: Metaphor is a literary device used to represent a comparison without using

the words “like” or “as”.

The poet uses ‘trees’ metaphorically to represent the helplessness of women in the
patriarchal society. The metaphor extends throughout the poem and therefore the poem
is a good example of ‘extended metaphor’.

The struggles of the nature or trees to be freed from the confinements of man is
compared to that of the​
women’s struggle for the same to get freedom from the men dominated society.

Enjambment: Enjambment is a poetic technique in which a sentence or phrase is

continued over multiple lines of poetry, without a pause or break at the end of each line.

The poem is a good example of enjoymentm. Every stanza of this poem has lines
continuing to next lines without punctuation.

For example: In the lines below, no punctuation has been used by the poet.

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