The Trees

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.

 All night the roots work

 to disengage themselves from the cracks

 in 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.

 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.

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.

 ADRIENNE RICH

Summary

In the poem "The Trees" by Adrienne Rich, the trees undergo a transformative journey from the interior of a house to the external forest. At the beginning of the poem, the trees are described as being inside, moving out into the empty forest. The forest has been barren, lacking life and vitality until the trees from inside the house start populating it.

The movement of the trees is portrayed as a nighttime process. Throughout the night, the roots work to disengage themselves from the cracks in the veranda floor, and the leaves, twigs, and boughs strain and shuffle to free themselves. The poem doesn't explicitly state where the trees go, but it suggests that they are leaving the confinement of the house to join the external forest.

The speaker, who is inside the house, seems somewhat detached from the departure of the trees. They focus on writing letters and describe the night as fresh, with the moon shining in an open sky. The departure of the forest from the house is not emphasized in the speaker's letters.

As the poem progresses, the imagery becomes more vivid, with the glass breaking, and the trees stumbling forward into the night. The moon is broken like a mirror, and its pieces flash in the crown of the tallest oak. This suggests a significant and perhaps unsettling change in the landscape, with the trees venturing out into the night amid the breaking of glass and the moon's fragmentation.

Overall, "The Trees" explores themes of transformation, departure, and the powerful connection between nature and the environment. The trees leave the confinement of the house to contribute to the rejuvenation and life of the external forest.

A Critical Analysis of This Poem

Adrienne Rich’s poem "The Trees" is a powerful metaphor for freedom, rebellion, and the human connection to nature. The poem’s central image—the trees moving out of confinement into the forest—represents a larger theme of liberation and the reclamation of natural spaces that had been desolate or suppressed. The poem can be seen as an exploration of the human impact on nature, societal constraints, and the desire for freedom, while it simultaneously reflects on gender and personal liberation.

Themes

1. Nature and Freedom: The trees symbolize life and vitality. Initially trapped within an artificial, confined space (a house), they yearn for freedom in their natural environment—the forest. The "forest that was empty all these days" signifies how nature, devoid of its essential elements (the trees), feels incomplete. The return of the trees to the forest by morning marks a reclamation of nature's rightful space. This could symbolize how freedom, when suppressed, ultimately finds its way back into its natural state.

2. Rebellion Against Confinement: The trees' "disengagement" from the "cracks in the veranda floor" reflects an active rebellion against their imprisonment. Rich’s language portrays the trees as conscious beings, working to free themselves from their unnatural environment, much like humans who struggle against societal, cultural, or personal constraints. This sense of rebellion also mirrors feminist themes, as women often feel confined by the expectations of society, and the trees breaking free could be a metaphor for personal emancipation.

3. Healing and Transformation: Rich uses the metaphor of "newly discharged patients" to convey the idea of healing. The trees, long confined and "long-cramped," are finally being released, dazed but moving toward freedom. This could signify how one’s personal or societal transformation is not instantaneous, but a process of regaining one’s strength after long periods of suppression.

4. Human Detachment from Nature: Throughout the poem, the speaker watches the trees from within the house but does not directly interact with them. The speaker sits inside, "writing long letters," scarcely mentioning the "departure of the forest from the house." This detachment suggests the alienation of humans from the natural world. Despite the trees’ dramatic escape, the speaker remains largely passive, representing how people often ignore or remain indifferent to nature's struggles for survival.

5. Breaking Barriers: The climactic moment of the glass breaking symbolizes the destruction of artificial barriers. The trees "strain toward the glass," and once it breaks, they can move into the open night. The moon "broken like a mirror" in the crown of the tallest oak suggests the fracturing of old perspectives, a shattering of confinement, and a reflection of new possibilities as nature reclaims its place.

Imagery and Symbols

1. Glass: The glass serves as a barrier between the inside world (domesticity, confinement) and the outside world (freedom, nature). When the glass breaks, it symbolizes the breaking of boundaries, suggesting liberation and the inevitability of change.

2. Roots and Leaves: The roots working "to disengage themselves" and the leaves straining "toward the glass" emphasize the trees' active struggle for freedom. The imagery of roots and leaves brings to mind growth and persistence, and it highlights nature's inherent drive to reclaim its space, even after long suppression.

3. The Moon: The moon, described as "broken like a mirror," suggests a fractured, fragmented reflection of reality. The broken moon reflects the theme of change, where old structures or perceptions are shattered, allowing for new beginnings.

Structure and Tone

The poem’s free verse structure mirrors the theme of freedom, with no rigid rhyme scheme or meter to bind the language. The tone is contemplative, with a sense of quiet anticipation and reverence for the trees’ journey. As the speaker sits inside, the focus is on the trees’ slow yet deliberate movement, highlighting the inevitable shift from captivity to liberation.

The repetition of night and morning contrasts the darkness of confinement with the promise of light and freedom. The night represents the struggle, while the morning symbolizes the culmination of the trees’ efforts—their return to the forest.

Conclusion

Adrienne Rich's "The Trees" is a multifaceted poem that uses nature as a powerful metaphor for human liberation, rebellion against confinement, and the restoration of balance. Through vivid imagery and potent symbols, Rich conveys the struggle for freedom, both in the natural world and in human experience, while subtly addressing themes of alienation and personal awakening. The poem invites readers to reflect on the barriers—whether societal, emotional, or environmental—that confine them and the inevitable desire for freedom and self-expression that drives life forward.

 Thinking about the Poem

1.         (i) Find, in the first stanza, three things that cannot happen in a treeless forest.

(ii) What picture do these words create in your mind: “… sun bury its feet in shadow…”? What could the poet mean by the sun’s ‘feet’?

 2.         (i) Where are the trees in the poem? What do their roots, their leaves, and their twigs do?

            (ii) What does the poet compare their branches to?

3.        (i) How does the poet describe the moon: (a) at the beginning of the third stanza, and (b) at its end? What causes this change?

            (ii) What happens to the house when the trees move out of it?

 (iii) Why do you think the poet does not mention “the departure of the forest from the house” in her letters? (Could it be that we are often silent about important happenings that are so unexpected that they embarrass us? Think about this again when you answer the next set of questions.)

4. Now that you have read the poem in detail, we can begin to ask what the  poem might mean. Here are two suggestions. Can you think of others?

(i) Does the poem present a conflict between man and nature? Compare it with A Tiger in the Zoo. Is the poet suggesting that plants and trees, used for ‘interior decoration’ in cities while forests are cut down, are ‘imprisoned’, and need to ‘break out’?

(ii) On the other hand, Adrienne Rich has been known to use trees as a metaphor for human beings; this is a recurrent image in her poetry. What new meanings emerge from the poem if you take its trees to be symbolic of this particular meaning?

 5. You may read the poem ‘On Killing a Tree’ by Gieve Patel (Beehive – Textbook in English for Class IX, NCERT). Compare and contrast it with the poem you have just read.

Answers

Thinking about the Poem

1.

(i) In the first stanza, three things that cannot happen in a treeless forest are:

1. No bird could sit.

2. No insect could hide.

3. No sun could bury its feet in shadow.

(ii) The phrase “sun bury its feet in shadow” creates a vivid image of the sun's rays being obstructed by the trees, allowing shadows to form on the ground. The poet's use of 'feet' for the sun evokes a sense of the sun moving or standing, with its rays reaching down to the earth, but without trees to create shadows, its 'feet' are left exposed. The 'feet' symbolize the rays of the sun, which seek the cool comfort of shadows.

2.

(i) The trees in the poem are indoors, inside the house. The roots work to disengage themselves from the cracks in the veranda floor, the leaves strain towards the glass windows, and the twigs are stiff with exertion as they try to break free.

(ii) The poet compares the branches to "newly discharged patients, half-dazed, moving to the clinic doors." This simile suggests the trees are emerging from confinement, weakened but ready to return to their natural habitat.

3.

(i)

• (a) At the beginning of the third stanza, the moon is described as "whole," shining brightly in the open sky.

• (b) By the end of the stanza, the moon is described as "broken like a mirror," with its fragments flashing in the crown of the tallest oak. The change is caused by the movement of the trees as they break free and spread into the forest, disrupting the view of the moon.

(ii) When the trees move out of the house, the house becomes empty and silent. The smell of leaves and lichen lingers, but the vital presence of the trees is gone.

(iii) The poet does not mention “the departure of the forest from the house” in her letters possibly because the event is overwhelming or surreal. The quiet, almost passive observation of such a dramatic occurrence suggests that sometimes, we are silent about profound or unexpected events, either because they are too significant to express or because they disturb the status quo.

4.

(i) The poem can indeed present a conflict between man and nature. Like in A Tiger in the Zoo, where the tiger is confined and denied its natural habitat, here, the trees are imprisoned indoors, used as decoration in human spaces while real forests are left empty. The trees break out, suggesting that nature cannot be tamed or confined indefinitely—it must return to its natural state.

(ii) If the trees are symbolic of human beings, as Adrienne Rich often suggests in her poetry, the poem could be interpreted as a metaphor for personal or collective liberation. The trees' struggle to break free could represent individuals or groups fighting against societal constraints, seeking autonomy, and reclaiming their freedom. This gives the poem a deeper meaning about human empowerment and resistance against oppression.

5.

In Gieve Patel’s On Killing a Tree, the poem emphasizes the violence and persistence required to kill a tree, portraying the deep-rooted connection between nature and life. Both poems highlight the strength and resilience of trees, but while Rich’s trees seek freedom and escape from confinement, Patel’s tree resists destruction by human hands. The comparison suggests that nature, whether seeking freedom or resisting harm, is powerful and enduring, constantly challenging human control.