The Trees are Down – Charlotte Mew

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Notes de leçon

The poem at a glance

"The Trees are Down" by English poet Charlotte Mew (1869–1928), published after her death in 1929.
It records workmen cutting down the great plane-trees at the end of the gardens — often linked to the London square near Mew's home.
An epigraph from the Book of Revelation frames it: "Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees".
The speaker moves from observation, to a memory of a dead rat in spring, to deep personal grief and a final spiritual protest.
Free verse with irregular stanzas and line lengths; key ideas: destruction of nature, human indifference, loss, the sacredness of life.

Stanza 1: the sound of destruction

"They are cutting down the great plane-trees at the end of the gardens": present tense — we witness it as it happens.
A soundscape: "the grate of the saw", "the swish of the branches", "the crash of the trunks", "the rustle of trodden leaves" — auditory imagery and a list that builds relentlessly.
Above it all, the men's "loud common talk" and "loud common laughs"; their shouts of "Whoops" and "Whoa".
Repetition of "loud common" shows their coarseness and indifference — to them it is just a job.

Stanza 2: the dead rat

"I remember one evening of a long past Spring" — the poem turns to memory.
She found "a large dead rat in the mud of the drive": disgusting, "god-forsaken".
Yet she reflects that in spring "even a rat should be alive": all life belongs to the season of renewal.
Death in spring "unmade" the Spring for a moment — an idea the poem returns to.

Stanzas 3–4: the last bough and the lost spring

"just one bough" remains, "Green and high / And lonely against the sky" — short, indented lines isolate it.
"(Down now!—)": a bracketed shout breaks the line as the branch falls — form enacts the cut.
Unlike the rat, this is no passing shock: "It is not for a moment the Spring is unmade to-day".
The trees are "the whole of the whispering loveliness", felled "from root to stem".
"Half the Spring, for me, will have gone with them": personal, permanent loss.

Stanza 5: grief and the angel

"It is going now, and my heart has been struck with the hearts of the planes": the speaker's heart and the trees' are one.
"Half my life it has beat with these" — through sun, rain, March wind, May breeze and great gales: a shared life across seasons.
"There was only a quiet rain when they were dying": nature's muted mourning.
"They must have heard the sparrows flying" — personification: the trees as sensitive beings.
"But I, all day, I heard an angel crying: / 'Hurt not the trees.'" — the epigraph returns as a heavenly command; the ending is a spiritual protest.

Form, methods and comparisons

Free verse, irregular stanzas and line lengths — natural speech, and a shape broken like the trees.
Epigraph and ending echo each other — a circular structure with moral force.
Contrast: violent, noisy human work vs quiet, whispering nature.
Shifts in time: present → memory → present → future ("will have gone").
Themes: nature destroyed, grief, indifference, the sacred.
Comparisons: "The Trees" (Larkin — trees and time), "Tears, Idle Tears" (grief), "Time's Fool" (loss of a cherished place).

Diapos

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1.Who wrote 'The Trees are Down'?
Easy
- ACharlotte Mew
- BRuth Pitter
- CPhilip Larkin
- DFrances Cornford
2.What kind of trees are being cut down?
Easy
- AOak trees
- BCherry trees
- CPine trees
- DPlane-trees
3.Where does the epigraph come from?
Easy
- AA newspaper
- BWordsworth
- CThe Book of Revelation
- DShakespeare
4.What kind of imagery dominates the first stanza?
Medium
- AColour
- BSound (auditory) imagery
- CSmell
- DTaste
5.How are the workmen presented?
Medium
- ALoud, common and indifferent
- BSad and reluctant
- CSilent and careful
- DKind and gentle
6.What does the speaker remember finding one spring evening?
Medium
- AA bird's nest
- BA lost child
- CA broken bough
- DA large dead rat
7.What does 'even a rat should be alive' suggest?
Medium
- AThe speaker killed the rat
- BRats destroy trees
- CIn spring all life, however humble, belongs to the season of renewal
- DRats are the speaker's favourite animal
8.What is the effect of '(Down now!—)'?
Medium
- AIt shows the men are gentle
- BIt interrupts the line as the last bough falls, enacting the cut
- CIt gives the time of day
- DIt is a stage direction for readers

Plus de questions

9.How is the last bough described?
Medium
- AGreen and high / And lonely against the sky
- BDead and brown
- CHeavy with fruit
- DCovered in snow
10.How is the loss of the trees different from the dead rat?
Medium
- AIt is less important
- BIt happens in winter
- CIt is funny
- DIt is permanent, not a passing moment
11.What will have gone with the trees, 'for me'?
Medium
- AHer house
- BHer friends
- CHalf the Spring
- DThe whole summer
12."my heart has been struck with the hearts of the planes" suggests…
Medium
- AThe speaker hates the trees
- BThe speaker's life is bound up with the trees'
- CThe speaker is injured
- DThe trees are made of metal
13.What does the speaker hear 'all day' at the end?
Medium
- AAn angel crying 'Hurt not the trees'
- BThe men laughing
- CThe sparrows singing
- DChurch bells
14.Why is the ending's echo of the epigraph effective?
Medium
- AIt repeats the title
- BIt shows the men agree
- CIt is a joke
- DIt turns the personal grief into a moral and spiritual command
15."the whole of the whispering loveliness" uses…
Medium
- AHyperbole only
- BA rhetorical question
- CAlliteration and personification
- DOnomatopoeia only
16.What is the effect of contrasting the men's 'Whoops' with 'a quiet rain'?
Medium
- AIt is a rhyme
- BHuman noise and indifference against nature's quiet mourning
- CIt shows the weather changes
- DIt makes the men seem sad
17.Which form is the poem written in?
Medium
- AFree verse with irregular stanzas
- BA sonnet
- CA villanelle
- DRhyming quatrains
18.Which sounds of the cutting are listed? (select all that apply)
Medium
- Athe crash of the trunks
- Bthe song of a nightingale
- Cthe ring of church bells
- Dthe grate of the saw
- Ethe swish of the branches
19.Which weathers has the speaker shared with the trees? (select all that apply)
Medium
- ADesert heat
- BMonsoon floods
- CThe sun and the rains
- DThe March wind and the May breeze
- EThe great gales
20.Which themes does the poem explore? (select all that apply)
Medium
- ASport
- BDestruction of nature
- CHuman indifference
- DGrief and loss
- ERomantic love
21.The poem begins in the present tense.
Easy
True or false?
22.The workmen are presented as sad about cutting the trees.
Easy
True or false?
23.The dead rat memory is from a long-past spring.
Easy
True or false?
24.The poem uses a regular rhyme scheme throughout.
Medium
True or false?
25.The speaker imagines the trees heard the sparrows flying.
Medium
True or false?
26.The poem was published during Mew's lifetime.
Medium
True or false?
27.The last words of the poem echo the epigraph.
Medium
True or false?
28.Match each quotation to its technique.
Medium
- the grate of the saw… the crash of the trunks
- the loud common talk, the loud common laughs
- (Down now!—)
- an angel crying
- Auditory imagery
- Repetition
- Parenthetical interruption
- Spiritual imagery
29.Match each section to its focus.
Medium
- Stanza 1
- Stanza 2
- Stanzas 3–4
- Stanza 5
- The noise of the cutting
- The memory of a dead rat
- The last bough and the lost Spring
- Grief and the angel's cry
30.Put these moments in order.
Medium
- An angel cries 'Hurt not the trees'
- The men cut the plane-trees
- The speaker remembers the dead rat
- The last bough falls
31.Complete the epigraph.
Easy
Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the ____.
32.Complete the line.
Medium
Half the ____, for me, will have gone with them.
33.Complete the line.
Medium
Green and high / And lonely against the ____
34.What animal does the speaker remember finding dead?
Easy
35.What is the quotation printed before a poem, like the Revelation line, called?
Medium
36.Explain how Mew contrasts the workmen with the trees.
Medium
37.Explore how the epigraph and ending shape the meaning of the poem.
Hard

Notes de révision

## Overview - Charlotte Mew (d. 1928; pub. 1929). Free verse. Epigraph from **Revelation**: "Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees". ## Movement 1. **Present**: "They are cutting down the great **plane-trees**"; sounds — grate, swish, crash, rustle; "the loud **common** talk, the loud **common** laughs"; "Whoops", "Whoa". 2. **Memory**: "a large dead **rat** in the mud of the drive"; "even a rat should be alive"; Spring "unmade" for a moment. 3. **Last bough**: "Green and high / And lonely against the sky"; "**(Down now!—)**"; "It is not for a moment the Spring is unmade to-day"; "**Half the Spring, for me**". 4. **Grief**: "my heart has been struck with the hearts of the planes"; "Half my life"; "a **quiet rain**"; sparrows; "an **angel crying**: 'Hurt not the trees.'" ## Themes - Nature destroyed; indifference; grief; the sacred.

Epigraph: A quotation placed before a poem to frame it.
Auditory imagery: Language appealing to hearing — grate, swish, crash.
Plane-tree: A large tree common in London squares.
Parenthesis: A bracketed interruption — '(Down now!—)'.
Personification: Trees that 'heard the sparrows flying'.
Circular structure: An ending that returns to the beginning — the Revelation command.
Free verse: Poetry without regular rhyme or metre.
Elegiac: Mournful, lamenting a loss.

Cartes mémo

Epigraph?

'Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees' (Revelation).

Opening line?

'They are cutting down the great plane-trees at the end of the gardens'.

How are the men described?

'the loud common talk, the loud common laughs'; 'Whoops' and 'Whoa'.

The memory?

A large dead rat in the mud of the drive, one spring evening.

What does the rat teach her?

'even a rat should be alive' in spring.

The last bough?

'Green and high / And lonely against the sky' — then '(Down now!—)'.

Personal loss line?

'Half the Spring, for me, will have gone with them.'

Heart image?

'my heart has been struck with the hearts of the planes'.

Ending?

'an angel crying: / "Hurt not the trees."'

Structure?

Free verse; circular — epigraph echoed at the end.

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