The Trees – Philip Larkin

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Notes de leçon

The poem at a glance

"The Trees" by English poet Philip Larkin (1922–1985), written in 1967 and published in×High Windows×(1974).
It watches trees coming into leaf in spring and reflects on renewal, ageing and death.
Three quatrains in iambic tetrameter, rhymed ABBA (enclosed rhyme).
The mood moves from melancholy (stanza 1), to a hard truth (stanza 2), to a surprising hope (stanza 3): "Begin afresh, afresh, afresh."

Stanza 1: greenness and grief

"The trees are coming into leaf / Like something almost being said": a simile for the half-formed, hesitant feeling of spring — meaning that never quite arrives.
"The recent buds relax and spread": gentle, personified growth.
"Their greenness is a kind of grief": an unexpected paradox; alliteration on×g×links growth and sorrow.
Why grief? The new leaves remind the speaker of time passing — and of his own ageing.

Stanza 2: the question

"Is it that they are born again / And we grow old?": a rhetorical question — are trees immortal while humans decay?
"No, they die too": a blunt answer with a caesura — the trees are mortal as well.
"Their yearly trick of looking new": renewal is an illusion, a trick.
"Is written down in rings of grain": the growth rings inside the trunk record their true age — a metaphor of writing, like a diary of years.

Stanza 3: begin afresh

"Yet still" — the volta: despite the truth, something persists.
"the unresting castles thresh / In fullgrown thickness every May": a metaphor — tall, solid trees like castles, threshing (tossing, beating) in the wind; energetic, restless life.
"Last year is dead, they seem to say": the trees seem to speak — personification.
"Begin afresh, afresh, afresh.": the triple repetition has the rhythm of rustling leaves and of an urgent command — a message of hope and renewal.
"seem" keeps it tentative: is it the trees' message, or the speaker's wish?

Form and sound

Enclosed ABBA rhyme (leaf / said / spread / grief) — each stanza circles back, like the cycle of seasons.
Steady iambic tetrameter gives a calm, measured, reflective tone.
Soft sounds in stanza 1 ("relax and spread") contrast with the harsher "thresh" and "thickness" of stanza 3.
The poem moves from uncertainty ("almost being said") to a clear statement ("Begin afresh") — meaning finally is said.
Larkin is often seen as a gloomy poet; this poem balances his melancholy with hope.

Themes and comparisons

Time and mortality: everything ages and dies — even trees.
Renewal and hope: each year offers a fresh start.
Nature and human life reflected in each other.
Illusion vs reality: the "trick" of looking new.
Comparisons: "The Trees are Down" (trees and loss), "Tears, Idle Tears" (seasons and grief), "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" (time and death).

Diapos

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1.Who wrote 'The Trees'?
Easy
- APhilip Larkin
- BCharlotte Mew
- CSeamus Heaney
- DRuth Pitter
2.In which season is the poem set?
Easy
- AAutumn
- BWinter
- CLate summer
- DSpring
3."Like something almost being said" is…
Easy
- Aonomatopoeia
- Bhyperbole
- Ca simile
- Da metaphor
4.What is surprising about 'Their greenness is a kind of grief'?
Medium
- AIt rhymes with 'relief'
- BGrowth is linked to sadness
- CTrees are blue
- DGrief is green in colour
5.What rhetorical question does stanza 2 ask?
Medium
- AIs it that they are born again / And we grow old?
- BWhy do trees grow?
- CWho planted the trees?
- DWhen will spring come?
6.What is the answer to that question?
Medium
- AYes, trees live for ever
- BThe speaker does not know
- COnly in May
- DNo, they die too
7.What does 'Their yearly trick of looking new' suggest?
Medium
- AThe trees are replaced every year
- BThe speaker plants new trees
- CThe trees' renewal is an illusion
- DThe trees perform magic
8.What records the trees' true age?
Medium
- ATheir bark colour
- BRings of grain
- CTheir leaves
- DTheir roots

Plus de questions

9.Which word marks the volta in stanza 3?
Medium
- AYet
- BIs
- CLike
- DNo
10.What are the 'unresting castles'?
Medium
- AReal castles nearby
- BThe speaker's house
- CClouds
- DThe tall, full-grown trees, restless in the wind
11.What do the trees 'seem to say'?
Medium
- ACut us down
- BWinter is coming
- CLast year is dead… Begin afresh, afresh, afresh
- DWe will live for ever
12.What is the effect of repeating 'afresh' three times?
Medium
- AIt shows boredom
- BIt sounds like rustling leaves and urges a hopeful new start
- CIt shows the speaker is confused
- DIt is a printing error
13.What is the rhyme scheme of each stanza?
Medium
- AABBA
- BAABB
- CABAB
- DNo rhyme
14.Why might enclosed ABBA rhyme suit the poem?
Medium
- AIt is the only rhyme Larkin used
- BIt makes the poem faster
- CIt hides the meaning
- DIt circles back on itself, like the yearly cycle of the seasons
15.Why is the word 'seem' in 'they seem to say' important?
Medium
- AIt proves the message is false
- BIt is a rhyme word
- CIt keeps the hopeful message tentative — perhaps the speaker's wish
- DIt shows the trees can talk
16.How does the mood change across the poem?
Medium
- AFrom fear to boredom
- BFrom melancholy, to hard truth, to hope
- CFrom joy to despair
- DIt stays angry throughout
17.Which metre does the poem use?
Medium
- AIambic tetrameter
- BFree verse
- CIambic pentameter
- DCommon metre
18.Which devices appear in stanza 1? (select all that apply)
Medium
- AAlliteration
- BRhetorical question
- CA refrain
- DSimile
- EParadox
19.Which themes does the poem explore? (select all that apply)
Medium
- AWar
- BRomantic love
- CTime and mortality
- DRenewal and hope
- EIllusion and reality
20.Which phrases present the trees as full of energy? (select all that apply)
Medium
- Aalmost being said
- Bunresting castles
- Cthresh
- Dfullgrown thickness
- Erings of grain
21.The poem has three stanzas.
Easy
True or false?
22.The poem claims trees never die.
Easy
True or false?
23.The poem ends on a hopeful note.
Easy
True or false?
24.The trees' 'yearly trick' refers to their appearance of being new each spring.
Medium
True or false?
25.The poem is written in free verse.
Medium
True or false?
26.The trees are personified as speaking in the last stanza.
Medium
True or false?
27.Larkin is usually seen as a cheerful, optimistic poet.
Medium
True or false?
28.Match each quotation to its technique.
Medium
- Like something almost being said
- Their greenness is a kind of grief
- Is it that they are born again / And we grow old?
- Begin afresh, afresh, afresh
- Simile
- Paradox
- Rhetorical question
- Repetition
29.Match each stanza to its mood.
Medium
- Stanza 1
- Stanza 2
- Stanza 3
- Melancholy
- Hard truth
- Hope
30.Put these lines in order.
Medium
- Begin afresh, afresh, afresh
- Their greenness is a kind of grief
- Is written down in rings of grain
- Last year is dead, they seem to say
31.Complete the line.
Easy
The trees are coming into ____
32.Complete the line.
Medium
Their greenness is a kind of ____.
33.Complete the line.
Medium
Is written down in rings of ____.
34.In which month do the trees thresh 'in fullgrown thickness'?
Easy
35.What is the name for an ABBA rhyme pattern?
Medium
36.Explain how Larkin presents the link between trees and human life.
Medium
37.Explore how the final stanza changes the tone of the poem.
Hard

Notes de révision

## Overview - Philip Larkin, **1967** (*High Windows*, 1974). Three quatrains, **ABBA**, iambic tetrameter. ## Stanzas 1. "The trees are coming into leaf / **Like something almost being said**"; "relax and spread"; "Their **greenness is a kind of grief**" (paradox). 2. "Is it that they are **born again** / And we grow old? **No, they die too**"; "yearly **trick** of looking new"; "**rings of grain**". 3. "**Yet** still the **unresting castles thresh** / In fullgrown thickness every May"; "Last year is dead, they **seem** to say"; "**Begin afresh, afresh, afresh.**" ## Themes - Time and mortality; renewal and hope; illusion vs reality.

Simile: 'Like something almost being said'.
Paradox: 'Their greenness is a kind of grief'.
Rhetorical question: A question asked for effect — 'Is it that they are born again…?'
Enclosed rhyme: ABBA rhyme pattern.
Iambic tetrameter: Lines of four unstressed–stressed feet.
Volta: The turn at 'Yet'.
Metaphor: 'the unresting castles'.
Thresh: To beat or toss about — here the trees in the wind.

Cartes mémo

First two lines?

'The trees are coming into leaf / Like something almost being said'.

Paradox in stanza 1?

'Their greenness is a kind of grief'.

Stanza 2's question?

'Is it that they are born again / And we grow old?'

The answer?

'No, they die too'.

What is the trees' 'trick'?

Their yearly appearance of looking new.

Where is their age recorded?

'in rings of grain'.

Stanza 3 metaphor?

'the unresting castles thresh'.

Last line?

'Begin afresh, afresh, afresh.'

Rhyme scheme?

ABBA (enclosed rhyme).

Mood movement?

Melancholy → hard truth → hope.

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