Although his poem has as its title "The trees", an element of nature, it expresses very dark feelings.
“The trees” is a short poem written by Larkin in 1967 and published in 1974.
The language is very simple, he uses common words belong to everyday speech. The poem might appear to
be very simple but it has a very profound meaning. The poet in a meditative tone focuses on nature
renewal, in particular on trees rebirth. However, the poem considered and interpreted like a commentary
on the impossibility of human inability to change the natural means.
At the beginning of the poem the poet refers to nature, which is renewed cyclically, as if it were already
written. In fact, every year the trees dry up, lose their leaves and then, in spring, they are reborn.
In the first lines it seems that the poet speaks of spring as the celebration of the joy of nature. But then,
when he talks about the buds opening and spreading, things change because he says that their green color
looks like some kind of pain.
In these verses the buds looking new, but is an illusion because it dies each year as the trees are growing
old too. The presence of these buds is the sign that everything is subject to the signs of time—including
human beings. So, also humans have to accept decay (decadimento) and death.
This is the reason for author's pain and sadness (dolore e tristezza)
The ring, that forms in the tree and indicates the age, may be a symbol of eternity, but the reality is that
trees are subject to death, like all humans.
Instead, the last verses give a sense of hope in the life, in fact despite the pain of growth (il dolore per la
crescita) and the annual renewal (rinnovo) of the nature, life can be lived to the full. The language is
different, more optimistic, declaring that a new beginning is possible.
Larking was born in Coventry in 1922, an industrial city in central England. He started his education there
and then attended Oxford University. His works include a collection of poems called "The North Ship". He
also wrote "High Windows" which include "the trees" in which many of the poems reflect on the theme of
death. Then we can also find two novels about his university years, called "Jill" and "A Winter Girl".
In Oxford in the 1950s he was involved in the group of poet nouns as the "Movement", who rejected the
return to romanticism.
In many of his poems, Larkin performs the disappointment of his life in a completely unsentimental way.
And nature, one of the main themes of poems, is generally a wintry dark landscape. Larkin's poetry in
conclusion deal with the disillusionment and the solitude. These are all feelings that come from war. It is
also dominated by a deep pessimism, in fact there is never happiness or love in it
