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'the Trees Are Down' by Charlotte Mew Essay

Decent Essays

How are the trees used to convey the poet’s thoughts or attitudes in:

‘The Trees Are Down’ by Charlotte Mew

Charlotte Mew was an English poet who wrote frequently about the nature in London. The poem deals with the felling of plane trees in Euston Square Gardens, London in the early 1920s. There is a clear sense of desolation and loss in this poem, a lament for the felling of the great plane trees. The poem has elements of Modernism, the disordered rhythm, rhyme and syntax mirroring Mew’s belief that she had the genes to pass on a mental illness. The poem also has elements of late Romanticism, connecting the trees and nature to man and the divine. The trees are used to convey the poet’s appreciation and understanding of nature …show more content…

Also the rain being thin emphasises the suffering of nature. Perhaps Mew is suggesting that all of nature is affected by the destruction of the trees, that there is all encompassing damage. The parenthetical statement “(Down now! -)” separates the height of nature with the destruction of height. Mew also separates the phrase because it is a celebration shared by the “men”, something she does not share. The final phrase of the stanza, “thought of him again”, highlights that this was an important reflection in order for Mew to appreciate all life and creation. Mew is suggesting that if she had no witnessed death in the season of life, she would’ve lacked appreciation and shared the “common” view of the men. Mew uses this memory to convey her new appreciation for the trees and nature to the reader.

In the final two stanzas the poet reflects on a more personal level of connectedness that has been severed with the felling of the trees. The adjective and noun “whispering loveliness” personifies and emotionalises the trees and nature, creating a romantic perspective. The sounds of the trees are unheard over the noise of the ignorant men. Mew is suggesting through the trees that only she hears and understands nature. The pronoun “me” and verb “gone” highlights that with the removal of the trees, Mew has been cut off from her childhood, this past being removed is causing her loss and pain. The pronoun “me” highlights how

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