Previous Next

“Trees” is a very short poem consisting of six rhyming couplets, all written in strict iambic tetrameter. Formally, the poem is tightly controlled in a way that reflects the speaker’s interest in the divine perfection of the natural world. Kilmer also reflects the harmonious balance of the poem’s rhyme and meter in the poem’s overall structure. Broadly, “Trees” has three sections, each of which is made up of a single sentence. These sections may be usefully described as consisting of an opening argument, evidence, and a closing argument. The opening couplet represents the poem’s first section. Here, the speaker introduces their basic claim that no poem could be as lovely as a tree. The longer second section includes the following four couplets. These couplets are all part of a single compound sentence in which the speaker describes various aspects of trees that make them so lovely. The examples given here function to provide evidence for the speaker’s opening claim. After providing this evidence, the speaker offers something of a closing argument in the final couplet. The speaker essentially repeats their original claim, but they offer new justification. Trees are lovelier than poems, and this is so because trees are made by God.

Previous section Tone Next section Meter

Take a Study Break