The poem has a symbolic meaning, the trees are an extended metaphor for women. The poet says that the women have rested, healed and recovered and are ready for their primary purpose – to renew the empty forest of mankind. What does the tree look at all day? Well, a good visit from a poet is, indirectly, an INSET session on how to write, perform, share and enjoy poetry with others. In the workshops, the poets will give teachers a wealth ideas for their own future poetry writing workshops. Hopefully, the whole school will have a real buzz afterwards – and feel really positive about the visit, and be keen to carry on writing, reading and performing poetry. Afterwards, why not get to together in the staffroom to brainstorm activities that you liked? Poets often do different workshops in the various classes – so you could pass around some of the poems your class has written. Also share any of the tips the writer has. Tell other teachers from other schools about the day. Spreadtheword!

Despite the enduring popular appeal of "Trees", most of Joyce Kilmer's works are largely unknown and have fallen into obscurity. A select few of his poems, including "Trees", are published frequently in anthologies. "Trees" began appearing in anthologies shortly after Kilmer's 1918 death, the first inclusion being Louis Untermeyer's Modern American Poetry (1919). [8] :pp.26,40 [28] Journalist and author Mark Forsyth ranks the first two lines of "Trees" as 26th out of 50 lines in an assessment of the "most quoted lines of poetry" as measured by Google hits. [29] Popular appeal [ edit ]

Connor Allen

Brother Roberto, C.S.C., Death Beneath the Trees: A Story of Joyce Kilmer. (South Bend, Indiana: Dujarie Press-University of Notre Dame, 1967), 68. In the next lines, the speaker refers to the perennial plant as “her.” This is a direct connection to the larger symbol of “Mother Earth”, a presiding female presence on the planet, or more clearly, the planet itself, that is responsible for the growth and cultivation of life. She spends all day looking to God, and “lift[ing]” her “arms to pray.”

But it didn’t stop there. We borrowed books from the library and searched for kids’ poetry online. There is such great poetry available, that we never tired of reading and deciphering what the poet was writing about. a b Devlin, John C. "Kilmer Recalled as Oak is Felled; Kilmer's Tree (Or Was It?) Will Inspire No More" in The New York Times (September 19, 1963). A reader should also take note of the significant use of personification. Kilmer’s speaker refers to the tree as a woman, relating the plant to the larger figure of “Mother Earth”. He also imbues the tree with a number of human characteristics, including arms and hair.Writing COMMUNAL POEMS – teacher acts as scribe at the board – and the children are sharing ideas and creating poems as a community of writers; class can write to a set title or opening line/verse or poetic form or modelpoem Poets use figures of speech in their poems. Several types of figures of speech exist for them to choose from. Five common ones are simile, metaphor, personification, hypberbole, and understatement. A simile compares one thing to another by using the words like or as. Read Shakespeare’s poem “Sonnet 130.” What are the literary devices used in the poem Trees? Honing in on POETIC ELEMENTS – and doing exercises involving metaphor, simile, rhyme, rhythm, syllables, alliteration, assonance, onomatopia, point of view (unusual points of view – write in the voice of a tree, football etc), writing in the 1st/2nd/3rd personetc.