Loveliest of Trees

LOVELIEST OF
TREESINTRODUCTION
In A Nutshell
Nowadays, we think of A.E. Housman as an incredibly important poet, but in his lifetime he was
better known as a famous Latin professor at Cambridge. In fact, he didn't speak publicly about
hispoetry until 1933, which was only 3 years before his death in 1936. This is largely because for
Housman poetry was a diversion, a hobby, something to do when not engaged in the more serious
work of classical scholarship. Even though he thought of himself as a scholar more than a poet,
Housman was indeed a fine poet. The guy wrote many, many famous poems ("To an Athlete Dying
Young" and "When I was One-and-Twenty," to name just two).
Those poems, along with "Loveliest of Trees," come from a volume Housman published in 1896
called A Shropshire Lad. Despite its title, the book isn't about a lad from Shropshire (a county in
western England), but about a bunch of lads who pass in and out of a place that is geographically
similar to Shropshire (rural, pretty, quiet). Apparently nobody liked the poems because Housman
had to fund its publication with his own money (harsh). He would have the last laugh, however, as
the book became wildly popular in the later 1890s (during the Second Boer War), and again around
World War I, largely because the book's obsession with the death of young men struck a chord with
a populace that experienced the death of so many young men during those two gruesome conflicts.
Good for Housman, we guess?
While "Loveliest of Trees" isn't really Housman's most tragic poem, it's still a poem about death. The
speaker talks about how the cherry tree is the loveliest of trees, but then realizes that he's 20 years
old and will only live another 50 years. Life is short, and this guy knows it. It's up to him to make the
most of the time he's got. It's up to him to "seize the day"carpe diem, as they say.
WHY SHOULD I CARE?

Let's just say your dad's a big baseball fan. He's got season tickets to the local team's home
gamessomething he inherited them from his dad, who inherited from his dad, and eventually you
too will inherit them. Now, every once in a while you attend a game with him, when you've got
nothing else going on, but for the most part baseball isn't your thing.
Now let's keep supposing: one day you get dragged to a game and something just hits you. You
won't be around forever to go to these games. Your dad will pass on one day and thenso will you.
In this new light, suddenly the game becomes one of the coolest things ever. The stands are
packed, everybody is pumped for the festivities, and it's like you're seeing the experience for the first
time. At that moment, you vow to go to as many ball games as you can with the time you have.
That's the modern day version of A.E. Housman's "Loveliest of Trees" to a T. Instead of a baseball
game, substitute cherry blossoms, and you have pretty much the same scenario. Okay, sure, maybe
comparing baseball to cherry trees is a bit like comparing apples to kiwis. But the point of our story,
and of "The Loveliest Trees," isn't the blossoms or the ballgames. The point is that you really should
try to experience, and appreciate, life as much as possible. Not to resort to clichs or anything, but
well, life is short. There's no point sitting around and not making the most of it.
The most common way to encourage somebody to make the most of it is to say carpe diem, a Latin
phrase that means "seize the day." "Seize the day" means, essentially, "get everything you can out
of today, because you may not be here tomorrow." Whether you're "seizing" a hotdog at the ballpark,
or taking a woodland stroll past the cherry blossoms, it's the same principle. Make the most of it,
folkswhile you can.
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LOVELIEST OF TREES: TEXTOF

THE POEM
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Loveliest of trees, the cherry now

Is hung with bloom along the bough,
And stands about the woodland ride
Wearing white for Eastertide.
Now, of my threescore years and ten,

Twenty will not come again,
And take from seventy springs a score,
It only leaves me fifty more.
And since to look at things in bloom

Fifty springs are little room,
About the woodlands I will go
To see the cherry hung with snow.
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LOVELIEST OF TREES
SUMMARY
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The cherry tree is the loveliest of trees, and it is now in bloom. The blossoms are white, and it appears as though the
tree is also celebrating the Easter season. The speaker is twenty years old, he will probably live to be about 70, so
that means he's only got about (carry the eleven) 50 years left. Sadly, this just isn't enough time to look at
everything he wants to see, so he vows to go about the "woodlands" and look at all the cherry trees "hung with
snow."
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STANZA 1 SUMMARY
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Get out the microscope, because were going through this

poem line-by-line.
Lines 1-2
Is hung with bloom along the bough,
Right off the bat, we're talking about yep, treesno surprise there as this is a poem called
"Loveliest of Trees."
In fact, the speaker begins by talking about the loveliest of trees. For him, that's a cherry
tree.
The speaker isn't describing just any old cherry tree, however, but one that is now blooming.
Note that he doesn't just say "the cherry tree is blooming," but rather that it is "hung with
bloom along the bough." This is a pretty little phrase, but 'tis a wee bit odd.
The image is this: a cherry tree that is blooming, only the speaker imagines the blooms
hanging along the branches ("bough") of the tree, almost as if they were ornaments on a
Christmas tree. (Check out an example of this right here.)
Now, A.E. Housman was a British poet, and in England (yes they do grow there) cherry trees
usually bloom in April and May.
Since we know this, and since we can reasonably assume that this poem takes place in
England, we can also surmise that our poem takes place late spring.
We generally think of springtime as a rebirth, a new beginning, the time when the cold,
death-like winter months give way to blooming flowers and warmer weather.
Let's read on to see if that time of year holds any significance for our speaker
Lines 3-4
Apparently we have to wait to learn more about just why the speaker is fixating on these
cherry trees because in the last two lines of the first stanza he's still describing them.
He's also being very alliterative, what with all the W words hanging out in this couplet.
(Check out "Sound Check" for more on the sounds in this poem.)
The word "ride" can refer both to a ride on horseback that the speaker is taking, or it can just
be a noun describing whatever path he is on. Either way, this cherry tree is "standing" along
the ride and "wearing white."
Obviously trees don't "wear" clothes the same way people do, so this is a textbook case
of personification.
Even though this is a springtime poem, the white blossoms remind us of the snow of winter,
but also of purity, cleanliness, innocencethat type of stuff.
Now, we've already determined when this poem is taking place, but the speaker gives us an
additional indication of the time of year with that word "Eastertide." If you've noticed that
"Eastertide" sounds a lot like "Easter time," then yeah, you've pretty much hit the nail on
the head.
"Eastertide" is a word used in the Christian calendar to describe the time that includes Easter
Sunday and the seven weeks right after it (leading up to Pentecost). (You can read a little
blurb about it right here if you like.)
So, not only do we now have a more specific description of the time of year, but also a
reference to Jesus Christ. In Christianity, Jesus is the son of God, who was crucified by the
Romans around 33 C.E. and rose from the dead on Easter Sunday.
The reference to Eastertide thus reiterates an idea of rebirth, but it also makes us think of
things like death and sacrifice.
Whewthere's definitely a whole lot going on in these lines, isn't there?
Just taking a quick look here, it appears this poem is written mostly in a pattern called
"iambic tetrameter."
Don't freak out at the terminology, though. You can read a little more about these over at
"Form and Meter."
You can also read more there about this poem's rhyme scheme, which so far seems pretty
simple: lines 1 and 2 rhyme, and so do lines 3 and 4.
Let's keep moving to see if that pattern holds
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STANZA 2 SUMMARY
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poem line-by-line.
Lines 5-6
Twenty will not come again,
Okay, after a stanza describing the tree itself, the speaker shifts to a more reflective mood
here.
As well, we get some math? In a poem? Argh. All these numbers here are a little
confusing, so let's take it piece by piece.
The speaker says that he has threescore years and ten, and twenty of them will never come
again. Pencils ready? Graphing calculators on? Green visors in place? Let's do this:
So, a "score" is just an old-fashioned way of saying 20. (You may be familiar with that idea
from this famous speech by Abraham Lincoln.)
This means that "threescore" is just three times 20, or 60. (We had to take our socks off
and get out the toes to calculate that one.)
Now, if you add "ten" to "threescore" (60), you get 70. Ta-da. So, the speaker is seventy
then?
Um, not exactlyand that's where the confusion comes in.
He's imagining that after, everything is said and done, he will reach the ripe old age of 70.
You could paraphrase it like this: "I will probably end up dying when I'm about 70."
So, he guesses that he will live to be seventy. He also knows that his current age ("twenty"
20 years old) will never come again.
We know, we know. This is a very roundabout or confusing way to say "I'll never be twenty
again," but it's late Victorianpoetry folks. And Victorians couldn't say very much of anything
without using roundabout phrasing.
Lines 7-8
Funmore math awaits us.

This time the speaker uses the same roundabout method to calculate how many years he
has left of life:
Assuming that the speaker will live to be 70, if he takes away the 20 years he's already lived,
that means he's only got 50 years left ("it only leaves me fifty more").
As in the two previous lines, the speaker again uses that word "score." Spring comes once a
year, so "seventy springs" is like saying seventy years.
Now, there'd be two ways to react to this realization. Way #1: "Woo-hoo! I've got 50 more of
springs to enjoy! I'm totally set." Way #2: "50?! That's it? I better hustle up and get living."
Let's read on to see which way our speaker goes
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STANZA 3 SUMMARY
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poem line-by-line.
Lines 9-12
To see the cherry hung with snow.
Apparently, 50 years (here phrased as "springs"an example of synechdoche) isn't enough

time to look at things in bloom. Our speaker's going glass half-empty on us here. There's just
enough "room" to squeeze in all the sightseeing he wants to do.
The thing is, however, the speaker isn't really talking about sightseeing. Sure, he says "look
at things in bloom," but this is just a metaphor for what we mentioned earlier: making the
most of things.
Since the speaker is committed to making the most of things, he will go about the woodlands
and look at the "cherry" trees (he doesn't say "trees," but this is what he means) "hung with
snow" (another metaphor for the trees' blooms).
This whole idea of making the most of things while we still have time left to do is often goes
by the two-word Latin phrase carpe diem, which is often translated as "seize the day."
The basic idea is, "Do the most you can, because you never know when you might day.
Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today, because tomorrow may never come."
(The phrase comes from a line in a poem by the really famous Latin poet Horace. Its most
recent, famous appearance probably came in the movie Dead Poets Society.)
Obviously, 50 years is a long time, and if the speaker has fifty years left, he really shouldn't
be worried about seizing the day, should he?
Wrong. This poem isn't about having enough time to do things, but making the most of
whatever time there is.
The speaker realizes that the number of things he would like to do in life cannot possibly all
be accomplished in just fifty years.
So he's headed out to the woodlands. This is his way of saying, "I'm to go out there, and
make the most of every day and live a full, eventful life."
We're pretty pumped up by this dedication, aren't you? Although, there is something nagging
us about the way this poem wraps up.
The "cherry hung with snow" is, as we said earlier, a metaphor for how the trees look when
they're covered in white blossoms. But why use the idea of snow when, here we are, smack
dab in the middle of spring?
It's as though, even in the midst of blossoming spring's rebirth and renewaland this
rededication to enjoying all life has to offerthe speaker can't shake the inevitability of
death. Snow is part of the picture. As Game of Throneswould put it: "Winter is coming." The
very thing that inspires our speaker to enjoy his life is the unshakable promise that it will end
in 50 years.
Inspiring? Depressing? Both at once? (We're gonna go with answer C.)
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WHITE
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Symbol Analysis
Okay, we've got snow and we've got some trees wearing the color white in celebration of the post-
Easter season ("Eastertide"). Now, there are only two lines in the poem that contain some reference
to the color white, but, in a poem that is only twelve lines long, that's like a ratio of one to six (hey,
we're getting the hang of this math stuff). In other words, that's significant. What's more, the color
white is actually doing double duty in this poem. It symbolizes the purity and beauty of spring (the
speaker is observing white cherry blossoms), but also the coldness and death of winter ("snow").
The whole point of this double duty is that life and death, winter and spring, youth and old age, are
inseparable from each other.
Line 4: In a very alliterative line, the speaker tells us that the cherry tree is "wearing white" in
celebration of the Easter season. Of course, trees can't actually "wear" anything, so this is an
example of personification that makes the tree seem more human (it sounds like a bunch of
other people are probably wearing white). We also can't help thinking that the white
"garments" the tree is wearing make it seem angelic and pure.
Line 12: In this line, the speaker is using snow as a metaphorto describe the color of the
blossoms. What's all that snow stand for? Coldness and deaththat's what. The speaker's
all-too-aware that time is ticking; he better appreciate the beauty of these trees while he can.
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SPRING
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Symbol Analysis
"Loveliest of Trees" is a poem about blooming cherry trees, and it is thus also a poem about
springtime. The reference to "Eastertide" leaves no doubt that this is a poem about the season
between winter and summer, and hence about the themes of death and rebirth. Springtime is when
all the death and coldness of winter give way to new shoots and warmer weather. The poem's
seasonal emphasis suggests that the speaker, too, is experiencing his own rebirth. In particular, he
has an eye-opening experience that gives him a new, fresh perspective on life.
Lines 1-2: The cherry tree is blooming, so it has to be late spring. The "bloom"
here symbolizes life and rebirth and suggests that perhaps the speaker is in the midst of his
own rebirthat least as far as his outlook on life goes.
Lines 3-4: The alliteration here really makes these lines stand out. The personified cherry
tree is wearing white in celebration of the post-Easter season. The word "Eastertide" makes
us think of Jesus and thus symbolizes both death and resurrection.
Line 7: "Spring" is here a synechdoche and stands in for the word "years." The speaker
describes the remaining years of his life in terms of "springs" in order to suggest that every
year should bring about a chance for newness and rebirth.
Lines 9-10: Here we are again with the synechdoche ("Fifty spring" = fifty years). The
speaker likely acts like 50 years is not enough time, though. This implies that the natural
beauty of the world is a vast, inexhaustible trove of beauties, but also serves to motivates
him (if he tells himself 50 years isn't enough time, he will be more proactive in making sure
he accomplishes as much as possible).
Lines 11-12: Earlier in the poem the cherry tree was "hung with bloom," but now it is "hung
with snow." This is very strange, and it sounds like the imagery of spring and winter are
mixing together. While snow can be a metaphorical way to describe the color of the cherry
blossoms, the word also suggests that winter (death) is never too far from spring (rebirth).
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NUMBERS
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Symbol Analysis
The entire second stanza of "Loveliest of Trees" reads like a math textbook, with the speaker
calculating how long he will live, how many years he has left, and trying to decide if that's enough
time to get everything in that he wants before he dies. While the speaker's little calculations can get
a little confusing, they suggest that the speaker is just now realizing that he will eventually dielife is
short. All these numbers symbolize the more analytic side of the speaker's brain, and they balance
out his more poetic obsession with springtime, trees, and natural beauty.
Line 5: The speaker looks into the future and estimates that he will live to be about 70
("threescore years and ten"). This is his first analytical calculation of the poem. After the
gushing of the first stanza, this line reads like a little reality check.
Line 6: The speaker's reality check continues. He realizes that he's 20 years old, and the
past 20 years are dead and gone, never to return.
Lines 7-8: Once more, the speaker reminds himself that he will live about 70 years, and
since he's already been alive for 20, he's only got about 50 years left. (That checks out with
our math.) The calculations he performs here suggest that he wants to make sure he knows
exactly how much time he has left.
Lines 9-10: We're not sure if the speaker is being sarcastic here, but it is just a tad absurd to
say that 50 years is "little room" to look at things in bloom. He's probably exaggerating a little
bit in order to motivate himself. If he thinks 50 years is not enough to see everything he
wants to see, then maybe he will be a little proactive when it comes to getting out there and
living life to the fullest.
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ANALYSIS: FORM AND METER

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Iambic Tetrameter
"Loveliest of Trees" is mostly written in a rhythmic pattern known as "iambic tetrameter." Say what
who-meter? Here's what that means: Each line of iambic tetrameter contains 4 (tetra- means 4)
beats called iambs. The iamb is the most famous type of beat in English poetry, and it consists of an
unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable (daDUM), as you can see in line 8:
While iambic tetrameter is the most common type of meter in this poem, there are a number of lines
that break the mold, so to speak, such as line 4:
For starters, there are an odd number of syllables in this line, which is rather odd (forgive us).
Second, the first three beats contain a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable (these
are called trochees). The trochees in line 4 make the line stand out from the rhythm of the preceding
three, and also bring out thealliteration with all those W words here. That emphasis makes sure we
remember that it's just after Easter.
This rhythmic shake-up is there for another reason, too. "Loveliest of Trees" is a poem about
change. The speaker keeps reminding us that it is the spring time, but that the spring won't last
forever (hence the branches "hung with snow"). The shifting meter of the poem, then, mirrors the
poem's themes of seasonal change (both in life, and in nature).
The poem's rhyme scheme is part of the same process. The poem is comprised of three quatrains,
each of which in turn is comprised of two rhyming couplets. The regular rhyme scheme of AABB
where each letter represents that line's end rhymeis like clockwork: it stays exactly the same, with
no changes, for the entire poem. The regularity of the rhyme scheme balances the see-saw effect of
the meter, and suggests that seasonal change (winter-spring-summer-fall, youth-old age-death) is a
fact of life, one that is as regular as clockwork.
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ANALYSIS: SPEAKER
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"Loveliest of Trees" first appeared in a book called A Shropshire Lad (1896). This is because it was
full of poems about a whole bunch of Shropshire lads, including the speaker of "Loveliest of Trees."
So he's a Shropshire ladbully for him. What does that mean? It means he's a fellow
from Shropshire, a county in western England that is right along England's border with Wales. We
tell you a little more about Shropshire over in our "Setting" section, but for now we're gonna cover
the lad part.
Now, a "lad" is just a young guy. We usually tend to think of lads as a bit younger than our 20-year
old speaker. However, when compared to, say, a 70-year-old, the speaker is definitely still a lad.
Okay, so he's a young guy, he's got a horse, and he has the luxury of taking nice rides out in the
open where there are lots of cherry trees. This may mean that, financially, he's doing okay (no daily
grind in some factory for him).
And not only is the speaker a young guy, he's a young guy on the cusp of adulthood. All the
spring imagery in this poem (Eastertide, blooming trees, etc.) suggests that the speaker is in the
spring of his lifeabout to step out into the world as an adult. He knows this, but he also realizes
something that most lads his age don't: that he won't be young forever. You could almost say that
he's a young guy who has just had an eye-opening experience, a wake-up-call telling him that life is
short and he better get busy living. That realization gives him a pretty rare and mature perspective,
one that most folks don't come to until their much closer to 70 than 20.
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ANALYSIS: SETTING
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Where It All Goes Down

We've said it before, and we're going to keep saying it. "Loveliest of Trees" was first published in
1896 a book called A Shropshire Lad. Most of the poems (including "Loveliest of Trees") in the book
evoke the relatively rural environs of Shropshire, which is a county in western England along
England's border with Wales, as you can see here.
Even in the late nineteenth century (when Housman wrote "Loveliest of Trees"), Shropshire was still
a pretty rural placelots of open country, no cities as big and dirty and metropolitan as London. It
was the kind of place where you could definitely take a ride on your horse and look at a bunch of
cherry trees, like the speaker of the poem does.
While the poem conjures up this quiet, peaceful world, you could also say that it paints a picture that
we'll just call the setting of life. The blooming cherry trees of the first and last stanzas indicate that it
is late spring (probably sometime in April).
For his part, our speaker is still in the "spring" of his lifehe's only 20 and has a lot of living yet to
do. Despite his young age, however, the speaker is also looking towards his "winter": old age and
death. For him, it is virtually impossible to even think about spring withoutalso thinking about winter.
All those references to the color white, and, of course, to snow, make it very clear that winter is as
much on the speaker's mind as spring.
The seasonal imagery of the poem, then, is matched by the speaker's own reflections on youth and
old age. In other words, even though this poem is about a cherry tree in Shropshire, it's really about
more than that. That cherry tree in Shropshire is actually a metaphor for the "woodlands" of life.
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ANALYSIS: SOUND CHECK

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If you were to read this poem out loud (go ahead and try it right now, Shmooperswe'll wait right
here), you would hear a lot of pleasing sounds. Not only is the speaker describing a beautiful scene
among these trees, but the sounds created by his word choices just add to the beauty.
For example, check out all the alliteration going on in these lines. We have B words in line 2 ("bloom
along the bough"), W's in lines 3-4 ("woodland ride / Wearing white"), and S's in line 7 ("seventy
springs a score"). Now, in a poem of only 12 lines, that's a whole lot of words joined by their starting
sounds. So, what gives? The pleasant effect of having these words joined togetherthe way they
roll off the tongue in connected fashionsubtly underscores the beauty of the scene that the
speaker's describing.
But he's not done there. Check out the assonance in places like line 1: "Loveliest of trees, the cherry
now." All the long E's in that line create a pleasing echo in the mind's ear (if you can picture that).
The same goes for all those long I sounds in lines 3 and 4 ("ride," "white," "Eastertide") and the long
E's in lines 7 and 8 ("seventy," "leaves me fifty").
Just like those pretty cherry trees, the sounds of this poem are, well, pretty. We get chimes and
chains that show how our speaker is not just finding beauty in what he sees. He makes sure to add
beauty to the telling as well.
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ANALYSIS: WHAT'S UP WITH

THE TITLE?
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Technically speaking, Housman originally labeled "Loveliest of Trees" with a "II." It was, after all, the
second poem in a volume called A Shropshire Lad (1896). A lot of times when a poem becomes
popular, but doesn't have an actual title, people just use the first words of the poem as the title.
We're gonna go ahead and roll with that.
Now, when you see a title like "Loveliest of Trees," you can assume one of two things: that it's about
a particular tree that the speaker thinks is just the best ever (like that one in my backyard), or it's
about a specific species (such as the cherry tree) that he feels the same way about. Once we start
digging into the poem, it's clear that the speaker is not talking about one specific tree, but a whole
species: the cherry tree.
We've looked at some pictures of blossoming cherry trees, likethese, and we have to agree that
it is one of the loveliest of trees. This isn't just a poem about how pretty cherry trees are however, or
rather, that's not the only the thing the speaker means by "loveliest."
The cherry tree is the "loveliest of trees" because it is that type of tree that has made the speaker
realize that the world is full of many beautiful thingsmany, many "blooms." The cherry tree is so
beautiful, and it makes the speaker think about all the beautiful things in the world, and all the things
he wants to do before he dies (he doesn't say this directly, but this is what he means).
At the same time, the tree's blossoms also remind him of snow, of the winter to come and of his own
eventual death. Since his time is limited, he decides that he better get with it and start enjoying life
and the beauty it has to offer. In two ways, then, the cherry tree is the loveliestnot just for their
physical beauty but also because it causes our speaker's stunning realization and renewed
commitment to life.
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ANALYSIS: CALLING CARD

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Young Men and Death

Housman's book A Shropshire Lad is obsessed with death, and in particular with the death of young
people before their time. It's kind of strange because Housman didn't really have any reason for
going on and on about this theme. He wasn't like Tennyson, whosebest friend died tragically at sea
at a very young age.
Even though the speaker of "Loveliest of Trees" doesn't die, he is a young man (20 years old) with
death on his mind. That definitely counts. "To an Athlete Dying Young", one of Housman's most
famous poems, is another example. In that poem, Housman describes a young lad who "will not
swell the rout / Of lads that wore their honors out" (17-18). "Is My Team Ploughing" is a conversation
between two friends (one of whom is dead), and a number of his other poems are about young
soldiers going off to war ("Wake: the Silver Dusk Returning," "Leave Your Home Behind, Lad"),
where death is a very real possibility.
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ANALYSIS: TOUGH-O-METER
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(2) Sea Level

Like many of the poems in A Shropshire Lad, "Loveliest of Trees" is written in a very plain, simple
style. Some early readers actually thought it was a little too simple. It's true that there are no weird,
strange words floating around, and the sentence structure is nice and neat. The only little point of
confusion occurs in the second stanza, where the speaker starts going and on about how many
"scores" are left in his life. But, with the help of a simple calculator, the rest should be a smooth ride
the rest of the way.
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ANALYSIS: TRIVIA
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Brain Snacks: Tasty Tidbits of Knowledge

A.E. Housman could be really moody, especially when talking about other scholars, as you can see:
"Knowledge is good, method is good, but one thing beyond all others is necessary; and that is to
have a head, not a pumpkin, on your shoulders, and brains, not pudding, in your head." (Source.)
Well lookee here, there were definitely some famous people that came out of Shropshire, including
the man, the myth, the legend, old Charles Darwin. (Source.)
Funny, Housman wrote a whole book of poems that deal with Shropshire, and yet he wasn't even
from there, and hardly spent any time there. He once commented: "I was born in Worcestershire, not
Shropshire, where I have never spent much time." (Source.)
It doesn't seem like Housman was a very happy man. He was apparently convinced that he would
never find love, and was very reclusive in his later years. (Source.)
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ANALYSIS: STEAMINESS
RATING
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Exactly how steamy is this poem?
G
We regret to inform you folks that there is no sex in this poem. The fact of the matter is, there's
nothing sexy, or sexual, about a dude looking at a cherry tree and talking about how beautiful it is.
This is a poem about a guy who has just had a stunning realization, and to shift the conversation in
that other, dirtier direction just wouldn't be proper. Maybe next time.
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ANALYSIS: ALLUSIONS
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When poets refer to other great works, people, and

events, its usually not accidental. Put on your super-
sleuth hat and figure out why.
Literary and Philosophical References:
Horace, Odes I.11 (throughout)
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LOVELIEST OF TREES THEME
OF TIME
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Time is everywhere in this poemfrom the first stanza's references to blooming cherry trees and
Eastertide, to the second stanza's discussion of youth and old age, to the speaker's comments in the
final stanza about how he just doesn't have enough time to do everything he wants. "Loveliest of
Trees" is obsessed with defining the time of year (late spring) but also with the passage of time and
the changes it brings (winter becomes spring, youth passes into old age). Although time passes, and
things change, this isn't good or bad. It just is.
Questions About Time

1. Why is the speaker so obsessed with time?
2. What is the effect of all the numbers in this poem?
3. Why does the speaker insist on getting all mathematical in the second stanza? Why can't he
just say he's 20 and only has 50 years left?
4. Is the speaker ridiculous for acting like 50 years isn't enough time to do everything he wants
to do? Why or why not?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devils advocate.
Time waits for nobody. Yep, that's the best way to sum up "Loveliest of Trees."
Even though 70 years seems like a long time, it's actually not nearly enough time to do and see
everything life has to offer. Bummer.
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OF DEATH
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Okay so even though this is a poem about blooming cherry trees, youth, springtime, and all that, it's
just as much a poem aboutdunDUNDUNdeath. It's impossible to think about spring without also
thinking about how winter has just ended, and winter is a time of death. Furthermore, the speaker
realizes that while he is only 20 years old, he will not live forever, and that eventually he will die.
"Loveliest of Trees" is a poem about how life is short, and about how death is the only guaranteed
thing in life. Even though he is well aware of death, the speaker knows that he has about 50 years
left to do all kinds of living.
Questions About Death

1. Even though this is a poem about death, does it still seem hopeful? Why or why not?
2. How would you describe the speaker's attitude towards death?
3. Do all the references to spring and rebirth suggest that the speaker believes in life after
death? Why or why not?
Chew on This
Even though death is a certainty, in a weird way that's what make life is worth living. Life is short,
and that is why the speaker vows to see as many trees as he can.
It is impossible to separate life and death. The references to Easter remind us of Jesus' death and
resurrection, whereas the cherry blossoms even in spring are described as "hung with snow."
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OF MAN AND THE NATURAL
WORLD
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It's hard not to think of the speaker of "Loveliest of Trees" as one of those guys on the Discovery
Channel, showing you all the cool things the natural world has to offer. The first stanza is pretty
much a description of a cherry tree, and the last stanza contains the speaker's vow to go around the
woodlands and check out as many cherry trees as he can. Now, even though looking at cherry trees
is a metaphor for making the most out of life, the speaker also does believe that those trees are the
"loveliest" there is, worth experiencing in all of their glory.
Questions About Man and the Natural World

1. Why cherry trees, really? Is it because cherries are the best fruit in existence (mmm)?
2. What do you make of the word "woodland"? It shows up twice. What effect does it have?
3. Why is the speaker's discussion of his age sandwiched between two stanzas about cherry
trees?
Chew on This
The natural world is so beautiful that we really should spend as much time as we can observing its
beauties as we can, just like the speaker of "Loveliest of Trees" vows to do.
While the speaker may be exaggerating a bit when he says that 50 years isn't enough time to do all
the exploring he wants, his point is clear: the natural world is a rich, inexhaustible source of beauty
and delight.
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LOVELIEST OF TREES TIME

QUOTES
See more famous quotes from poetry
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1
2
How we cite our quotes: (Line)

Quote #1

Is hung with bloom along the bough, (1-2)
The key word here is "bloom," because it tells what time of year it is (late spring). The blooming
cherry symbolizes life and rebirth. Even though the clock is always ticking, there's always time for
new beginnings.
Time
Quote #2

Wearing white for Eastertide. (3-4)
"Eastertide" is a word that describes the roughly two-month period right after Easter. Like "bloom"
earlier, this word also tells us that it is spring time. It also tells us that this is a time of rebirth because
the reference to Easter makes us think of Jesus, and his death and resurrection.
Time
Quote #3

Twenty will not come again, (5-6)
Time is always passing, and the speaker thinks of his life in terms of how much time has already
gone by, or gone bye-bye. Instead of saying "I'm 20," he basically says, "I'll never get those 20 years
back." Hmm, seems kind of like the glass is half-empty doesn't it?
Time
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ow we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #4

It only leaves me fifty more. (7-8)
The speaker can do math, that's for sure. Here, we see him calculating how much time he has left,
based on how long he has lived. The passage of time is on his mind, and it's almost like he's
checking all his facts to remind himself that he doesn't have forever to enjoy what's out there.
Time
Quote #5

To see the cherry hung with snow. (9-12)
Time is our master, and there's no getting around that fact. "Fifty springs" aren't enough to get
everything done, the speaker says, so he plans on cheating time the best he can. Well, he's not
really cheating time, but he's definitely gonna make that 50 years worth it.
Time
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LOVELIEST OF TREES DEATH

QUOTES
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1
2

Quote #1

Even though "Eastertide" makes us think of spring, rebirth, and all that good stuff, it also makes us
think of Jesus' death and resurrection. The poem's first stanza, then, tells us right away that this
poem is as much about rebirth as it is about death.
Death
Quote #2

Twenty will not come again, (5-6)
The speaker is still alive, and he's still young, but part of him has already died. He may live to be 70,
but the first twenty years of his life are dead and gone, never to return.
Death
Quote #3

It only leaves me fifty more. (7-8)
The speaker is fixated on death. He's already talked about how the first 20 years of his life are dead
and gone, and now he's defining the rest of his life in terms of when it will end (in 50 years).
Death
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we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #4

To see the cherry hung with snow. (9-12)
Snow is pretty and all, but it makes us think of winter, cold temperatures, and death. We're not sure
if the speaker is talking about white cherry blossoms here, or actual snow, but that's part of the point.
Rebirth and life (the blossoms) and death (snow) are very closely intertwined.
Death
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LOVELIEST OF TREES MAN AND

THE NATURAL WORLD QUOTES
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1
2

Quote #1

Is hung with bloom along the bough (1-2)
Even though it's mostly a poem about making the most out of life, the opening lines make it seem
like a poem about cherry trees. The first words"Loveliest of trees"and the description that follows
make us think that it just as well have been called "Ode to a Cherry Tree."
Man and the Natural World
Quote #2

There's something almost human about the natural world. The personification makes us think of the
cherry tree as a person dressing for the season. How cute.
Quote #3

Fifty springs are little room, (9-10)
Okay, 50 years is plenty of time, but that's not really the point. Nature is incredible. It is so rich and
varied that you literally spend your entire life just looking at it.
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we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #4

To see the cherry hung with snow (11-12)
Is the speaker going to look at white cherry blossoms, or to confront death ("snow" symbolizes
winter, and hence death)? He wants both to look at beautiful, white blossoms, but also to observe
death in the natural world (maybe so he can better accept his own).
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LOVELIEST OF TREES
QUESTIONS
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Bring on the tough stuff - theres not just one right answer.
1. Why do you think the speaker describes a cherry tree? Why not a different tree?
2. If you were going to rewrite this poem, what would you use in place of the cherry tree
(assuming you had to pick something else)?
3. Is the speaker a little young to be thinking so far ahead into the future? Why or why not?
4. What effect does the regular, simple rhyme have on your reading of the poem?
5. Ultimately, do you find this poem uplifting or depressing? What parts of the poem support
your answer?
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Loveliest of Trees

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