Now that you have read the poem in detail, we can begin to ask what the poem might mean. Here are two suggestions. Can you think of others?
Does the poem present a conflict between man and nature? Compare it with A Tiger in the Zoo. Is the poet suggesting that plants and trees, used for 'interior decoration' in cities while forests are cut down, are 'imprisoned', and need to 'break out'?
Yes, the poem highlights a conflict between man and nature. Humans have confined trees inside their houses for interior decoration, keeping them away from their natural habitat, the forest.
This mirrors the theme in A Tiger in the Zoo, where the majestic animal is imprisoned in a cage, far from its natural jungle. Both the tiger and the trees are victims of human domination, stripped of their freedom.
The poet strongly suggests that nature needs to break out of this artificial confinement. The trees work all night to disengage themselves from the veranda floor and strain toward the glass, determined to return to the empty forest where they truly belong.
On the other hand, Adrienne Rich has been known to use trees as a metaphor for human beings; this is a recurrent image in her poetry. What new meanings emerge from the poem if you take its trees to be symbolic of this particular meaning?
If the trees are seen as a metaphor for human beings, the poem takes on a deeper meaning of oppression and liberation. The confined trees represent humans trapped by restrictive societal norms or patriarchal structures.
The leaves and twigs straining toward the glass symbolize the human struggle for freedom and identity. The trees stumbling forward into the night represent the breaking out of marginalized individuals from oppressive environments, reclaiming their rightful space and voice.
Explanation
The question asks for an analysis of the poem's meaning from two perspectives: man vs nature and trees as a metaphor for humans. Part (i) requires comparing the poem with 'A Tiger in the Zoo' to highlight the theme of confinement and the urge to break free. Part (ii) asks to interpret the trees as a metaphor for human beings, reflecting Adrienne Rich's feminist and radical views, where the breaking out of trees symbolizes human liberation from oppressive structures.