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Anaphora

Anaphora (ann-AF-oh-ruh) is a device that involves the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or lines. Kilmer uses this device in stanzas 2–4, each of which begins with the same words: “A tree.” Grammatically, this technique has the effect of extending and qualifying the opening couplet. This effect can be made clearer if we rewrite the lines in prose form:

     I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree—[that is,] a tree whose . . . ; a tree that . . . a tree that . . . 

This edited version clearly shows how the repetition of “a tree” serves to extend the opening sentence by explaining the different aspects of a tree that make it so much lovelier than a poem. In addition to this important grammatical function, the repetition of the phrase “a tree” at the beginning of these three stanzas also has a devotional effect. The speaker is clearly in awe of trees, and their compulsion to repeat the word “tree” reflects that awe and endows these stanzas with a subtle, prayer-like quality.

Assonance and Consonance

Assonance and consonance are sibling concepts, in that they both refer to the repetition of certain sounds in adjacent or nearby words. Assonance specifically refers to the repetition of vowel sounds, whereas consonance refers to the repetition of consonant sounds. Kilmer uses these techniques in quiet ways, bringing a subtly “poetic” quality to the otherwise simple language of his verse. For example, consider the gentle assonance at play in the opening couplet, where short A sounds appear several times:

     I think that I shall never see
     A poem lovely as a tree.

These A sounds don’t stand out in an obvious way. Even so, they give the language a softness that reflects the speaker’s meditative and reverential tone. Kilmer uses consonants to similar effect, as in the third stanza, where gentle L and R sounds predominate (lines 5–6):

     A tree that looks at God all day,
     And lifts her leafy arms to pray

Once again, the L and R sounds don’t draw a lot of attention to themselves. The only instances that might be immediately noticeable are the L sounds at the beginning of “lifts” and “leafy,” which creates a moment of alliteration. Other than that, the consonance on display in these lines remains subtle, quietly reflecting the speaker’s reverence.

Personification

By far the most important poetic device Kilmer employs in “Trees” is personification. This term refers to a particular use of figurative language in which a poet or speaker attributes human qualities to a nonhuman or an inanimate object. Personification features heavily throughout the poem. In fact, all four of the central couplets are devoted to describing trees in highly personified terms. For example, in lines 3–4 the speaker uses language that implicitly likens a tree to a human infant, nursing hungrily at the green breast of the earth:

     A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
     Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast

This personifying language persists throughout the next three couplets. In the next couplet, for instance, the speaker characterizes a tree as a pious woman who “lifts her leafy arms to pray” (line 6). Next, the speaker describes a tree as a woman dressed in summer clothing with “a nest of robins in her hair” (line 8). Finally, the speaker concludes with an image of a tree as a woman “upon whose bosom snow has lain” (line 9). Taken together, these examples of personification conjure an image of a tree that is distinctly human, and which subtly suggests that trees and humans are linked by virtue of being God’s creations.

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