Summary / Analysis
Joyce Kilmer uses personification to describe the beauty of a tree, which is affectionately referred to as “her”. The roots she describes as a mouth pressed to the earth; The branches like arms lifting up in prayer; Bird’s nests as a hair accessory; The leaves are her breast catching snow; and finally speaks of the personality of the tree, which loves the rain.
When reading this tree poem, you’re almost forced to imagine a woman AND a tree. There is just so much personification, imagery and comparison between the tree and a woman, that imagining both is inevitable. Joyce Kilmer really paints a beautiful tree here and finalizes the poem by contrasting the woman you have imagined and all that personification of the tree, with a little attachment of divinity, stating “only God can make a tree”. So, she spends all this time drawing comparisons to a woman, to herself, and then gives the tree a little extra divinity with the final verse. The contrast at the end, gives the tree a unique trait that solidifies its beauty to the reader.