An Analysis of Alfred Lord Tennyson’s The Oak

The journey of a human life includes growth and development as they continue to
age. Just like an oak tree that started young and bright, a person acquires knowledge and
develop themselves as they grow older, and soon they face the inevitable for according
to Tony Stark (2019), “Part of the journey is the end.”

Tennyson’s poem, “The Oak,” is composed of three stanzas with five lines each.
In every stanza, the rhyme is only limited to the second and fifth lines – ‘Young and old’
‘Living gold’, ‘Then; and then’ ‘Gold again’, ‘Fall’n at length’ ‘Naked strengt’, it has a
ABCDB rhythmic pattern. Its rhythm is also a collection of three syllables per line, for
example, “Live thy life, Young and old, Life yon oak, Bright in spring, Living Gold.”
Ohtobefreeblog (2017) stated that an example of syncope is present in the second line of
the third stanza – Fall’n. A syllable was removed from the world fallen in order for it to still
comply with the three syllable per line. The overall physical look of the poem on the page
looked like the shape of a tree because of the zigzag pattern on each end which is
fascinating, considering that it resembles its subject, the oak tree. The poem is also
composed of factors that can be counted up to three – three stanzas, three syllables per
line, and the word oak which is comprised of three letters. It can be related to the life of a
human being that is also composed of three stages: birth, growth, and death.

The persona that was used in the poem was of an elderly person, for the poem
started with the line “Live thy life” which seemed like an instruction and advice of an elderly
to the young. Symbolisms were present in the poem and one of it was the oak tree itself,
for it symbolizes strength and wisdom (Analla, 2012), something a person can obtain and
develop as they age, just like an elderly with a lot of experiences in life. Another
symbolism is the seasons mentioned althroughout the poem. The first stanza is about the
oak tree in the season of spring while the second stanza was in summer and autumn.
According to Clugston (2010), spring is the symbol of “birth and new beginnings” just like
the first stanza that talk about the start of a person’s life. On the otherhand, summer
symbolizes “maturity” and autumn is the symbol for “aging,” and in the second stanza, it
is showed that as a person age, he or she becomes more mature. There are four seasons
but only tree were mentioned in the poem, excluding the winter season. However, by
carefully reading the poem, it can be noticed that winter started with the line: “Naked
strength,” the last line of the third stanza, for this season symbolizes “death, sleep, and
stagnation” (Clugston, 2010), the end of a person’s life where he or she loses all strength,
just like how the line “Naked strength” indicates the end of the poem.

The poem “The Oak” by Alfred Lord Tennyson showed the resemblance of the
seasonal and life cycle of an oak tree to the life journey of a human being. Through his
creative way of using symbolisms, the author was able to create a poem with a deep
meaning for what he did was not being direct to the point but instead clues to what the
message of the poem is all about for the readers to analyze.

References:

Analla, A. (2012). The Oak by Alfred Lord Tennyson. Retrieved January 19, 2020 from
http://anallaamanda.blogspot.com/2012/01/oak-alfred-lord-tennyso.html?m=1.
Mercado, M.C. (2019). Purposive communication: Connecting to the world. Malabon City.
Mutya Publishing House.
Ohtobefreeblog. (2019). The Oak - Alfred Lord Tennyson. Retrieved January 19, 2020
from https://ohtobefreeblog.wordpress.com/2016/11/15/the-oak-alfred-lord-
tennyson-2/amp/#referrer=https://www.google.com