Lines Left upon a Seat in a Yew-Tree
Which Stands near the Lake of Esthwaite,
on a Desolate Part of the Shore,
yet Commanding a Beautiful Prospect
During our last class discussion the title of Wordsworth piece was brought into question in terms of the meaning of “Lines left upon a Seat in a Yew-Tree”. More specifically what exactly Wordsworth meant by the word upon. In the following I will attempt to answer this question. It seems to me he is using the word metaphorically in parallel to the man’s life, the speaker is unraveling, being imprinted upon the tree. Wordsworth wrote of the tree being planted and raised and seemed to parallel this to the man in his youth being “pure in his heart”. Later in life his spirit was broken which seems to be parallel to the tree growing wild with bent branches. In the title Wordsworth explains the area around the tree as desolate, the yew-tree as lonely in the first line, and then explains the man in the poem soul as being “sustained in solitude”. The man’s life is referred to as an unfruitful life and the branches of the trees are referred to as barren which seem to be in parallel to one another. The speaker stated that the man died and this seat in the yew-tree was his only monument. Being that the lines of the poem tell the story of the man’s life and parallels are made between the man and the tree, metaphorically these lines are left upon the tree as was the imprint of the man’s life.
Which Stands near the Lake of Esthwaite,
on a Desolate Part of the Shore,
yet Commanding a Beautiful Prospect
During our last class discussion the title of Wordsworth piece was brought into question in terms of the meaning of “Lines left upon a Seat in a Yew-Tree”. More specifically what exactly Wordsworth meant by the word upon. In the following I will attempt to answer this question. It seems to me he is using the word metaphorically in parallel to the man’s life, the speaker is unraveling, being imprinted upon the tree. Wordsworth wrote of the tree being planted and raised and seemed to parallel this to the man in his youth being “pure in his heart”. Later in life his spirit was broken which seems to be parallel to the tree growing wild with bent branches. In the title Wordsworth explains the area around the tree as desolate, the yew-tree as lonely in the first line, and then explains the man in the poem soul as being “sustained in solitude”. The man’s life is referred to as an unfruitful life and the branches of the trees are referred to as barren which seem to be in parallel to one another. The speaker stated that the man died and this seat in the yew-tree was his only monument. Being that the lines of the poem tell the story of the man’s life and parallels are made between the man and the tree, metaphorically these lines are left upon the tree as was the imprint of the man’s life.
I find persuasive the idea that the man's life is represented allegorically in the life of the tree, though at times you might have explained this more directly.
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