Rachel Darrah, Justin Mays, Gokul Muru, Adam Manguiat, Tanner Csendes.
Thesis:
Mary Oliver’s “The Black Walnut Tree” addresses the theme of keeping tradition over forcing change, its complexity being shown through its use of tone, structure, and sound which contribute to the overall idea of tribulation.
The Black Walnut Tree
My mother and I debate:
we could sell
the black walnut tree
to the lumberman,
and pay off the mortgage.....
Likely some storm anyway
will churn down its dark boughs,
smashing the house. We talk
slowly, two women trying
in a difficult time to be wise.
Roots in the cellar drains,
I say, and she replies
that the leaves are getting heavier
every year, and the fruit
harder to gather away.
But something brighter than money
moves in our blood–an edge
sharp and quick as a trowel
that wants us to dig and sow.
My mother and I debate:
we could sell
the black walnut tree
So we talk, but we don't do
anything. That night I dream
of my fathers out of Bohemia
filling the blue fields
of fresh and generous Ohio
with leaves and vines and orchards.
What my mother and I both know
is that we'd crawl with shame
in the emptiness we'd made
in our own and our fathers' backyard.
So the black walnut tree
swings through another year
of sun and leaping winds,
of leaves and bounding fruit,
and, month after month, the whip-
crack of the mortgage.
Determine the Impression to be conveyed:
The impression that we would like to convey in this poem is the idea of a resolute and repeating sadness. Removing the black walnut tree possesses to be a toilsome task for the mother and her daughter. The tree is a representation of the father’s work and effort; furthermore, it serves as a symbol which defines the father himself. Cutting down the tree would truly devastate the mother and daughter causing them to crawl in “shame.” But on the other hand, cutting down the tree could help them pay their mortgage. Since the poem talks about the emotional consequences, as a group we decided to focus on a tone of sadness. Diction such as “shame,” “whipcrack,” and “harder” help to create the intended effect of the burdens the family faces. Along with the vocabulary, the poem carries a very short syntax that does not completely paint a picture of a hope. The one sided dimension of the poem only allows for hopelessness to be represented. Hence, as a group we decided to depict a tone of sadness that shows the debate that the mother and daughter keep repeating and eventually resolve through exasperation. They aren’t totally content to keep the tree, but they are more concerned with the symbolic nature of the tree than they are with their own burdens.
Costume Decision Paragraph:
As a group, we are using two main props within our reenactment of the poem “The Black Walnut Tree.” One prop is going to be a black shirt while the other is an envelope. Since the family faces an arduous decision of deciding between keeping the tree or paying the mortgage, the two items serve a proper representation of the poem as a whole. We decided for the tree to be represented by a person, since the poem describes its humanistic presence such as “swinging through another year of sun and leaping winds.” This supports the idea of the tree being close to a human-like character. The reason for the black shirt on the tree is mainly to depict the turmoils the family is facing. Since the tree is also the representation of the father, we feel as if it should also take part in the family’s sorrows. Black helps to represent this confliction because it is an obscure and mysterious color. Meanwhile, the envelope carries a very un-lively presence; therefore, as a group we decided to opt for a normal envelope. Without any voice or action, it creates a sense of menace. The menacing presence is backed up in the poem when it conveys it as“ the whipcrack of the mortgage.” The envelope is symbolic of the imposing threat that the mortgage brings, and this father adds to the conflicted sadness of the poem as a whole. Hence, we decided to use a black shirt and an envelope to bring in the broad picture of the poem.
Presentation Paragraph:
While going through the poem, our group decided to make several changes in order for the presentation to allow the poem to better depict the tone that was conveyed - sad yet resolved. We completely omitted a few lines from the original poem, highlighted in red above, that we felt were unnecessary to our overall understanding of the tone and mood. For example, the line, “to the lumberman” does not add any additional background information to understand what is going on, nor does it convey any emotions to go with the rest of the poem, causing for it to be deleted. In addition, we added a repetition of lines 1-3 after the “dig and sow.” This addition was mainly used to represent a possible reconsideration of cutting down the tree. However, the family decides not to as stated in the next line “the fathers I dream out of Bohemia.” This particular dream prevents them from cutting down the black walnut tree. Overall, the resigned sadness is emphasized by the repetition of the first three lines which hold the main message of the poem. We also chose to keep the last few lines untouched because these lines outline the hardships that the family will face even though they could always forget about their family’s roots and sell the tree. These final lines show that although the debate may be ongoing, ultimately the tree will stay because of its sentimental value and symbolism of the family’s roots.
Rhyme
1. There is no particular rhyme scheme that can be detected within the poem. However, the poem carries many assonances and consonances to create the rhyme scheme effect. There may have been a lack of rhyming in the poem in order to show that the poem is not totally unified. Rhyming is used to unify a poem in its meaning and structure. This poem was designed to show the conflicted nature of the family surrounding the tree; therefore, outright rhyming may have been avoided to emphasize the exchanged between the characters.
2. The poem follows an internal rhyme scheme as most of the lines carry two sounds mostly in the middle of the word that can connect with each other. This internal rhyme pattern in used to unite each independent idea or point that is brought up in the back and forth dialogue between the mother and the daughter.
Meter
1. The second half of the poem, we believe is prone to contain iambic pentameters within the poem. This adds to the listening flow of the poem.
2. When reading the poem with stressed syllables, there is a sort of mixed tone. In the beginning of the poem, the parameter carries a sense of melancholy and dispassion. However, when reading the the section in which the tree remains for another year seems to carry a sense of hope.
Form
1. This poem is following the structure of a free verse, which is a traditional form for poets. The use of free verse here helps to create an easy, open poem that is not too structured nor is it too abstract. The free verse style also shows that the debate isn’t a strict and angry quarrel between family members; instead the free verse allows for the sad but resolved nature of the poem to be conveyed.
Poetic Syntax
1. Examples of Enjambment in poem:
“We could sell the black walnut tree to the lumberman.”
“What my mother and I both know is that we’d crawl with shame.”
“Likely some storm anyway will churn its dark boughs.”
These particular enjambments introduce the first line with a poetic form and then proceeds with its sense of casual diction.
2. Example of Caseura:
“My mother and I debate.”
“And I pay off the mortgage.”
The caseura uses words such as “mortgage” in order to form a sort of connection with the audience that causes for the feeling of despair to penetrate. It is effective because the idea of a mortgage is well known amongst the same type of reader that would understand that family tradition can surpass changing times.
Sound:
1. The poem does not very much utilize meters and rhymes. However, it contains syntax that helps to bring the tension and intensity of removing the tree. The syntax is built of many long sentences with commas. These sentences are less direct that short sentences that end with a period, and as a result their effect is a more casual and sad tone instead of an angry or desperate tone.
2. The poem utilizes many assonance techniques in order to create the rhyme in between the poem. This allows for the tension to be created toward the end of the peom. However, the assonance is used in a variety of places without any significant patterns. One example of assonance is from lines 27-28 which uses “shame” and “made” which both employ the sound of the vowel a saying its own name.
3. The sound of intensity is able to connect with the poem through attaching with the sentiment that the family carries toward the tree.
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