12/16/13

"A Girl"

The tree has entered my hands,
The sap has ascended my arms,
The tree has grown in my breast -
Downward,
The branches grow out of me, like arms.

Tree you are,
Moss you are,
You are violets with wind above them.
A child - so high - you are,
And all this is folly to the world.

-Ezra Pound

   The struggle of wanting to choose another Sylvia Plath poem, but knowing that I should expand my knowledge of poets and poems.  Even though I was hesitant, I decided to venture out a choose a poem by a poet that I have not heard of before.  I chose "A Girl" by Ezra Pound.  At first glance, this poem looks quite simple and is easy to read.  However, I believe there is a deeper meaning within this poem.
   The first stanza of the poem uses the pronoun "me."  It talks as if a tree is growing out of the girl.  I am assuming it is a girl because the title of the poem is "A Girl", but the speaker  could be a boy.  The reason I think that the speaker could also be a boy is because the second stanza uses the pronoun "you."  A boy could be talking about himself and then talking about a girl he sees, or the speaker could be a girl talking to a person or an individual.  Personally, I believe that the speaker is a girl talking about herself in the first stanza and is talking toward a specific individual in the second stanza.
  Trees usually represent life or growth.  The first stanza sets up the imagery of a tree entering this girl and then the tree begins to grow out of the girl.  The tree entered through the HANDS.  It did not enter through the head or the heart.  I think it is significant that the tree entered through the hands over any other part of the body.  Humans work with their hands, and the hands are one of the most sensitive areas of the body.  People touch other people with hands to show comfort or feeling.  The tree entered through the hands, so that it could be transferred to other people and grow in other people.  The tree spreads its roots and sap throughout the girls body.  It takes root in her "breast" and spreads out through her "like arms."   The girl is now full of life.  The tree could represent life and wisdom.  The girl has transformed into a tree herself.
   The second stanza focuses on the "you" pronoun. "Tree YOU are.  Moss YOU are."  It seems that the speaker in the first stanza has realized her own potential and wants to point it out to another individual.  The speaker in the first stanza realizes the life and wisdom growing within her, and she wants another individual to realize the beauty, life, and wisdom within his or herself.  The speaker says "A child."  So the girl speaking seems to be older and wiser and she is speaking to a child.  This girl has discovered the tree inside her and wants to enlighten the child to the tree inside his or herself.  "Folly" is defined as a lack of sense or foolishness.  The idea that a person could be a tree or could be colors in the wind (Pocahontas similarities) is foolish to the world.  Not everyone believes that a person could be a tree.  Most people in the world find this idea ridiculous.  This seems to relate to the idea of innocence versus enlightenment.  Those who are innocent do not believe that people can posses the life and wisdom of a tree and of nature.  However, a person who is enlightened knows that people can posses the wisdom of a tree and life of nature.  The girl in the poem is enlightened with the idea that a person can become full of life like nature is full of life.  She is trying to enlighten an innocent child with this idea and make him or her aware of his or her potential.