James Bagnell
Mr. Dilworth
F Block
Joyce Kilmer
Joyce Kilmer was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey in 1886. Kilmer’s poetry was known for being about nature and expressing what he would see in the natural world. Also Kilmer would include his religious faith in his works. Kilmer attended Rutgers Preparatory School, due to his success he was given the first Lane Classical Prize. This prize gave Kilmer a free scholarship to Rutgers College and a prize of one hundred dollars. But due to troubles in mathematics he was not able to stay at Rutgers. Kilmer then decided to switch to Columbia College where he was quite successful. Kilmer did many things at Columbia he was an associate editor of Columbia Spectator, the campus newspaper journalist, and was a member of the Debating Union. Kilmer then proceed to complete his Bachelor of Arts degree and graduated from Columbia College May 23, 1908.
Kilmer met a lovely lady right out of college named Aline Murray also a poet as well. They had finally were married and Kilmer decided to go fight for his country in World War I. In the military Kilmer was known as a very religious man and served as an Intelligence Officer. Kilmer’s job was to collect valuable information on the front line, but on July 30th, 1918, Kilmer joined in battle of Ourcq and was killed by a sniper bullet.
On the other hand Kilmer had many more poems that are well known. The tragic thing is that most of them are unknown and the fact that he died at the age of 31 affected his career immensely. Most of Kilmer’s poems are about nature, love, and life. He brings out the beauty out of everyday life and he shows people the beauty of the natural world. Although Kilmers style of writings was not uncommon during this time, during the 1900’s it was considered the “Romantic Time Period.”
\
:
TREES
By: Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918)
Trees
By: Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918)
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
Works Cited
Poem Hunter. N.p., 2 Apr. 2015. Web. 2 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.poemhunter.com/joyce-kilmer/>.
Poetry Archive. N.p., 2 Apr. 2015. Web. 2 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.poetry-archive.com/k/trees.html>.
Poetry Foundation. N.p., 2 Apr. 2015. Web. 2 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/joyce-kilmer>.
Wikipedia. N.p., 2 Apr. 2015. Web. 2 Apr. 2015.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joyce_Kilmer#/media/File:Kilmer_1908_columbia_yearbook_picture.png>.
Youtube. N.p., 13 Oct. 2008. Web. 2 Apr. 2015.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwSdOP1C1qI#t=17>.
Analysis
ReplyDeleteThe poem “Trees” by Joyce Kilmer is a lovely written piece of work. In Kilmers first two lines “I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree,”(1-2) shows how Kilmer loved nature, this is an example of a metaphor. Kilmer is describing the difference between a poem and a tree and how trees are a piece of art. Also if you read through the poem you will notice that Kilmer references God in the poem “Trees.” This just shows how much Kilmer was a religious man. In “Trees” you will notice theses lines “A tree that looks at God all day, and lifts her leafy arms to pay.”(5-6) These lines are a reference to the volta. This is the main climax of Kilmer's poem “Trees.” Kilmer is showing how God allowed the tree to be beautiful and that the tree has meaning. On the other note “Trees” is about taking in nature and looking at true beauty all around us.”Trees” helps us to appreciate what we are given and the difference between ourselves and a higher power.