Bearded Oaks (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Robert Penn Warren
- First Published: 1942
- Type of Work: Lyric
- Genres: Poetry, Lyric poetry
- Subjects: Love or romance, South or Southerners, Hope, Fear, Storms, Sea or seafaring life, Trees, Life and death, Oak, Eternity
The Poem
The title “Bearded Oaks” calls to mind the image of moss-draped stands of trees in the American South. As with many short lyric poems, Robert Penn Warren’s poem uses its title to identify the object with which the poet’s meditation begins and around which his meaning develops. As objects of immediate perception, the oaks serve as a focal element in the complex of imagery and metaphor that Warren develops. As icons of the idealized past specific to the South, the oaks of the title anticipate the poem’s general concern with loss and the claims of history.
...[The entire page is 1653 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
See Also
