In "The Description of Cooke-ham," Aemilia Lanyer writes about the oak and its role in the landscape in some detail, first describing it as "stately." She then proceeds, with obvious hyperbole:

That oak that did in height his fellows pass,
As much as lofty trees, low growing grass,
Much like a comely cedar straight and tall,
Whose beauteous stature far exceeded all.

The similes here are striking in their strangeness. First, the oak is taller than the other trees, as tall trees are higher than grass. The oak is already a tall tree, but it is made to seem even loftier by comparing the other trees to something much lower. Second, the oak is like a cedar, though oaks do not, in fact, generally resemble cedars.

The result of these comparisons is to single the oak out as an unusual tree in both height and general appearance. Lanyer then says that the oak tree provides a "joyful" welcome to those who shelter from the sun beneath it, comparing the oak this time to a palm tree. This comparison is more natural, since palm trees, though they look even less like oaks than cedars do, grow in hot climates, and the reference to welcome may be a pun on the idea of an "open palm." The oak, therefore, adds beauty and shade to the landscape but also singular appearance, majestic height, and a welcoming aspect, which seems joyful. The poem makes extensive use of the pathetic fallacy, which is particularly marked when describing the oak.