Literary notes about Tree (AI summary)
In literature, the word "tree" is a remarkably versatile symbol that can denote both the tangible and the transcendent. Sometimes, it is employed in a literal, descriptive sense—a maple tree producing sugar, detailed measurements of a cinnamon tree, or even a structure used as a resting spot or lookout [1, 2, 3]. In other instances, the tree acquires a symbolic significance, representing themes of life, temptation, and divine command; for example, the forbidden tree in a biblical context [4] or the withered fig tree urging the onset of summer [5, 6, 7]. It also functions as a setting within narratives where characters climb its branches for adventure or solace [8, 9], and it is evoked in poetic imagery to underline themes of growth, decay, and the passage of time [10, 11]. These varied usages underscore how the tree operates not only as a physical object in nature but also as a multi-layered metaphor that enriches the moral and emotional landscapes of literary works.
- He didn't make a great deal of maple sugar from that tree.
— from The Art of Public Speaking by Dale Carnegie and J. Berg Esenwein - The cinnamon tree grows to a height of three or four cubits, and as thick as the fingers of the hand.
— from The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 33, 1519-1522 by Antonio Pigafetta - After days of wandering, Juan climbs a tree, and sees in the distance a house.
— from Filipino Popular Tales - 6 If only you had not transgressed My commandment and had kept My law, and had not eaten of the fruit of the tree which I told you not to come near!
— from The First Book of Adam and Eve by Rutherford Hayes Platt - And immediately the fig tree withered away.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - And from the fig tree learn a parable: When the branch thereof is now tender and the leaves come forth, you know that summer is nigh.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - Who his own self bore our sins in his body upon the tree: that we, being dead to sins, should live to justice: by whose stripes you were healed.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - Then Rudy clung with his arms to the trunk of the nearest tree, while his uncle climbed above him, and held fast by the branches.
— from Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen by H. C. Andersen - The prince was lying half-dead in his ship, when it sank at last with a terrible shock into the branches of a large tree in the wood.
— from Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen by H. C. Andersen - "It is so little and so high above everything," she said, "that it is almost like a nest in a tree.
— from A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett - Now haply down yon gay green shaw, She wanders by yon spreading tree; How blest ye flowers that round her blaw, Ye catch the glances o' her e'e!
— from Poems and Songs of Robert Burns by Robert Burns
