About the Poet: Maya Angelou Biography, Life and Literary Contributions
“When Great Trees Fall” is written by Maya Angelou. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A., Maya Angelou as a writer and civil activist, is best known for her 1969 memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. It made a literary history by being the first non-fiction best seller by an African American woman.
When Great Trees Fall Poem Summary and Central Idea
When Great Trees Fall is a poem of five stanzas of uneven sets of lines. The poem compels us to think that do we really forget the great souls who have left the world? The people who die do leave us. Life comes back to normalcy but those who leave us cannot be forgotten forever.
On the crumbling down of the great trees, the rocks on the distant hills suddenly shakes very hard. Lions hunker down in tall grasses and even elephants, who are one of the largest beasts, look for safety.
When great trees fall in forest, then small things takes to silence. Their senses are eroded by fear.
Even in the air, one can feel the loss. The air circling us start to feel “light, rare, sterile”. The normal functioning of the life gets stunted due to the absence of the great soul. We don’t like to look deeply into the matter. When one is contemplating, then one can clearly remember the kind words which were never said to the person now dead and the promised walks which were never taken.
People do die and the reality connected with them take leave with them. We were so accustomed to them living by our side that suddenly we are not able to function normally. Our minds which were once enlightened by their words, cannot think straight. After losing the valuable people, we don’t get mad about the ignorance with which we are now left with.
After the deep void created by the dead people, peace do refills those spaces but irregularly this time. Everything comes back to normalcy but the senses don’t remain the same. At the back of the mind, a same memory repeats itself which is “they existed, they existed”. What we need to do is that we get better and better. We need to follow their footsteps.
When Great Trees Fall Line by Line Explanation and Stanza Wise Analysis
Stanza 1
When great trees fall,
When great trees fall, the impact is so large that
rocks on distant hills shudder,
Rocks on the distant hills shudder
lions hunker down
Lions become confused and they start searching for safe place
in tall grasses,
In tall grasses
and even elephants
And even elephants they sought
lumber after safety.
Places of safety
Stanza 2
When great trees fall
When great trees fall
in forests,
in forests
small things recoil into silence,
small things turns to silence
their senses
their senses freezes
eroded beyond fear.
They become fearful
Stanza 3
When great souls die,
When great people die
the air around us becomes
The air around us become
light, rare, sterile.
Light, rare and sterile
We breathe, briefly.
We face problems in breathing
Our eyes, briefly,
see with
a hurtful clarity.
We also face problems in visibility
Our memory, suddenly sharpened,
examines,
gnaws on kind words
unsaid,
promised walks
never taken.
We rethink about the past where kind words should have been said and promised walks should have been taken.
Stanza 4
Great souls die and
When great souls leave us
our reality, bound to
them, takes leave of us.
The reality beholding our existence seems also to leave us.
Our souls,
dependent upon their
nurture,
now shrink, wizened.
We were dependent on them for our nurture but now we tend to shrink and we shrivel under the burden of being left alone.
Our minds, formed
and informed by their
radiance,fall away.
They play a very important role in our grooming
We are not so much maddened
as reduced to the unutterable ignorance
of dark, cold
caves.
We don’t fear madness but the utter darkness and coldness that will engross us
Stanza 5
And when great souls die,
When great souls die
after a period of peace blooms
tries to leave the human race
The period of blossoms also begins
slowly and always
irregularly. Spaces fill
They become less peaceful and more irregular
with a kind of
soothing electric vibration.
The spaces are filled with soothing electric vibration
Our senses, restored, never
to be the same, whisper to us.
After a period of sorrow, our senses never become same again and it whispers slowly to us
They existed. They existed.
That they existed and they existed
We can be. Be and be
better. For they existed.
What we can do in the absence of such great figure is to become more and more better.
Theme of Losing Valuable People in Life
When Great Trees Fall is a poem that renders the importance of losing important people in life from whom once we used to get nourishment. These people are compared to that of the trees. When such a trees falls in the forest, then naturally it is going to produce a great sound and will terrify the other animals. The poet has compared the death of these important people to that of the falling of the trees. Their sudden death creates a huge chaos in the life of those who are still living. So their life loses the important support. Their brain cannot think straight. They lose the strength of leading their lives normally.
Still, life waits for none. It goes on with its own pace. But the void created by the loss cannot be erased. It still remains there. Slowly and steadily, the life restores the normalcy but nothing remains the same like the before. The poet points out the fact that we become so much accustomed to those people who are now dead, that we never used to think once that how my life will go on if these people leave me one such day. But what can be done to pacify the loss. We can be inspired from their teachings and go on living as per their thoughts. We must think of becoming better and better.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on When Great Trees Fall
1. Who is the poet of When Great Trees Fall?
Maya Angelou is the poet of When Great Trees Fall.
2. What is the summary of When Great Trees Fall?
The poem describes the deep sorrow and emptiness caused by the death of great people and explains how their memories inspire us to become better.
3. What is the central theme of When Great Trees Fall?
The central theme is the loss of great souls, the grief experienced by those left behind, and the healing power of their memories.
4. What does the falling of great trees symbolize in the poem?
The falling of great trees symbolizes the death of great people whose absence deeply affects the lives of others.
5. How many stanzas are there in When Great Trees Fall?
The poem consists of five stanzas.
6. What message does Maya Angelou convey through When Great Trees Fall?
The poem conveys that although the death of great people leaves a lasting void, their memories and teachings inspire us to live better lives.
Conclusion: Key Takeaways from When Great Trees Fall
When Great Trees Fall by Maya Angelou is a moving poem about grief, loss, and remembrance. It highlights the profound impact of great people on our lives and reminds us that their memories and teachings can inspire us to become better individuals.