Old Elm Tree on the Banks of the Duero River: A Detailed Analysis
Metric Analysis
This poem consists of thirty verses of major and minor art, being eleven and seven syllables (hendecasyllables and heptasyllables), seemingly without following any specific rules. However, it is a silva, a classical verse model characterized by a combination of 7- and 11-syllable lines with a free rhyme scheme, even allowing for unrhymed verses. In this poem, the rhyme is consonant, at least until the twenty-fourth verse, which is a single, unrhymed verse.
Rhyme is chained at least in verses 13 and 14, 15 and 16, and 21 and 22, where it is embraced. There is overlap between lines 5 and 6, 16 and 17, 24 and 25, and 28 and 29.
Subject Matter
A sensitive and poignant description of an old elm tree, from which life emerges thanks to spring.
Plot Summary
Due to his love for the land of Castile, the author finds in it a subject for poetry. In this poem, he focuses on the description of an elm tree, a species abundant in the region, located on the banks of the Duero River. He creates a landscape image in the reader’s mind, conveying the feeling inspired by the dying tree, which is old and will be destroyed, both by climate and by man. However, he also brings a glimmer of hope due to the emergence of new leaves.
Structure
This poem is divided into three parts:
- The first part extends to the fourteenth verse, providing an overview of the tree’s state, its situation, and its environment. It also mentions the emergence of new leaves with the arrival of spring, comparing it with other species, such as poplars.
- The second part occupies most of the rest of the poem, except for the last three verses. The poet expresses his desire to leave a written record of the appearance of those wonderful leaves amidst so much death and decay, having described all that can happen to a tree in that state.
- The last three verses form the third part. They no longer speak of the elm itself but express a desire for hope.
Analysis of Form and Content
Antonio Machado, a serious, shy, and solitary man, whose main concerns were meditating, walking, reading, attending gatherings, and writing, likely composed this poem during one of his walks through the Castilian landscape, one of the main themes of his poetry. In this case, his writings are directed at a tree, specifically an elm tree (a species abundant in Spain), which he portrays with simplicity, details, and reflections that resemble the reality of human existence. In the work to which this poem belongs, the author reflects on the great themes of human existence, haunted by the passage of time and death, perhaps because of the death of his wife, Eleanor.
Therefore, when commenting on this poem, one can find, beneath the mere appearance of a poetic description of a tree in his beloved Castile, a second meaning. It is possible to compare a human life, or rather, any human’s life, with its initial exuberance of youth, maturity, and subsequent deterioration over the years. But the poem not only revolves around the idea of the aging of things or people. Precisely, the poet focuses, amidst the ruin of the elm, on a small hope of rebirth of life in the form of new green leaves with the arrival of spring, just as when we die, others take our place in humanity.