I read “When I was one and twenty”, “Loveliest of Trees”, and” Is My Team Ploughing”. If I am to write as if these are written about the same man I will start with “If I was one and twenty” because he would be 21 when this poem was written. I will then move on to “Loveliest of Trees” because he is 70 in this poem. I will then end with “Is My Team Ploughing”, in this poem the man has died and is conversing with a friend in my opinion.
The poem “When I was one and twenty” is written about a young man who is learning a life lesson. He has been told by a “wise man” that he need not give his heart away at such a young age. He says to give away as many baubles as he chooses and have a good time but to keep his “fancy free”. The young man then says that basically he is young and that while he hears what the man is saying he does not listen to the advice he is given. I believe he gave his heart out of haste and is now regretting it and he is only 2 and 20.
“Loveliest of Trees” is next if we go in chronological order. The man in the story is now 70 and not sure if he will make it to 71. He is walking through the woodland seeing the cherry trees covered with their white blooms. This is in the spring and is around Easter time. He knows that he is not getting any younger but feels that even though he has had 50 years of enjoying the change of seasons it is still not enough. He will go out and enjoy every season he is given even if it means venturing out into the snow to enjoy his woodlands.
“Is My Team Ploughing”, would be the last poem to be written about this man. In this poem it is my opinion that he is talking to and being answered by a friend. At first he is questioning whether it is his team ploughing the earth he used to plow and is now buried beneath. He is answered that yes he is buried beneath his land. He then asks, “Are boys playing football by the river where I can stand no more?” He is answered that yes that is true too. Then he questions whether his girl is happy and does not cry for him anymore. He is answered yes she is contented so you need to be content as well that everything is alright. He then asks if his friend is alright and better off than he. His friend then answers that yes and he is comforting a sweetheart that I believe is his friend’s lady.
These three poems if they were written by the same man would be a happy existence for the most part. While life may not have worked out exactly as he had planned it would have been a good life to live. He was happy in his early twenties until he met a lady and then regretted his quick decision to commit himself to her. Then when he is 70 he looks back and realizes that no matter how many seasons he was blessed to see it was still not enough and he will always wish for more. Then after death he realizes that he had a good life and was happy with the way it turned out. The comparison of these poems as if they were the same person was difficult. This is my opinion on the three poems if they were written by the same man but I am sure it would change if I had to write based on each poem individually.
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