I am exploring Yeats's incarnation of the chestnut in "Among School Children." Yeats becomes dark and nostalgic when he is among the children because he realizes that he has aged considerably, and in this poem he seeks wisdom, for an answer, in a chestnut tree. I think the tree signifies strength, beauty and resilience. I would like to show how the symbolism of trees is significant and perhaps show that the tree is intimately important to Yeats, showing that the tree signifies unrequited love. I would like to focus on Yeats's positive use of the chestnut tree because according to my sources, trees are timeless icons. I'm also intrigued by the fact that the poet asks the tree a question. “O chestnut tree, flower with great roots/Are you the leaf, the flower or the trunk?” (61-62). Reading the poem many times helps me understand that Yeats actually asks a second question. “O body swayed to the music, O bright gaze / How can we distinguish the dancer from the dance?” (63-64). Is it possible that these questions are actually asked of a person symbolized by the tree? I think the “chestnut” is revered and admired by the poet. I have a mental image of a solid, secure, rooted tree with generous foliage and lovely flowers. I appreciate that Yeats deals directly with the tree and that his direct questions give the tree personification. Yeats honors the tree by asking for input so he can better understand the tree (or perhaps his life). While one could argue that the chestnut tree is a literal reference, I think Yeats is referring to Maude Gonne. Gonne had reddish and fiery hair, which in modern times is referred to as "ginger", but the time in which Yeats wrote this poem, perhaps... in the middle of the paper... theories of Charles Darwin and gives a long significant quote for my proposal. I'll include it here because it's so well explained by Darwin that rephrasing it would be ridiculous. In the Origin, he says: "As buds, as they grow, give rise to new shoots, and these, if vigorous, branch out and overhang many weaker branches on all sides, so by generation I believe it was with the great Tree of Life, filling with its dead and broken branches the crust of the earth, and covering its surface with its ever branching and beautiful branches.” The document goes on to state many ideas, including the mention of an “apostolic tree” that intrigues me , and mentions a connection between people who are some sort of “tree-like plant, mixed with a supernatural being.” I think these are incredible thoughts and I will take them up again after completing this assignment.