The Sugar Plum Tree
By Eugene Field
Have you ever heard of the Sugar-Plum Tree?
‘Tis a marvel of great renown!
It blooms on the shore of the Lollypop sea
In the garden of Shut-Eye Town;
The fruit that it bears is so wondrously sweet
(As those who have tasted it say)
That good little children have only to eat
Of that fruit to be happy next day.When you’ve got to the tree, you would have a hard time
To capture the fruit which I sing;
The tree is so tall that no person could climb
To the boughs where the sugar-plums swing!
But up in that tree sits a chocolate cat,
And a gingerbread dog prowls below –
And this is the way you contrive to get at
Those sugar-plums tempting you so:You say but the word to that gingerbread dog
And he barks with such terrible zest
That the chocolate cat is at once all agog,
As her swelling proportions attest.
And the chocolate cat goes cavorting around
From this leafy limb unto that,
And the sugar-plums tumble, of course, to the ground –
Hurrah for that chocolate cat!There are marshmallows, gumdrops, and peppermint canes,
With stripings of scarlet or gold,
And you carry away of the treasure that rains,
As much as your apron can hold!
So come, little child, cuddle closer to me
In your dainty white nightcap and gown,
And I’ll rock you away to that Sugar-Plum Tree
In the garden of Shut-Eye Town.
Summary of The Sugar Plum Tree
- Popularity of “The Sugar Plum Tree”: Eugene Field composed the poem “The Sugar Plum Tree” in 1894 and published it that year but it first appeared in a book in 1915 titled The Sugar Plum Tree and Other Verses. The poem celebrates the world of children presenting a plum tree, where and how it grows, and the details of its fruit. The rhythm and rhyme scheme matches the main idea of the fantasy world the poem presents. It also shows that only children could have imagined such a beautiful world. The popularity of the poem among children has won global fame for the poet.
- “The Sugar Plum Tree” As a Representative of Entertainment for Children: The poet presents a speaker who puts a rhetorical question about the sugar plum tree, saying that this well-known marvelous tree grows on the shore of the lollypop sea and in the shut-eye town. It bears the wonderful fruits of a chocolate cat and a gingerbread dog on its boughs, away from the reach of the children. However, the interesting point comes when a person speaks, and the gingerbread dog makes such a terrible noise that the cat goes agog, feeling terrified. The rain of the fruits such as marshmallows, gumdrops, and peppermint canes starts falling down when the speaker intervenes to ask the child that comes close to him to get rocked by him to reach close to that tree. This is similar to the grandmothers or grandparents who put the children to sleep by narrating such fantastic poems.
- Major Themes in “The Sugar Plum Tree”: Entertainment of the children, the fantasy world, and the pleasures of children to get exotic fruits are three major thematic strands of the poem. Although the poem seems to present a fantasy world, it mainly intends to entertain the children so that they can lose themselves in this world. This happens when a fantasy world, such as of a plum tree growing on the bank of a lollypop sea and in the orchard of a shut-eye town with its exotic fruit comprising a chocolate cat and gingerbread dog, exists. This world proves highly entertaining that causes the children to think about them and demand the fruits when the speaker puts the children to sleep by cuddling them though it is not an explicit idea. Also, the poem has an element of entertainment for children so that they can be lulled to sleep soon.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in The Sugar Plum Tree
Eugene Field’s use of literary devices to enhance the intended impact of his poem seems quite effective. Some of the major literary devices used in this poem show it as given below.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /a/ and /o/ in “When you’ve got to the tree, you would have a hard time” and the sound of /o/ in “And a gingerbread dog prowls below.”
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession, such as the sound of /l/ in “leafy limb” or /c/ in “cuddle closer.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /m/ in “There are marshmallows, gumdrops, and peppermint canes” and the sound of /s/ in “The fruit that it bears is so wondrously sweet.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Eugene Field used imagery in this poem, such as “The fruit that it bears is so wondrously sweet”, “But up in that tree sits a chocolate cat” and “And a gingerbread dog prowls below.”
- Rhetorical Question: It is a type of question that does not intend to elicit answers but to stress the main idea. The poem shows the use of a rhetorical question in the very first verse, such as “Have you ever heard of the Sugar-Plum Tree?”
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols, such as the sugar-plum tree, the lollypop sea, or the shut-eye town to show the existence of a fantasy world.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in The Sugar Plum Tree
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: It means the type of language. The poem shows formal, poetic, and imaginative diction.
- End Rhyme: End rhyme is used to make the stanza melodious. Eugene Field has used end rhyme in this poem, such as tree/sea, renown/town and sweet/eat.
- Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows the ABABCDCD rhyme scheme in all the stanzas throughout the poem.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are four stanzas in this poem, with each comprising eight verses, also known as an octave.
- Tone: It means the voice of the text. The poem shows an entertaining, fantastic, and imaginative tone.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote when making children go to sleep or do something good.
And you carry away of the treasure that rains,
As much as your apron can hold!
So come, little child, cuddle closer to me
In your dainty white nightcap and gown,
And I’ll rock you away to that Sugar-Plum Tree
In the garden of Shut-Eye Town.
