Fact-checked by Grok 2 weeks ago

Talking tree

A talking tree is a motif in mythology, folklore, and literature representing a sapient tree endowed with the ability to speak, typically to humans, and often serving as an oracle, advisor, or harbinger of fate. These entities appear across diverse cultures, blending vegetal and human characteristics to challenge anthropocentric views of communication and intelligence. In ancient Greek tradition, the sacred oak grove at Dodona was renowned for its prophetic utterances, where the rustling of leaves and the striking of bronze vessels by winds were interpreted as the voice of Zeus, as detailed by Herodotus in his Histories. Similarly, Homer references the Dodona oaks in the Iliad as speaking trees that provide divine counsel. Prominent examples include the Trees of the Sun and Moon encountered by in Persian and Indian lore, as recounted in the , where the trees—one speaking by day as male and the other by night as female—prophesy his death and warn of treachery. In Dante Alighieri's , the souls of suicides are transformed into gnarled trees in of the Suicides, uttering words through bleeding branches when broken, symbolizing the consequences of self-destruction. Eastern traditions feature analogous figures, such as the useless oak in Zhuangzi's fables that critiques human utility, or Buddhist accounts of trees weeping or speaking miraculously when used for sacred statues. Philosophically, talking trees raise ethical questions about vegetal and the imposition of human on non-human forms, as explored in modern plant philosophy, which advocates recognizing subtle plant signals—like leaf rustles—over anthropomorphic translations. In contemporary and fantasy, such as J.R.R. Tolkien's Ents in , they embody ancient guardianship of nature, echoing these timeless motifs.

Mythology and Folklore

Greco-Roman Traditions

In ancient Greek tradition, the Oracle of Dodona in featured sacred oak trees of that communicated prophecies through the rustling of their leaves stirred by the wind, interpreted by priestesses known as peleiades. , in his Histories (c. 440 BCE), describes how these sounds, along with the tinkling of bronze vessels suspended nearby, conveyed divine messages, with the priestesses—barefoot and sleeping on the ground—deciphering 's will for inquiring mortals. This oracle, one of the oldest in , emphasized trees as direct conduits for godly speech, predating more famous sites like . Roman literature adapted these motifs, portraying trees as vessels for spectral or divine warnings. In Virgil's Aeneid (19 BCE), Book 3 depicts Aeneas in Thrace uprooting myrtle trees that bleed and speak, revealing the voice of Polydorus, the murdered son of Priam, who cautions the hero against lingering in the treacherous land stained by his betrayal. This episode transforms the tree into a medium for the unrested dead, echoing Greek oracular traditions while serving Virgil's theme of fateful journeys and pietas. Ovid's (8 ) further explores arboreal communication in Book 8, where a sacred oak dedicated to utters words from its core as it is felled, with the inhabiting revealing her identity and bidding farewell to the desecrator Erysichthon, thus exposing the tree's divine protection and foretelling his doom. In the adjacent tale of Philemon and Baucis, the elderly couple's rewarded leads to their simultaneous into an and tree, intertwining eternally as symbols of mutual devotion, though the trees themselves remain silent sentinels of the gods' favor. These narratives highlight trees as transformative and revelatory elements in Ovid's mythic tapestry. Central to Greco-Roman lore are the hamadryads, nymphs bound inseparably to individual trees, whose lives mirrored the health of their arboreal hosts. The term derives from hama ("together with") and drys ("oak" or "tree"), signifying their fused existence, as detailed in ancient accounts where harming a hamadryad's tree equated to harming the nymph herself. Culturally, they represented the sanctity of woodlands, often depicted as vocal guardians who could speak to deter intruders or mourn their tree's destruction, reinforcing taboos against and the reverence for nature's interconnected spirits.

Celtic and Northern European Lore

In Celtic and Northern European lore, talking trees often manifest as sacred guardians intertwined with the natural and supernatural worlds, particularly in Irish traditions where hawthorn trees, known as "fairy trees," were believed to serve as portals to the Otherworld and sources of whispered warnings. These solitary hawthorns, frequently found near ancient forts or raths, were said to communicate through voices or omens to deter humans from disturbance, as disturbing them could invite fairy retribution or misfortune. For instance, in 19th-century collections of oral folklore, a healer named Biddy Early cautioned a man against cutting a white thorn bush visible from her window, emphasizing its sacred status and the peril of such an act. Similarly, accounts describe supernatural voices emanating from beneath fairy forts—circular enclosures often ringed by such trees—issuing direct admonitions, such as one warning laborers beating sticks on the ground near a forth: "Is it to break down the house you want?" Another tale recounts a man felling a thorn bush who heard a loud voice addressing his wife, signaling the tree's protective spirit. These narratives, preserved in Lady Gregory's 1920 compilation of western Irish beliefs, underscore the hawthorn's role in guiding seekers or revealing hidden knowledge, such as paths to treasures, while enforcing taboos against harm. In Northern European traditions, particularly , the cosmic ash tree embodies a whispering of fate, its branches extending across the nine worlds and conveying omens through the , the three fate-weaving sisters who dwell at its base. Described in the 13th-century , is an ever-green ash nourished by the Well of Urd, where the — (past), (present), and (future)—carve on its trunk to allot destinies to gods and mortals, their pronouncements interpreted as subtle whispers or signs from the tree's limbs. This structure positions not merely as a physical entity but as a communicative , trembling with prophetic dew that falls as omens in the dales below, influencing sagas where natural portents from sacred groves foreshadow or heroic trials. The tree's vitality, maintained by the to prevent decay from beasts like the squirrel who relays messages along its bark, highlights its role as a wise, enduring voice in the . Scottish and Welsh variants extend this motif through sacred oaks, revered as embodiments of druidic wisdom and advisors to heroes in medieval tales. In the Welsh , compiled in the 12th–14th centuries from earlier oral sources, oaks feature prominently in magical narratives, such as in the Fourth Branch where the sorcerer locates the transformed perched as an in a towering , using incantations to coax him down and restore his heroic path—implying the tree's silent counsel in and renewal. Scottish echoes this with lone oaks near ancient sites, believed to murmur guidance during quests or emit creaking sounds as ancestral warnings, rooted in practices that venerated oaks as Dagda's symbols of strength and . avoidance was paramount: cutting such trees without offerings invited curses, like wasting diseases or crop failures, as documented in traditions where axes were laid aside on sacred groves to honor their protective spirits. Common motifs across these lores portray talking trees activating during solstices, when the veil between worlds thins, or as for environmental , reinforcing ecological . At or solstices, elder trees—sacred to the or —were said to speak in human tongues, the pure-hearted but cursing despoilers with ill if felled without . In Irish and Scottish tales, harming a guardian tree provoked spectral voices demanding reparation, such as replanting or offerings, to avert broader calamities like , embodying a against in pre-industrial societies. These elements distinguish insular European narratives by emphasizing trees as localized, protective entities rather than distant oracles.

Non-Western Examples

In Islamic legend, the Waqwaq tree is depicted as a supernatural entity growing on a mythical island in the Indian Ocean, where its fruit resemble human heads—often those of women—that speak, laugh, and call out "waq waq" to travelers. This motif appears in medieval Arabic geographical and fantastical texts, including compilations from the 9th to 14th centuries that influenced the stories in One Thousand and One Nights, portraying the tree as a harbinger of wonder and peril for seafarers like Sinbad. In Hindu and Buddhist traditions, sacred trees such as the Bodhi () under which Siddhartha Gautama attained symbolize profound wisdom, with folklore extending this to narratives where trees communicate divine insights. Post-enlightenment accounts in the , a collection of stories dating to the 3rd century BCE, feature talking trees or tree spirits that recite moral lessons and guidance. These elements underscore the tree's role as a conduit for and ethical teaching in early Buddhist literature. African folklore, particularly among the of , attributes spiritual agency to the baobab tree (), believed to house ancestral spirits that interact with humans to offer protection or warnings. These oral traditions, emphasizing the tree's role as a guardian of sacred knowledge and a portal to the spirit world, were compiled and adapted in Tutuola's 1952 novel , which draws directly from Yoruba myths to depict encounters with entities amid journeys. The baobab's hollow trunk is often invoked as a site for such spiritual interactions, reinforcing its cultural significance as a living archive of communal wisdom. Among Native American traditions, the regard the cedar tree () as a vessel for ancestral spirits that provide protection, as detailed in 19th-century ethnographies documenting creation stories where the tree's essence symbolizes eternal ancestral presence during rituals or times of need. In these narratives, the cedar's wood is carried as a protective , embodying the spirits of the ancestors to counsel on and survival, a belief rooted in the tree's resilience. This motif highlights the cedar's integral place in Cherokee cosmology as a mediator between the physical and spiritual realms.

Literature and Storytelling

Early and Classic Works

In Dante Alighieri's (completed around 1320), the Wood of the Suicides in Canto XIII depicts the souls of those who committed transformed into gnarled trees and bushes, which groan in pain and speak their tragic confessions when branches are torn by the harpies that torment them. This portrayal symbolizes the eternal punishment for rejecting one's body, with the trees' voices serving as a haunting for remorse and the loss of human agency, as exemplified by the soul of Pier delle Vigne, who laments his unjust fate through the broken branches. Hans Christian Andersen's "The ," published in 1868, features a tree nymph or inhabiting a tree uprooted from the French countryside and transplanted to for the 1867 World Exposition, where she speaks poetically of the encroaching that threatens natural harmony. Through the 's voice, Andersen critiques modernity's disruption of rural innocence, as the spirit laments the loss of her home while experiencing the fleeting glamour of city life before fading away. Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (1871) includes a reference to an tree in its concluding poem "A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky," where the "slender would not shake" amid a nostalgic evocation of 's childhood adventures, though no direct recitation by the tree occurs; earlier, in the Garden of Live Flowers, anthropomorphic plants converse with Alice in a whimsical, symbolic exchange that echoes themes of perception and identity in nature. This integration of arboreal imagery underscores Carroll's exploration of dreamlike logic and the blurring of human and natural voices. In L. Frank Baum's (1900), Dorothy and her companions encounter talking apple trees in a along the yellow brick road. When Dorothy reaches for fruit, the trees scold her, saying, "How now! Are you hungry? Why did you not call for it sooner?" and pelt them with apples in anger, blending humor with the motif of sentient nature that warns or interacts with human intruders. This episode highlights themes of unexpected agency in the natural world within classic . In Henry David Thoreau's (1854), a cornerstone of American , trees and the natural world are personified with implied speech to convey philosophical insights on simplicity and , as in descriptions where the forest seems to whisper lessons of resilience and interconnectedness without literal dialogue. Thoreau's essays portray nature as a communicative teacher, aligning with transcendentalist ideals of divine unity in the environment, where elements like pines and oaks embody moral and spiritual guidance for the observer.

Modern Fantasy and Children's Literature

In J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955), the Ents represent one of the most iconic depictions of talking trees in modern fantasy, portrayed as ancient, sentient shepherds of the forest who embody a profound, almost mournful connection to the natural world. Led by the patriarchal figure Treebeard, the oldest Ent, these tree-like beings deliberate at a glacial pace, reflecting their long lifespans and deep-rooted aversion to haste, as seen in their assembly at Isengard where they debate the fate of Middle-earth. Treebeard's speech, marked by rumbling tones and exhaustive descriptions of landscapes, underscores their role as guardians against haste and destruction, culminating in the Ents' huorn-aided assault on Saruman's industrialized fortress, which symbolizes resistance to environmental despoliation. Their unique language, Entish, is described as ancient and cumbersome, incorporating the names of all living things and requiring hours or days to convey simple ideas, highlighting themes of ecological patience and loss in an age of rapid change. C.S. Lewis's series, especially (1955), integrates walking trees into the foundational act of , where Aslan's song awakens Narnia with the command, "Narnia, Narnia, awake. Love. Think. Speak. Be walking trees. Be talking beasts. Be divine waters," infusing the landscape with sentient life and . This establishes the trees as active participants in Narnia's ethical and prophetic , capable of and alliance with human characters, as evidenced by Lucy's calls to awaken the spirits in Prince Caspian (1951), where she invokes the dryads and hamadryads associated with the trees. Central to this motif is the silver apple tree planted from the retrieved by Digory, which grows to protect Narnia from evil influences like the , its enduring presence foretelling a future of safeguarding and eventual apocalyptic fulfillment in (1956), where its felling signals the world's end. In , Shel Silverstein's (1964) anthropomorphizes a tree as a speaking companion to a boy, evolving from playful provider of shade and fruit to a selfless stump offering rest in old age, thereby illustrating profound lessons on and personal sacrifice. The tree's voiced pleas and joys, such as "I am sorry, but I have no more to give you," contrast its initial vitality with eventual depletion, prompting readers to reflect on relational imbalances and the costs of giving without reciprocity. This narrative has influenced generations of young readers by framing the tree's agency as a moral exemplar, though interpretations vary on whether it promotes healthy or exploitative dynamics. Modern works often weave talking trees into broader environmental themes, as in Diana Wynne Jones's Hexwood (1989), where the titular wood expands into a reality-warping influenced by the ancient Bannus artifact, enabling telepathic echoes of voices and identities that blur human and natural boundaries. Characters like Ann experience intrusive mental communications from within the woods, revealing the forest as a living repository of simulated histories and ecological interconnectedness, where trees and undergrowth actively shape perceptions and resist external control. This setup critiques technological overreach while affirming nature's communicative resilience, aligning with Jones's recurring motif of empowered landscapes in fantasy.

Popular Culture and Media

Film and Television Adaptations

In Peter Jackson's film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy (2001–2003), the Ents—ancient tree-like shepherds of the forest—are depicted as towering, sentient beings using advanced techniques developed by Weta Digital, including modeling, animation in , and rendering in RenderMan to achieve realistic movements and textures. These creatures engage in voiced dialogue, with , the eldest , portrayed vocally by actor , whose performance was processed through to evoke a resonant, wooden . The Ents' march on in (2002) highlights their role as deliberate, wrathful guardians, blending practical for close-up interactions with full digital animation for crowd scenes. Disney's animated film (1995) features Grandmother Willow, a sentient tree voiced by , who serves as a wise spiritual advisor to the titular character, offering guidance on love, destiny, and harmony with nature through philosophical dialogues. In key scenes, she interprets omens like glowing fireflies as signs of change and mediates between Pocahontas and the English settler , emphasizing themes of interconnectedness with the environment. This portrayal draws from Native American folklore-inspired elements to present the tree as a maternal, omniscient figure whose "face" emerges from the bark, interacting playfully with wildlife while dispensing timeless wisdom. Television adaptations have explored talking trees through episodic narratives, often tying them to speculative ecologies or realms. In the animated series (2005–2008), the Foggy Swamp episode introduces spirit-infused trees within a vast banyan-grove , where the interconnected enable manifestations of visions revealing past losses or future connections to the protagonists. These trees "communicate" non-verbally by projecting illusions—such as Katara envisioning her deceased mother or glimpsing his future earthbending teacher Toph—underscoring the swamp's role as a nexus blending physical and ethereal planes. Horror interpretations invert the benevolent trope, as seen in M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening (2008), where , including trees, collectively release airborne neurotoxins that disrupt human survival instincts, prompting mass suicides as a defensive response to environmental threats. This implies a form of silent, coordinated "speech" among the , theorized in the film by a character as an evolutionary adaptation against perceived and . The narrative builds tension through escalating encounters in rural areas, where the toxins' effects vary by proximity to vegetation, culminating in a chilling commentary on ecological retaliation.

Video Games and Animation

In video games, talking trees often serve as interactive guides that advance the plot and integrate environmental challenges into gameplay. A prominent example is the Great Deku Tree in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998), a massive, ancient tree that acts as the guardian of the Kokiri Forest and directly addresses the protagonist , assigning him his first quest to remove a from within its body while revealing key about the kingdom of Hyrule. This interaction emphasizes the tree's role in tutorial-like mechanics, where players navigate its interior to solve puzzles, highlighting themes of and ancient in interactive narratives. Similarly, in (2015), spirit trees function as central narrative devices, communicating through ethereal voiceovers and visual light signals to direct the player character Ori toward restoring balance to a dying forest ecosystem. These trees, such as the primary Spirit Tree in Niwen, provide guidance on abilities and story progression, with their dialogues underscoring themes of loss and renewal as players explore platforming sections tied to the trees' vitality. The communication style blends auditory narration with non-verbal cues, enhancing immersion in the game's metroidvania-style exploration. In Remnant II (2023), corrupted trees in certain realms speak to players, issuing quests and revealing lore about the game's apocalyptic world, integrating verbal interactions with survival and shooting mechanics to emphasize themes of decay and resistance. In animation, talking trees appear in ecological tales to personify nature's voice, often through vibrant visuals that convey advocacy messages. FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992) features sentient trees and tree spirits, including the elder Magi Lune who narrates the harmony between forests and humans, emphasizing as loggers threaten the home of Crysta. The film's animated sequences depict trees glowing and responding to magical calls, symbolizing collective resistance against destruction in a driven by themes.

Scientific and Contemporary Perspectives

Biological Communication Among Trees

Trees engage in inter-plant signaling through various mechanisms, often metaphorically described as "communication," which facilitates resource sharing, activation, and survival advantages in forest ecosystems. These processes occur via chemical, fungal, and physical pathways without implying . Research has revealed how trees exchange nutrients and alerts, enhancing collective against environmental stresses. Mycorrhizal networks, dubbed the "Wood Wide Web," consist of symbiotic fungi that connect the roots of multiple trees, enabling the transfer of carbon, nutrients, and signaling molecules. In a seminal 1997 field experiment, Suzanne Simard and colleagues demonstrated net carbon transfer between ectomycorrhizal Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and paper birch (Betula papyrifera) trees in British Columbia forests, where labeled carbon-13 moved bidirectionally through shared fungal hyphae, supporting shaded or stressed individuals. This network allows trees to warn neighbors of threats, such as insect infestations, by transmitting chemical signals that prompt defensive responses, providing evolutionary benefits like improved nutrient efficiency in nutrient-poor soils. Trees also release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the air when damaged by herbivores, alerting nearby to upregulate defenses. In the early , observations on Sitka willow (Salix sitchensis) showed that undamaged trees adjacent to herbivore-attacked conspecifics exhibited reduced growth due to induced chemical changes, as reported by David Rhoades and later confirmed through replicated studies. For instance, VOCs like from attacked sugar maple () trigger production in neighboring trees, deterring further herbivory and conferring a selective advantage by minimizing damage spread. Acoustic signals, in the form of vibrations, provide another detection mechanism for herbivore threats. A 2014 study found that Arabidopsis thaliana plants exposed to playback vibrations mimicking insect chewing increased glucosinolate defenses, a response absent with wind or non-feeding sounds, indicating mechanosensory perception via leaf cells. These vibrations can propagate through plant tissues or substrates to nearby individuals, potentially via root connections, enhancing rapid, non-chemical threat detection and evolutionary fitness in dense vegetation. Recent research as of 2025 has further elucidated the role of common mycorrhizal networks (CMNs) in health. For example, a September 2025 study demonstrated that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi forming CMNs interconnect to enhance resistance by altering fungal and priming immune responses. Additionally, evolutionary models indicate that signaling about attacks through these networks evolves under specific conditions, promoting cooperative defenses in fungal- symbioses. Forester Peter Wohlleben synthesized these findings in his 2015 book The Hidden Life of Trees, observing how such networks in European beech forests promote mutual aid, like elder trees supporting saplings, which bolsters overall stand stability and carbon sequestration without attributing consciousness. These interactions underscore evolutionary adaptations for cooperation in resource-limited environments.

Cultural and Ethical Interpretations

The motif of talking trees has inspired philosophical inquiries into and its role in advocating for , particularly through the lens of . In his 2023 essay "The Ethics of 'Talking Trees'," philosopher Michael Marder examines how attributing speech to trees challenges human-centric views of agency, potentially fostering a more equitable moral consideration of vegetal life while cautioning against reductive analogies to . Marder's analysis draws on historical precedents to argue that such metaphors can bridge philosophical gaps in recognizing non-human intelligence, influencing debates on whether deserve ethical protections akin to sentient beings. Ecofeminist thought further interprets talking trees as symbolic voices amplifying marginalized perspectives in . Vandana Shiva's seminal 1988 work Staying Alive: Women, Ecology, and Development portrays trees and forests as embodiments of feminine and wisdom, where women's —such as in the —effectively "gives voice" to nature against patriarchal exploitation. This framework links the talking tree archetype to broader critiques of models that silence ecological and cultural knowledges, emphasizing trees as communal storytellers in sustaining and . In and , the talking tree concept manifests in interactive projects aimed at heightening public awareness of . The 2025 Hyundai Forest initiative, developed with FCB , features "Talking Trees" installations where audio narratives from planted trees simulate environmental pleas, promoting urban reforestation and through immersive . Such efforts extend the motif into ethical , encouraging participants to confront habitat loss by humanizing arboreal perspectives without literal claims of . Ethical debates surrounding talking trees also intersect with scientific discussions on , though without affirming . A 2019 review in Trends in Plant Science by Lincoln Taiz and colleagues critiques "plant neurobiology" claims, asserting that while exhibit signaling networks for resource sharing, these lack the neural structures associated with , urging caution in ethical extensions to . This perspective underscores the motif's value in symbolic rather than biological literalism, informing policy on without overattributing .

References

  1. [1]
    The Ethics of 'Talking Trees' | The MIT Press Reader
    Jul 25, 2023 · Philosopher Michael Marder explores the problematic figure of “talking trees," from the sacred grove of Dodona in ancient Greece, to the vegetalized human ...
  2. [2]
    The History of Herodotus - Project Gutenberg
    The History of Herodotus by Herodotus translated into English by GC Macaulay in two volumes. Vol. I {e Herodotou diathesis en apasin epieikes, kai tois men ...
  3. [3]
    Alexander in India: Talking Trees Prophesy Death
    Jul 14, 2016 · There are two trees there that talked. They were close in size to the cypress. The trees were in a circle, similar to the Egyptian chestnut ...
  4. [4]
    ZEUS CULT 4 DODONA - Ancient Greek Religion
    ZEUS DODONAIOS was the god of the celebrated oracle at Dodona--reputedly the oldest of its kind in Greece. It was located in the northern Greek region of ...
  5. [5]
    VIRGIL, AENEID BOOK 3 - Theoi Classical Texts Library
    For I am Polydorus. Here an iron harvest of spears covered my pierced body, and grew up into sharp javelins.' Then, indeed, with mind borne down with perplexing ...
  6. [6]
    OVID, METAMORPHOSES 8 - Theoi Classical Texts Library
    From the heart of it these words were uttered; `Covered by the bark of this oak tree I long have dwelt a Nymph, beloved of Ceres, and before my death it has ...Metamorphoses Book 8... · King Minos And Scylla · Atalanta And Meleager
  7. [7]
    HAMADRYADES - Malian Dryad Nymphs of Greek Mythology
    THE HAMADRYADES were eight Dryad daughters of the forest-spirit Oxylos ("Of the Forest") and the nymph Hamadryas ("One With Tree") of Mount Oita (Oeta) in Malis ...
  8. [8]
    [PDF] WaÃq al-waÃq: Fabulous, Fabular, Indian Ocean (?) Island(s) ¼ 1
    Waqwaq is mentioned in more than 20 medieval Arabic sources. Several mention one, two, even three distinct locations, but it is the tenth-century historian al- ...
  9. [9]
    Phandana Jataka (#475)
    The Bodhisatta was once a tree fairy. He lived in a giant flame of the forest tree, and a black lion often came to rest under it when he was out hunting.
  10. [10]
    Jataka: The Spirit that Lived in a Tree
    In this story, he is the incarnation of a "tree spirit" who abides in the tree. The theme of self-sacrifice that you will see in this story is one of the most ...
  11. [11]
    (PDF) Relation of The Waqwaq Style to The Waqwaq Tree and Use ...
    This paper based on the position of Waqwaq Style on the book arts such as illumination, miniature and cover. The key features of the style have been tried to ...
  12. [12]
    [PDF] A Message fromt he Cedar Tree - OSPI
    If you walk quietly through the forest, the spirits that live there may talk to you." Little Emma had seen Granny communicating with cedar trees many times.
  13. [13]
    Inferno 13 - Digital Dante - Columbia University
    [4] It turns out that the trees and bushes in this wood are the transformed souls of suicides. These souls have thus been transformed into something other ...
  14. [14]
    Hans Christian Andersen : The Dryad
    The Dryad that lived in this tree was then but a child; she could remember way back when the chestnut tree was so small it could hardly peep over the tall grass ...Missing: scholarly | Show results with:scholarly
  15. [15]
    A fairy tale on modern times and the World Exhibition of 1867
    The article relates how 1867 was an eventful year for Andersen: he was made honorary citizen of his home town, Odense, Denmark, and endowed with the title ...<|separator|>
  16. [16]
    Through the Looking-glass - Project Gutenberg
    THROUGH THE LOOKING-GLASS. And What Alice Found There. By Lewis Carroll. The Millennium Fulcrum Edition 1.7. DRAMATIS PERSONÆ. (As arranged before ...CHAPTER I. Looking-Glass... · CHAPTER III. Looking-Glass...
  17. [17]
    Poem origins: Through the Looking-Glass - Alice in Wonderland.net
    Origins of the poems in "Through the Looking-Glass": the well-known and moralizing poems that were parodied for the Alice in Wonderland stories.Missing: recitation | Show results with:recitation
  18. [18]
    Henry David Thoreau - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
    Jun 30, 2005 · Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) was an American philosopher, poet, environmental scientist, and political activistMissing: personification speech
  19. [19]
    [PDF] Environmentalism in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings
    'We are tree-herds, we old Ents.” (Two Towers, 468) The Ents are representative of Tolkien's environmental ethic, that there is a responsibility over nature to.
  20. [20]
    [PDF] The Culture of Nature in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings
    I will be analysing two cultures from The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien: The Ents of Fangorn Forest and the Elves of Lothlórien. Not only do they see ...
  21. [21]
    [PDF] The Creation Mythologies of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien
    In The Magician's Nephew, we read of the creation of Narnia in ages past. Digory (the old professor in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) discovered a wood.
  22. [22]
    [PDF] C. S. Lewis, the Genesis Fall, and the Modern Mood
    alternative to a special creation did Lewis have in a story such as Magician's Nephew ? ... He says, “Talking trees in mythology are possible because there.
  23. [23]
    [PDF] Sacrifice (Yourself!) in The Rainbow Fish and The Giving Tree
    Apr 21, 2021 · ... The Giving Tree” analyzes the mutilative self-sacrifice of an adult motherly character in Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree. This chapter.
  24. [24]
    [PDF] A Narrative Analysis of Environmental Children's Books
    May 1, 2025 · The Giving. Tree begins with the Tree providing the Boy branches to play on, and ends with the Boy, now an old man, sitting on her stump, which ...
  25. [25]
    [PDF] "Countries of the Mind": The Mundane, the Fantastic, and Reality
    Oct 15, 2017 · I will begin my discussion with Diana Wynne Jones's novel Hexwood. Though Jones's work is no stranger to critical attention,15 when Hexwood is.
  26. [26]
    A reclamation of the 'other' in Diana Wynne Jones' Hexwood
    This paper aims to explore the way in which Jones has interpreted the liberating nature of fantasy fiction to create a new space through the use of Kristevan ...
  27. [27]
    The Two Towers | Computer Graphics World
    Some of the Ents were modeled and animated in Maya, grouped in Massive, and rendered in Grunt and/or RenderMan. Others were modeled, animated, and rendered in ...
  28. [28]
    Lord Of The Rings Star Talks About Challenges Of Playing Treebeard
    Aug 18, 2020 · He portrayed the dwarf warrior Gimli while also voicing the ancient Ent named Treebeard. In a new interview with Comicbookmovie, Rhys-Davies ...
  29. [29]
    The Two Towers: Built on Weta's Precious Mettle
    Mar 7, 2003 · Saindon says, We created a full-size animatronic puppet of Treebeards upper torso that the actors sat on, and it was very stop-motionesque.
  30. [30]
    Linda Hunt as Grandmother Willow - Pocahontas (1995) - IMDb
    Linda Hunt: Grandmother Willow. Pocahontas. Linda Hunt credited as playing...
  31. [31]
    The Swamp | Avatar Wiki - Fandom
    In the swamp, we see visions of people we've lost, people we've loved, folks we think are gone. But the swamp tells us they're not. We're still connected to ...
  32. [32]
    The Happening (2008) - Plot - IMDb
    A nice couple who run a plant nursery offer to take them in their car. The man suggests to Elliot and Alma that the toxin is produced by plants. He explains the ...
  33. [33]
    The Happening: Science Fact or Science Fiction? - WIRED
    Jun 16, 2008 · ... toxins that rewire the human brain. The neurotoxins trigger a reverse-survival instinct by prompting people to kill themselves. Bolstering ...<|control11|><|separator|>
  34. [34]
    Inside the Deku Tree - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Guide
    Jun 16, 2011 · In order to save the Great Deku Tree, you will need to break the curse that lies inside of him. Once inside, take note of the web in the center; ...
  35. [35]
    Spirit Tree (Character) | Ori and the Blind Forest Wiki - Fandom
    The Spirit Tree (also referred to as The Ancient Being in the achievement you obtain upon encountering him) is the guardian of Nibel, biological father to Ori.
  36. [36]
    The Light of Alfheim - God of War (2018) Guide - IGN
    Apr 19, 2018 · Along the path, look to the right to spot a circle of Rune Reads to have Atreus read from. It's a message about The Eternal War between elves in ...
  37. [37]
    FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992) - Quotes - IMDb
    Crysta: But trees give life. They make the clouds, the water, the air. Zak: We have air. Batty Koda: Yeah, if you don't mind ...
  38. [38]
    Net transfer of carbon between ectomycorrhizal tree species in the ...
    Aug 7, 1997 · Simard, S., Perry, D., Jones, M. et al. Net transfer of carbon between ectomycorrhizal tree species in the field. Nature 388, 579–582 (1997).
  39. [39]
    The Hidden Life of Trees - Peter Wohlleben
    An illuminating account of the forest, and the science that shows us how trees communicate, feel, and live in social networks.
  40. [40]
    Staying Alive: Women, Ecology and Development - Vandana Shiva
    There is only one path, Vandana Shiva suggests, to survival and liberation for nature, women and men, and that is the ecological path of harmony, sustainability ...Missing: speaking voices
  41. [41]
    A Study on Shiva's Staying Alive: Women, Ecology and Survival in ...
    Aug 8, 2025 · It explores eco feminist literary criticism by analyzing two lines of critics led by Vandana Shiva and Val Plum wood. Shiva shows that there is ...
  42. [42]
    How FCB and Hyundai's Talking Trees Get to the Roots of Climate ...
    How FCB and Hyundai's Talking Trees Get to the Roots of Climate Impact ... “Hyundai's purpose, 'Progress for Humanity', isn't a slogan. It's a ...