--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A tree there is that from its topmost…" description: "\"A tree there is that from its topmost bough Is half all glittering flame and half all green Abounding foliage moistened with the dew; And half is half ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dd/william-butler-yeats-350_contradiction_a-tree-there-is-that-from-its-topmost-bo_1384339.png" --- # A tree there is that from its topmost bough Is half all… ![“A tree there is that from its topmost bough Is half all glittering flame and half all green Abounding foliage moistened with the dew; And half is half and yet is all the scene; And half and half consume what they renew.” quote by William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dd/william-butler-yeats-350_contradiction_a-tree-there-is-that-from-its-topmost-bo_1384339.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dd/william-butler-yeats-350_contradiction_a-tree-there-is-that-from-its-topmost-bo_1384339.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dd/william-butler-yeats-350_contradiction_a-tree-there-is-that-from-its-topmost-bo_1384339.png) > “A tree there is that from its topmost bough Is half all glittering flame and half all green Abounding foliage moistened with the dew; And half is half and yet is all the scene; And half and half consume what they renew.” [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poem describes a tree split between fire and green, symbolizing duality and renewal. **In simple terms:** A tree shows both fire and green, representing contrast and renewal. Key Takeaway Embrace contrasting forces for growth. Themes nature duality renewal Mood reflective poetic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - art critique - personal reflection - environmental study Key Concepts symbolism contrast life cycles Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance opposing forces? - What does renewal mean to you? A Different Perspective The metaphor may obscure practical lessons. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abounding Foliage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abounding-foliage-4805247/) [Contradiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradiction/) [Dew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dew/) [Flame Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flame-half-4805250/) [Flames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flames/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Foliage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foliage/) [Foliage Moistened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foliage-moistened-4805248/) [Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/green/) [Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half/) [Half Glittering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half-glittering-4805249/) [Scene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scene/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) [Wholeness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wholeness/) ## Related quotes > [Rise and put on your foliage, and be seen To come forth, like the spring-time, fresh and green, And sweet as Flora. 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My Love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneatha…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/my-love-for-linton-is-like-the-foliage-in-the-woods-time-will/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [May I strike my heart's keys clearly, and may none fail because of slack, uncertain, or fraying strings. May the tears that stream down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/may-i-strike-my-heart-s-keys-clearly-and-may-none-fail-because-of/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) ## More by William Butler Yeats > [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [I would have touched it like a child But knew my finger could but have touched Cold stone and water. 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For these red lips, with all their mournful pride, Mournful that no new wonder may betide,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/who-dreamed-that-beauty-passes-like-a-dream-for-these-red-lips-with/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) [Explore all 652 William Butler Yeats quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) ## More Contradiction quotes > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/courage-is-almost-a-contradiction-in-terms-it-means-a-strong-desire/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is also plausible that those movements with the greatest inner contradiction and between profession and practice - that is to say with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/it-is-also-plausible-that-those-movements-with-the-greatest-inner/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Contradictions in human character are one of its most consistent notes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-spark/contradictions-in-human-character-are-one-of-its-most-consistent-notes/) [Muriel Spark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-spark/) > [“The tiny features below, taken together with the gentle mass of Montblanc towering above them, the Vanoise glacier almost invisible in the shimmering distance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald-2/the-tiny-features-below-taken-together-with-the-gentle-mass-of/) [W.G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald-2/) > [I’m a skeptic not because I do not want to believe, but because I want to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/i-m-a-skeptic-not-because-i-do-not-want-to-believe-but-because-i-want/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [There are evidently limits to the achievements of science; and there are irresolvable contradictions both between prosperity and virtue, and between happiness and ''the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/there-are-evidently-limits-to-the-achievements-of-science-and-there/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [To exist (in mathematics), said Henri Poincaré, is to be free from contradiction. But mere existence does not guarantee survival. To survive in mathematics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kac/to-exist-in-mathematics-said-henri-poincar-is-to-be-free-from/) [Mark Kac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kac/) > [“In these creations, life and symbolic value are not in contradiction: they intensify each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/in-these-creations-life-and-symbolic-value-are-not-in-contradiction/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [I have never agreed with my other self wholly. 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