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The Annotated Edition

DISCORD IN CHILDHOOD by D. H. Lawrence

Summary, meaning, line-by-line analysis & FAQ.

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A child lies inside a house as a violent storm rages outside, while two adults—most likely his parents—engage in a fierce, ugly argument.

Poet
D. H. Lawrence
Themes
childhood, family, fear
The PoemFull text

DISCORD IN CHILDHOOD

D. H. Lawrence

OUTSIDE the house an ash-tree hung its terrible whips, And at night when the wind arose, the lash of the tree Shrieked and slashed the wind, as a ship's Weird rigging in a storm shrieks hideously. Within the house two voices arose in anger, a slender lash Whistling delirious rage, and the dreadful sound Of a thick lash booming and bruising, until it drowned The other voice in a silence of blood, 'neath the noise of the ash.

Public domain

Sourced from Project Gutenberg

§01Quick summary

What this poem is about

A child lies inside a house as a violent storm rages outside, while two adults—most likely his parents—engage in a fierce, ugly argument. Lawrence uses the thrashing ash tree to reflect the turmoil indoors, merging the chaos of nature with the tension of domestic life into one frightening experience. By the end, one voice drowns out the other, leaving a silence that suggests something has been irreparably shattered.

§02Themes

Recurring themes

§03Line by line

Stanza by stanza, with notes

  1. OUTSIDE the house an ash-tree hung its terrible whips, / And at night when the wind arose, the lash of the tree

    Editor's note

    Lawrence begins with the ash tree outside the family home. The word "whips" carries significant weight from the start — the tree's branches act like instruments of punishment. The wind doesn't merely blow; it causes the tree to "shriek and slash," and Lawrence likens the entire scene to a ship's rigging caught in a storm. This simile evokes feelings of danger, vulnerability to uncontrollable forces, and a chaotic, inhuman noise. The outside world feels violent even before we enter the house.

  2. Within the house two voices arose in anger, a slender lash / Whistling delirious rage, and the dreadful sound

    Editor's note

    Now we move inside, and the poem's central parallel falls into place. The two voices in the argument are likened to two types of lashes—one "slender" and "whistling," the other "thick" and "booming." Most readers interpret these as a woman's voice and a man's voice, although Lawrence never states this outright. The slender voice feels frantic and high-pitched, while the thick voice has a heavy, crushing quality. The term "delirious" indicates that the anger has surpassed reason. The structure reflects the first stanza: outside, two forces (the wind and the tree) clash; inside, two voices do the same.

  3. Of a thick lash booming and bruising, until it drowned / The other voice in a silence of blood, 'neath the noise of the ash.

    Editor's note

    The heavier voice wins — it doesn't merely silence the other, it *drowns* it. The phrase "silence of blood" stands out as the poem's most unsettling moment: it implies injury, or at the very least, a wound so profound it transcends words. The poem concludes by zooming out to the ash tree, whose noise now envelops everything. That final image — the child left beneath the sound of the thrashing tree as silence takes over one of the voices — feels bleak and unresolved. The external storm and the internal storm have merged into one.

§04Tone & mood

How this poem feels

The tone is filled with dread from start to finish. Lawrence maintains a distance from the speaker — we observe without editorializing — which adds to the chill. There's a sense of controlled horror present: the language is sharp and almost clinical, even while depicting something raw and terrifying. The poem remains silent; it simply observes.

§05Symbols & metaphors

Symbols & metaphors

The ash tree
The ash tree forms the backbone of the poem. Its thrashing branches mirror the chaotic violence within the house, both visually and sonically. In folklore, ash trees are linked to fate and the underworld, adding to the sense of impending doom. They also bookend the poem — it's the first and last sound we encounter — implying that for the child, this violence is an ever-present part of home.
The lash / whip
Lawrence employs "lash" and "whip" to describe both the tree and the two voices, blurring the line between physical and verbal violence. A lash serves as a tool for punishment, so by connecting it to sound, Lawrence suggests that the words in this house strike with the force of blows.
The storm
The storm represents the household's emotional turmoil in a tangible way. It brings to life the chaos, intensity, and total absence of peace occurring within, indicating that for the child, there’s no refuge anywhere, whether inside or outside.
Silence of blood
This is the poem's most intense image. Blood-silence doesn’t represent a peaceful quiet — it’s the silence that follows harm. It suggests injury (whether physical or emotional), defeat, and something that can’t be undone. It’s that moment when a child realizes that one force has overpowered another.

§06Historical context

Historical context

D. H. Lawrence grew up in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, in a working-class mining family. His father, Arthur Lawrence, was a coal miner who struggled with heavy drinking and had a quick temper. His mother, Lydia, was educated and ambitious for her children, yet deeply unhappy in her marriage. The conflicts between his parents were a significant part of Lawrence's childhood and inspired much of his early writing, notably the novel *Sons and Lovers* (1913). "Discord in Childhood," included in his first collection *Love Poems and Others* (1913), is often seen as a straightforward autobiographical depiction of witnessing his parents' fights. Lawrence wrote during a time when English poetry was beginning to break away from Victorian norms, and the poem's raw themes and intense imagery reflect that change. Its two-stanza structure—first focusing on the outside, then the inside—captures Lawrence's enduring fascination with the connection between nature and human emotions.

§07FAQ

Questions readers ask

It's about a child caught in a violent argument between two adults in their home — likely Lawrence's own parents — as a storm rages outside. The poem links the thrashing ash tree to the clashing voices, implying that the child is stuck between two forms of violence with no way out.

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