Abstract

The first glimpse at the scene of the "oak tree" at the beginning of Part 3, of Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace" strongly reminded me of Philip Larkin's poem "The Trees".On first reflection, the two authors are held in the highest esteemby critics, biographers and generations of readers. Examining all available relevant sources, it has become obvious that this alleged imitation has completelyescaped researchers' notice . Also, our initial survey have shown that a plethora of research hasbeen conducted on Tolstoy's " War and Peace". To mention just a few studies: Trepanier (2011). Romney (2011), Bell (2002), Bencivenga (2006), Schwarz (2014), and a relatively fewer scholarly enquiries have been carried out on Larkin's "The Trees". Among them are: Ibrahim (2013), Upadhyay(2017), Banerjee (2008) , however, as yet, no attempt, to the extent of our knowledge, has been made to bring the two texts together by way of comparison and /or contrast.

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