Question

Read this phrase from Allen Ginsberg’s "A Supermarket in California."

The trees add shade to shade.

What is the meaning of this phrase?
The narrator is contrasting the images of the market to nature.
The narrator is praising the loveliness of his cottage yard.
The narrator is remarking that trees make the night darker.
The narrator is wondering how he will find his way home

Answer 1

The first choice. The line evokes natural, layered shade as a contrast to the artificial light and commercial imagery of the supermarket; it’s part of Ginsberg’s juxtaposition of an intimate, pastoral/Whitman-like world with the neon-lit consumer world.