30 pages 1 hour read

Virginia Woolf

Kew Gardens

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1919

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Literary Devices

Setting

Most of the story stays fixed on one small flowerbed rather than Kew Gardens in its entirety. By remaining in one specific area, the reader gains an intimate understanding of the multifaceted ecosystem of the overall garden. The narrator describes the conversations of garden-goers with the same level of detail as the minuscule world of the snail. This multi-layered approach communicates the density of life in Kew Gardens. Woolf’s use of imagery and metaphor presents Kew Gardens as a beautiful, lively, and meditative ecosystem.

Woolf wrote “Kew Gardens” in 1919, and the historical context of the story influences its themes and subject matter. Often used as a pastime for the wealthy, botanical gardens were popularized in the 19th century. Kew Gardens was open to everyone and allowed people of different classes to come into close contact with one another. With the rise of densely populated cities at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, citizens of different social strata lived in closer proximity to each other than ever before.

Related Titles

By Virginia Woolf

Study Guide
logo

A Haunted House

Virginia Woolf

A Haunted House

Virginia Woolf

Plot Summary
logo

A Haunted House and Other Short Stories

Virginia Woolf

A Haunted House and Other Short Stories

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide
logo

A Room of One's Own

Virginia Woolf

A Room of One's Own

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide
logo

Between The Acts

Virginia Woolf

Between The Acts

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide
logo

Flush: A Biography

Virginia Woolf

Flush: A Biography

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide
logo

How Should One Read a Book?

Virginia Woolf

How Should One Read a Book?

Virginia Woolf

Plot Summary
logo

Jacob's Room

Virginia Woolf

Jacob's Room

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide
logo

Modern Fiction

Virginia Woolf

Modern Fiction

Virginia Woolf

Plot Summary
logo

Moments of Being

Virginia Woolf

Moments of Being

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide
logo

Mr. Bennett and Mrs. Brown

Virginia Woolf

Mr. Bennett and Mrs. Brown

Virginia Woolf

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

Mrs. Dalloway

Virginia Woolf

Mrs. Dalloway

Virginia Woolf

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

Orlando

Virginia Woolf

Orlando

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide
logo

The Death of the Moth

Virginia Woolf

The Death of the Moth

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide
logo

The Duchess and the Jeweller

Virginia Woolf

The Duchess and the Jeweller

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide
logo

The Lady in the Looking Glass

Virginia Woolf

The Lady in the Looking Glass

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide
logo

The Mark on the Wall

Virginia Woolf

The Mark on the Wall

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide
logo

The New Dress

Virginia Woolf

The New Dress

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide
logo

The Voyage Out

Virginia Woolf

The Voyage Out

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide
logo

The Waves

Virginia Woolf

The Waves

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide
logo

Three Guineas

Virginia Woolf

Three Guineas

Virginia Woolf