Poem Exploration : Birchess by Robert Frost

"Swinging Birches" was the original title of this poem, which may have given a more appropriate description of the topic. Frost was inspired to write this poem by his early experiences swinging on birches, an activity that was common among kids in New England's rural communities at the time.

Let the poem give us tremor :

Birches
by Robert Frost

When I see birches bend to left and right
Across the lines of straighter darker trees,
I like to think some boy’s been swinging them.
But swinging doesn’t bend them down to stay
As ice-storms do. Often you must have seen them
Loaded with ice a sunny winter morning
After a rain. They click upon themselves
As the breeze rises, and turn many-colored
As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel.
Soon the sun’s warmth makes them shed crystal shells
Shattering and avalanching on the snow-crust—
Such heaps of broken glass to sweep away
You’d think the inner dome of heaven had fallen.
They are dragged to the withered bracken by the load,
And they seem not to break; though once they are bowed
So low for long, they never right themselves:
You may see their trunks arching in the woods
Years afterwards, trailing their leaves on the ground
Like girls on hands and knees that throw their hair
Before them over their heads to dry in the sun.
But I was going to say when Truth broke in
With all her matter-of-fact about the ice-storm,
I should prefer to have some boy bend them
As he went out and in to fetch the cows—
Some boy too far from town to learn baseball,
Whose only play was what he found himself,
Summer or winter, and could play alone.
One by one he subdued his father’s trees
By riding them down over and over again
Until he took the stiffness out of them,
And not one but hung limp, not one was left
For him to conquer. He learned all there was
To learn about not launching out too soon
And so not carrying the tree away
Clear to the ground. He always kept his poise
To the top branches, climbing carefully
With the same pains you use to fill a cup
Up to the brim, and even above the brim.
Then he flung outward, feet first, with a swish,
Kicking his way down through the air to the ground.

So was I once myself a swinger of birches.
And so I dream of going back to be.
It’s when I’m weary of considerations,
And life is too much like a pathless wood
Where your face burns and tickles with the cobwebs
Broken across it, and one eye is weeping
From a twig’s having lashed across it open.
I’d like to get away from earth awhile
And then come back to it and begin over.
May no fate willfully misunderstand me
And half grant what I wish and snatch me away
Not to return. Earth’s the right place for love:
I don’t know where it’s likely to go better.
I’d like to go by climbing a birch tree,
And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk
Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,
But dipped its top and set me down again.
That would be good both going and coming back.
One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.

##Theme

The theme of "Birches" by Robert Frost revolves around the contrast between reality and imagination, the innocence of childhood, and the longing for escape from the complexities of adult life. The speaker reminisces about simpler times, using the imagery of birch trees bent by ice storms or playful boys swinging on them. He reflects on life’s hardships, comparing them to a "pathless wood," and expresses a yearning for temporary escape, only to return refreshed and grounded. The poem highlights the human need for balance between earthly responsibilities and the freedom of dreams and imagination.

Similes:

1. "Like girls on hands and knees that throw their hair before them over their heads to dry in the sun"

   • The bent birches are compared to girls bending forward, throwing their hair over their heads, emphasizing grace and elegance.

2. "Life is too much like a pathless wood"

   • Life's challenges are likened to a tangled, directionless forest, symbolizing confusion and struggle.

3. "With the same pains you use to fill a cup up to the brim, and even above the brim"

   • Climbing birches carefully is compared to the precise act of filling a cup, showing the boy's cautiousness and mastery.

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Metaphors:

1. "You’d think the inner dome of heaven had fallen"

   • The shattered ice on the ground is metaphorically described as pieces of heaven, suggesting beauty and grandeur.

2. "Earth's the right place for love"

   • Earth is metaphorically portrayed as the ideal place for human connections and emotions, contrasting with the unknown of heaven.

3. "One could do worse than be a swinger of birches"

   • Being a "swinger of birches" symbolizes someone who balances imagination and reality, suggesting an ideal way of living.

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Imagery:

1. Visual Imagery:

   • "Loaded with ice a sunny winter morning"
   • "Turn many-colored as the stir cracks and crazes their enamel"
   • Frost describes the glittering ice-covered birches and their transformation in sunlight.

2. Auditory Imagery:

   • "They click upon themselves"
   • The sound of ice-covered branches clicking enhances the scene's sensory detail.

3. Tactile Imagery:

   • "Your face burns and tickles with the cobwebs broken across it"
   • The tactile experience of moving through a forest is vividly conveyed.

4. Kinetic Imagery:

   • "Then he flung outward, feet first, with a swish, kicking his way down through the air"
   • The boy's swinging is energetically described, bringing the motion to life.

##Feelings After Reading "Birches"

Reading "Birches fills me with a sense of nostalgia and wonder, evoking memories of childhood’s innocence and the simple joy of discovery. The image of birch trees bending under the weight of storms yet standing gracefully afterward reflects life’s balance between resilience and fragility.

Frost’s metaphor of escaping the "pathless wood" of life to climb toward heaven captures the universal yearning for freedom from life’s struggles. Yet, his return to earth’s grounding love reminds me of the beauty and meaning found in everyday existence.

The poem beautifully intertwines imagination and reality, leaving me inspired to embrace life’s challenges while cherishing moments of peace and reflection. It’s a bittersweet reminder of the fleeting joys of youth and the enduring strength within us.