Hello Everyone, I'm a student of The Department of English,M.K.B.U. This blog is assigned by Megha Madam as a thinking activity. This blog is based on Robert Frost's one famous poem 'The Birches '(1915).
The Birches
-By Robert Frost
Points to Ponder
Introduction
About Poet
Pptx and Video based on Robert Frost
About Poem
Analysis of the poem
Style of Writing
Figures of Speech
Thematic analysis of the poem
Symbols in 'Birches'
Conclusion
Introduction :-
This poem is written by An American Poet, Robert Frost. This is one of his famous poems. In this poem he tries to describe the condition of a tree,Birches. We can connect it with our day to day life and how we are facing different situations or problems , though it could harm us but we will succeed if we face those problems. He also recalls his childhood memories and he expresses his feelings through this poem.
About Poet :-
Robert Lee Frost (March 26, 1874 – January 29, 1963) was an American poet. His work was initially published in England before it was published in the United States. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech,Frost frequently wrote about settings from rural life in New England in the early 20th century, using them to examine complex social and philosophical themes.
Frequently honoured during his lifetime, Frost is the only poet to receive four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry. He became one of America's rare "public literary figures, almost an artistic institution". He was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 1960 for his poetic works. On July 22, 1961, Frost was named poet laureate of Vermont.
Pptx and Video based on Robert Frost:-
About Poem :-
For Original Poem Click Here
'Birches' is a poem by American poet Robert Frost. First published in the August, 1915 issue of The Atlantic Monthly together with "The Road Not Taken" and "The Sound of Trees" as "A Group of Poems". It was included in Frost's third collection of poetry Mountain Interval, which was published in 1916. Consisting of 59 lines, it is one of Robert Frost's most anthologized poems. Along with other poems that deal with rural landscape and wildlife, it shows Frost as a nature poet.
Analysis of the poem :-
In this poem the poet sees the Birches trees and recalls his past and also tries to find the reasons behind the bowing of those trees . He imagines two different reasons behind that and he also recalls his childhood, how he also played with these trees.
There is three different Images or scenes in this poem that are like.,
Ice-storms
Swinging of a boy
His (poet's) childhood
Ice-storms
In the first some of the line poet describes that because of the Ice-storms this trees are bowing and he also describes the beauty of that trees how they are bowing through the flow of ice-storms and he also describes when sun is rising at that time ice melting during that time the Rays of the sun is convert in to a beautiful colours like a rainbow. He also says that ice-storms can bow them but they cannot harm or kill the trees.
Swinging of a boy :-
In the next scene ,the poet describes that this tree may have the father of that boy who is swinging on this tree and bowing it but on the other hand he also describes that a boy cannot bow to it. He is enjoying playing with it and he might only know this game to play with the trees.
His (poet's) childhood :-
In the third scene ,the poet describes his desires and feelings or he also discuss on his childhood that he used to swinging on this trees and he enjoys a lot in this game and now he is wanting to swing on this trees for some time and he wants to escape from the day-to-day's life and enjoy the swinging on the trees and enjoy the nature. He also compares the beauty of the Birches with so many things.
Style of Writing
This poem is written in a blank verse, with numerous variations on the prevailing iambic foot. It consists of 59 lines.
Birches’ is written in blank verse: unrhymed iambic pentameter. This means that there are (usually) ten syllables per line, with the syllables arranged into five metrical feet, in this case iambs, which comprise an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one. Frost was fond of using blank verse in his poetry: since it is close to the rhythms of regular human speech in the English language, it reflects his homespun, colloquial style. In the case of ‘Birches’, the unrhymed iambic pentameter rhythm suits the poem’s meditative, reflective mode.
Figures of Speech
Simile :-
A comparison of two things with the use of the words like., " Like","as".
"Trailing their leaves on the ground
Like girls on hands and knees that throw their hair"
"And life is too much like a pathless wood"
Metaphor :-
A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable. Or a comparison of two things without using the words "like", "as".
"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."
"Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more, ..."
"May no fate willfully misunderstand me And half grant what I wish and snatch me away Not to return...."
"One eye is weeping..."
"like a pathless wood Where your face burns and tickles with the cobwebs Broken across it,..."
"You'd think the inner dome of heaven had fallen. ..."
Imagery :-
Visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work.
"I'd like to get away from earth awhile And then come back to it..."
"One eye is weeping..."
"Soon the sun's warmth makes them shed crystal shells Shattering and avalanching on the snow-crust—..."
"As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel. ..."
"They click upon themselves As the breeze rises,..."
3. Personification :-
The attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something non-human, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.
"Though once they are bowed So low for long, they never right themselves:..."
Thematic analysis of the poem :-
The Conflict Between Fantasy and Reality :-
In the speaker’s stream of consciousness, two voices diverge and chatter along in a parallel tension. The first voice is that of fantasy; it longs for the woodland birches to stand as symbols of personal meaning. It assumes the birch trees were bent by a boy at play, a boy much like the speaker once was, glimpsing heaven in the exhilarating heights of the birches. The second voice is that of reality; it understands the “Truth” that the birches were bent by a storm and that any illusions otherwise are an indulgence. This voice’s “Truth” reaches much farther, however, for it knows that the glimpse of heaven high in the birches is merely a glimpse; one cannot escape the earth.
The Power of Memory :-
The speaker’s memories of childhood create a deeper layer of events and meanings in the narrative of the poem. Confronting the arching birches, the speaker is immediately reminded of his own childhood days spent swinging upon and bending birch trees. Because those childhood memories are so laced with bliss, the speaker, now laden with the responsibilities and difficulties of adult life, sees in his past the image of heaven. Looking at the birch trees afresh, he wonders whether such heaven remains available to him.
The Longing for Heaven and the Pull of Earth:-
The central thematic duality of the poem is that of heaven and earth. It is a tension which arises from the speaker’s boyhood memories of birch swinging, moments which were heavenly in their ascendent lightness and carefreeness. It is such a state of Edenic innocence the speaker longs for now as he strides the woods as an adult, freighted with the cares and sorrows of maturity. Gravity is the proper metaphorical force here, for the speaker feels weighed down toward the earth. The speaker strives to locate a resolution between his desire for heaven and his fate on earth.
Symbols in 'Birches' :-
The use of symbols is quite important when determining the figurative meaning of the 'Birches' poem.
Swinging on Birch Trees
The action of swinging on birch trees represents the speaker's escape from reality. His life has become tiresome, and he imagines swinging on the birch trees and climbing 'toward heaven' in order to escape from his current adult reality.
Conclusion :-
To sum up ,we can say that ,through this poem the poet tries to describe his personal feelings as well as the condition of the three 'The Birches' and how they are facing the problems and damages through the different incidents. The same situations we also find in our life when something is happening or the right time passes out we cannot bring them back like bowing trees. They can survive in their life but they cannot remove their damages.
Word Count :- 1522
Pptx :- 01
Videos :- 02
Images :- 06
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