The Birches (a kind of tree)
Title: The Birches
Poet: Robert Frost (1874-1963)
Written: Between 1913 and 1914. The poem was later included in Frost’s third collection of poetry, Mountain Interval.
Form: 59 lines of blank verse
Setting: Rural New England
Themes
Nostalgia, The Joy of Childhood, Harsh Reality of Adulthood, Escape
Symbol: Swinging of Birch Trees. It symbolizes the youthful ability to find joy and excitement.
Summary
In this poem, the poet expresses his feelings about the birch tree. As he looks at the bent birch trees, he becomes lost in thought. The trees are bent like this due to the snowstorm. But he likes to think that some kids might have bent the tree while swinging.
The poet says that the readers must see the snow-covered birch trees. Dewdrops glisten in the morning sunlight. The trees do not break under the weight of ice but bend. But the poet is reluctant to accept this bitter truth. He ignores reality and takes refuge in fantasy and is quite comfortable with the idea of children swinging the trees. According to his imagination, the child often swings like this on all the trees and bents the trees very skillfully. They know very well how to bend these trees without breaking them.
The poet then reveals that he too used to swing on trees like this as a child, and wishes to do it again. Because today he is tired of fulfilling the various responsibilities of life. He wants to go back to those carefree days of childhood. He wants to climb that tree again to experience heavenly bliss. Here the poet basically takes refuge in imagination to get away from the fatigue, responsibilities, etc. of his life.
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