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Essay / General Characteristics of Birches' Poem a commonplace, which is also different from what we call knowledge. (GEORGE ELIOT, Middlemarch) The poem “Birches” written by Robert Frost is a very complex literary work focusing on the concept of life. This particular piece of writing is full of figurative devices that force the reader to see the poem beyond the words. Through creative structure, Frost recreates an end-of-life experience, which exposes the conflicting themes using many different literacy devices. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Frost begins by giving the central image of the poem by letting the reader know exactly what is about to happen. The “Birches” style is a free verse with numerous variations on the dominant iambic foot. Although visually the poem only has one selection, it is divided into five different sections based on changes in the subject matter as well as the speaker's ideas. These pauses are not immediately obvious to the reader. Instead, along with the speaker's beliefs, they depend on the reader developing a solid understanding of the poem. The poem begins by giving the reader some background information until the fifth line, where it precedes the truth. This truth later turns into fiction due to the paradox. Next comes what is (at first) fiction. Then Frost delivers reality to the reader and connects the speaker to the previous lines, followed by a resolution that matches what the speaker is feeling. Frost uses contrast in an extreme way because the speaker Frost describes in his poetry is forced to choose between rationality and imagination, and both cannot exist at the same time. The title “Birches” introduces the reader to the dominant metaphor. The birch trees have a symbolic representation of his childhood for the speaker and are known to him as a means of becoming a “birch swinger” again (Frost, 42). He literally uses devices to deploy the controlling metaphor throughout the poem. Frost presents the speakers in conflict with the title, as the speaker wants to use the birch trees to return to his childhood, as his life up until now has been very lonely and horrible. This is the first thing we learn about the speaker through poetic devices, but it is only the beginning in the poem. Without direct indication from Frost, the reader is able to understand that the speaker of this poem is an older man. Frost provides the reader with information to surmise that by having the speaker say, “I was once a birch swinger myself; and so I dream of becoming again” (Frost, 41 and 42) which reveals to the reader that the speaker is older because “a birch swinger” (Frost, 41) is described as a young boy, thus revealing the speakers gender. The old man has experienced nothing of a happy life and is filled with regret, constantly dreaming of being able to live his life again. Not only did he have a poor childhood “whose only game was what he found” (Frost, 26), but he also lived the rest of his life alone “with a boy too far from the city to learn baseball” (Frost, 25 years old). … “Could play alone” (Frost, 27 years old) and without love. Through other indications in the poem, we discover that this man also has inner battles that he faced on top of everything else and through paradox, this conflicted state of his mind is revealed. As stated earlier in the first section of "Birches", general information is given,because the reader needs it to correctly understand the rest of the poem. “I see birch trees leaning left and right” (Frost, 1) is an example of visual imagery, followed by an example of “darker trees” symbol (Frost, 2). The first section also gives us two sets of opposites "left and right" (Frost, 1) and "bend...straighter" (Frost, 1-2) which are used with the rest of this section to provide the reader with conflict main in the speaker's life. This section is also contrasting as it looks at a picture and speculates on why the trees are bent, one is the truth and the other is what the speaker wishes the truth to be. Not only is this the beginning of the many literacy devices used, but it also brings us to the paradox. The second section of the poem is the beginning of the paradox. Frost begins by providing us with the truth about why trees are bent by saying "But swinging doesn't bend them to stay/Like ice storms do..." (Frost, 4-5) but later we learn that this is the case. what we call truth actually turns into fiction. In this section we experience many examples of imagery ranging from the sound when he talks about how the tree branches "click on themselves" (Frost, 7) to the sexual imagery when the speaker uses the words “like girls on all fours throwing their hair.” in front of them, above their heads, to dry in the sun” (Frost, 19-20). This is an example of sexual imagery that he uses in the poem describing an intimate experience, as it is something he never had the opportunity to experience in his life. We also see Frost use devices such as onomatopoeia when he uses the words "cracks and follies" (Frost, 9), and a simile when he compares trees to "four-legged girls" (Frost, 19). This section, like the rest of the poem, is full of literacy devices. The capital letter on the word "Truth" (Frost, 21) shows the reader the difference between what is actually happening and what is happening in the speaker's head and also represents personification. . “With all his neutral talk about ice storms” (Frost, 22) is an example of dramatic language. In this third section of the poem, the reader can also see the first time the speaker speaks to someone asking "now am I free to be poetic?" (Frost, 23) which is the last information we obtain before the paradox. The reader learns that the "truth" of this poem is very imaginative to the speaker and that the reader might actually believe that there is a capital "T" in truth (or a hidden truth in everything). The tone of the poem is also revealed to him because you see that the speaker does not like reality and does not want to believe the truth at all. When the speaker says “with all its facts” (Frost, 22), he is being sarcastic and this proves that he has a negative/angry tone towards the whole thing. Once again, Frost took every opportunity to use literacy devices in this section. Fiction is what we are presented with next in the fourth section, but this quickly turns to truth in the poem's paradox. When the speaker sees the trees bent, even though he knows the "truth" (Frost, 21) about why they are bent, he himself still believes that a young boy swinging on them is what pushed them to comply. Sexual imagery is used again and when the speaker says "taking them down again and again until he took the stiffness out of them, and not one was left hanging" (Frost, 30-33), which, although it seems to be about trees, is a metaphor, a description of masturbation. An allegory is also usedin lines twenty-four to twenty-eight because the words “un… pas” (Frost, 32) are used four times. The speaker uses this tense to describe his life as a boy which we learn was a very unsatisfactory youth. When he says “learn not to jump in too early” (Frost, 34), he is not really talking about the boy in the trees, but rather about living life to the fullest, which he did not do. This leads the reader to a lot of regrets and he wishes more than anything that he could go back and relive his life, this time full of love, but because of his religion, this wish is shattered when he knows that it is not not possible for him. return to earth, but he also fears that heaven cannot provide him with love; the assonance is visible through the word "swish" (Frost, 40); some of the last lines of this section (lines thirty-six to thirty-nine) show not only a simile but also a metaphor. Once again, the reader is amazed by the use of literacy devices. The fifth section is where the paradox is revealed to the reader while summarizing the speaker's thoughts before its final resolution. It is the only part of the entire structure that has a pause before representing a transition. This section begins by revealing the paradox: “I myself was once a birch swinger; and so I dream of returning to being” (Frost, 42-43), which turns the entire structure of the poem into one great opposite and forces sections two and four to exchange meanings and leaves the reader wondering about the truth? The controlling metaphor is also found in this section: “I am tired of considerations, and life is too much like a pathless wood” (Frost 44-45). With all other images, Frost uses tactile imagery, so the reader can feel "your face burns and tickles with the broken cobwebs on it, and one eye cries from a twig that whipped it open » (Frost, 46-48). Destiny and religions are also revealed to the reader by Frost in this section. Not only does the reader know that the speaker is a Christian based on the earlier mention of the "dome of heaven" (Frost, 13), but now the reader knows about reincarnation through "let no destiny understand me willingly and grant half what I wish and tear me away so as not to return” (Frost, 51-52) but he wants to believe that he can leave the earth and then return to live another life. Paganism (also known as mythology) is now also visible in "Birches" due to the speaker's rage against Fate, the job of the three destinies is to determine the course of your life, and even if the The speaker knows, if you shout at them they will make your life horrible, he continues to shout at them. Frost not only uses literacy devices, but also uses other devices to create another excellent poem. The speaker comes to a resolution in the last section of "Birches" by finally accepting the fact that he will die and will not be able to return to live another life. . It sums up all of his previous thoughts and condenses the whole poem and the theme which is to live your life to the fullest, because otherwise you will only be filled with regrets in the end, even if you live to the fullest and you mess something up. it will be better than not taking the risk and things can always be worse. The word “towards” (Frost, 47) which is also italicized shows that he went towards the sky but never reached it because the tree could no longer hold. This entire part of the poem is an example of thematic imagery because it provides the reader with an image related to the theme (metaphor) of the entire poem. An example of an analogy is also present by Frost using the words "climb..
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