Frost Birches So Was I Term Paper

The contrast between Earth and Heaven is central to Frost's poem. Bowed birch boughs convey sharp distinctions between symbolic realms of Earth and Heaven. "Earth's the right place for love," the narrator states; but the human being will always climb back "toward heaven," (lines 53; 57). Thus, the poet addresses directly the dualistic forces of Earth and Heaven in "Birches."

Structurally, "Birches" contains several distinct and contrasting elements, allowing the narrator to distinguish thematically between the opposing forces of reason and fantasy. The first half of the poem is "matter-of-fact about the ice-storm," (line 22). The ice is tangible, heavy, cold, and hard. Using a parenthetical and hypothetical question to segregate the reason from fantasy portions of the poem, the narrator spends the remainder of the poem describing the youthful playfulness of a young boy.Both the ice and the boy denote impermanence: the boy the impermanence of childhood, signified by his not bending the tree "to stay," and the ice denoting the impermanence of life itself, indicated by winter's deadly chill (line 4).

Works Cited

Frost, Robert. "Birches." 1920 Mountain Interval. Reproduced on Bartleby.com. Retrieved online….....