Topic > The use of imagery, figurative language, and sound in "Birches" by Robert Frost

Just like Robert Frost, everyone attributes memories to certain people, places, and things throughout their lives, some memories even allowing for a departure for a time this could be considered much simpler and calmer than current conditions. In Robert Frost's poem, "Birches," Frost begins the poem by alluding to his memories that he has attached to trees with low, hanging branches and his desire to climb these branches once again to escape his earthly problems. Frost not only uses images, imagery, and sounds to reiterate his strong fascination and appreciation for trees, but he also uses these elements to lift himself out of the present and allow himself to escape his own reality, if only for a little while. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay An important element that Frost applies throughout the poem is imagery. Frost uses vivid imagery of dangling tree branches to contrast reality or his adult life with his escape into childhood. Frost states: "Soon the heat of the sun causes them to scatter crystal shells 10 which shatter and form avalanches on the snow crust - such piles of broken glass to be swept away you would think the inner dome of the sky had fallen." Here, Frost clearly shows that although he would like to believe that the branches hang low as boys swing on them, just as he did as a child, he knows that the truth behind the low hanging branches is the intense climate these trees encounter. . This, in turn, represents the confrontation between reality and escapism, and also shows that, although he would like to relive what was once an easier time as a child, he fully understands that he must live in the present. Another important element that Frost subtly describes is the use of figurative language to compare the physical tree to a ladder that leads to the sky and allows him to escape his own problematic life on Earth. Frost first introduces this idea when he states: "I would like to climb a birch tree and climb the black branches on a snow-white trunk towards the sky, until the tree could bear no more, but will immerse its top and put me back down." ”. Here it is clear that the branches of the tree represent a way for him to get away from the fray of life and to relieve his thoughts and worries because as a child this was the path to his happiness. Additionally, Frost uses the tree and its branches to connect it to a vehicle. Just as people use automobiles to get from one point to another, the idea of ​​swinging on tree branches provides the narrator with a means to leave the earth, but only for as long as he is swinging upward, since it is clear that what goes up must come down. That said, Frost even says he's learned not to launch or land too early, which allows him to preserve branch height and allow for multiple swings or escapes, though it's only temporary. Finally, Frost uses powerful sound devices. and sound elements such as repetition and onomatopoeia. Although Frost uses repetition several times, it is most noticeable when he continually reiterates "birch trees bend", "boys who swing bend them", and "birch swingers". Here, Frost strengthens his hope of returning to his childhood to neglect his adult responsibilities and return to a time when things were easier and life was much more carefree, a time when all he cared about was find a new tree to swing from. In addition to repetition, Frost also uses onomatopoeia to contrast the delicate imagery.