Pat Hamer

Period 6

Birches

1. In Birches, discuss the lessons for living that one learns from swinging on birches. Explore the meaning of "not launching out to soon," not carrying the tree "clear to the ground," keeping one's "poise," and "climbing carefully." Consider how the subsequent comparison to the overfull cup attaches a metaphor to a symbol. Point out how Frost packs a tremendous amount of meaning into a few lines.

Using these few lines, Robert Frost shows some of life’s greatest lessons, not to become over excited or over confident and fall because of it, not to jump to conclusions, or move too soon because you could also fall, keeping’s one “poise” refers to not stumbling, or slouching in life, but always showing and doing your best. The cup can show how, carefully, people can become more than life, become more than what they really are, and thus succeeded more than ever.

2. Find at least three examples of metaphor and onomatopoeia in the poem.

Three examples of onomatopoeia are crack, swish, and click. Three examples of metaphors are broken glass being like broken ice, also him being a swinger of birches like the boy playing baseball, and also the third metaphor is “he flung outward, feet first, with a swish” which ties in with the boy playing baseball that slides into second base.

3. What are the two strong similes in the poem?

One strong simile is that life is like a pathless wood, and another strong simile is of the trees bending down like girls that bend over to dry their hair.

4. How do the sounds of Frost's poems differ from the sound of any of Whitman's poems?

Frost’s poems are very all American themes like baseball and trees. Also Frost’s poems are easier to read and understand than Whitman’s because Whitman’s have hidden meanings that are very hard to distinguish and recognize. Frost’s poems are easier to relate to.