Comparing Robert Frost 's poems "Birch" and "A Road Not Traveled" is difficult and forces the reader to shift the way they read and interpret the poems. And also makes the reader think about the author of the poem; who he was, what his life was like, and what he was trying to say using poetic words the captivated for many generations.
We first must understand who the author was, his life, his death, and events that may have impacted his writings. Robert Frost was born in the year of 1874 in San Francisco on March 26th to William Prescott Frost Jr and Isabelle Moodie. His parents, originally from Pennsylvania, moved to San Francisco shortly after the wed. His father worked as an editor for the San Francisco Evening Editor, which may explain Frosts live of writing, taking up the mantle of his father in ways.
His father died when Frost was eleven leaving his mother and him with little money. Shortly after him, his mother and his sister moved to Massachusetts. It was during his time in Massachusetts that he became interested in Poetry and writing. At the age of eighteen he attended Dartmouth College in Hanover and later Harvard University in Boston. Although achieving …show more content…
But if we look closer we can see some similarities, subtle yet defined by the author. Like a majority of his poems these also carry the hint of natural wonders. Birch trees, paths through forests, these speak of his inspiration from the Landscape of England and New Hampshire. His love of nature, and his understanding of it, can be seen in his writings. Both poems speak of choices; in "Birches" the choice is to embrace reality or escape into imagination, in "A Road Not Traveled" the choice is clearly which road to take. But with both poems a decision is made, to embrace reality for what it is, and to embrace the choices that we make. And just like both we can dream of what could have
We first must understand who the author was, his life, his death, and events that may have impacted his writings. Robert Frost was born in the year of 1874 in San Francisco on March 26th to William Prescott Frost Jr and Isabelle Moodie. His parents, originally from Pennsylvania, moved to San Francisco shortly after the wed. His father worked as an editor for the San Francisco Evening Editor, which may explain Frosts live of writing, taking up the mantle of his father in ways.
His father died when Frost was eleven leaving his mother and him with little money. Shortly after him, his mother and his sister moved to Massachusetts. It was during his time in Massachusetts that he became interested in Poetry and writing. At the age of eighteen he attended Dartmouth College in Hanover and later Harvard University in Boston. Although achieving …show more content…
But if we look closer we can see some similarities, subtle yet defined by the author. Like a majority of his poems these also carry the hint of natural wonders. Birch trees, paths through forests, these speak of his inspiration from the Landscape of England and New Hampshire. His love of nature, and his understanding of it, can be seen in his writings. Both poems speak of choices; in "Birches" the choice is to embrace reality or escape into imagination, in "A Road Not Traveled" the choice is clearly which road to take. But with both poems a decision is made, to embrace reality for what it is, and to embrace the choices that we make. And just like both we can dream of what could have