Robert Frost's The Wood-Pile

In his poem “The Wood-Pile”, Robert Frost reveals humanity's thirst for knowledge, yet fear in the unknown. He unravels this through a series of binary diction, vivid details, and images of life(or the lack of life). A man goes on a lonely stroll in a frozen swamp. He is has a fear of what is ahead and says, “I will turn back from here. No, I will go on farther and we shall see(2-3).” There is a noticeable shift from the pronoun “I” to the pronoun “we”. This signifies the speaker’s belief in a bigger world power. Him (the speaker) and this higher power are enveloped by the term “we”. The speaker goes on to describe his surroundings, “The view was all in lines/ Straight up and down of tall slim trees/ Too much alike to mark or name a place by/ So as to say for certain I was here/ Or …show more content…
The bird seems to be frightened and distances himself from the speaker. The speaker says, “He was careful/ To put a tree between us when he lighted,/ And say no word to tell me who he was/ Who was so foolish to think what he thought(10-13).” The diction choice of “lighted” brings an image of delicacy. The definition of lighted is to fall or settle upon. The bird is described in a way that is gentle and almost innocent. Although the bird is the first sign of life, it is noiseless, creating a feeling of unease within the reader. He goes on to say, “He thought I was after him for a feather-/ The white one in his tail; like the one who takes/ Everything said as personal to himself./ One flight out sideways undeceived him (14-17).” There is a tone of foolishness directed towards the bird. However, the speaker does not realize that the white feather on the bird is a unique part of its’ identity. The loss of its feather would, ultimately, be the loss of its’ unique individuality. Interestingly, the diction choice of “undeceived” means to tell that an idea or belief is mistaken. This further demonstrates a sort of insecurity or