The desire to escape reality is something everyone feels in their lifetime. The stress of a particularly hard day at work or the strain of financial woes to the loss of a loved one or flat-out boredom. These are just a few of the things that can make a person yearn for an alternative reality, if even for just a fleeting moment. Whether it is daydreaming, using one’s imagination to build magical worlds in your mind, or delving deep into your memories and reliving moments from your past, these are all ways to escape the present. In the poem, “Birches,” Robert Frost ventures in and out of reality by using connotation, mood and tone, and in doing so, wrote a powerful poetic work that transcends time and touches the hearts of generation after generation.
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The very start of this poem hints that the author may be reminiscing about an experience he had from childhood with trees and that he enjoys going back to that moment in his mind. It also hints to a mood and tone that is somber because Frost writes that tree branches aren’t bent permanently by swinging on them, but that this is the work of ice storms. Although ice storms can be taken literally here, the author uses connotation to give us a deeper meaning. Ice storms are unpleasant and disruptive, ice weighs branches down, as can everyday …show more content…
The reality of the ice storm damaged branches “shatters” his reminiscent moment and “avalanching” implies a heaviness felt by the author after he comes to this realization. This realization is sharp, like glass, and the mood and tone, as well as the desire to escape reality is confirmed when Frost says “…when Truth broke in with all her matter-of-fact about the ice-storm/I should prefer to have some boy bend them” (Frost 1969). This tells the reader that the author favors an imagined reality, rather than the real one. This statement also further sets the mood and tone of the poem, giving the reader a sense of pessimism and overall somber feel. The tone here implies that Frost is almost bitter toward Truth for barging in and sending him back to reality. This is relatable to readers, who have all experienced disappointment when reality did not meet the desires or expectations they imagined in their minds.
Another use of connotation is “Truth,” as it suggests reality and absoluteness, it is an unwelcome intrusion. This intrusion further dampens the mood and leaves the reader with that all-familiar feeling of being let down. Frost then goes on to describe his experiences as a child swinging from the branches of his father’s property as it was his only means of play (Frost 1969), which briefly lifts the mood of the poem, causing the reader to lapse into their own fond
The very start of this poem hints that the author may be reminiscing about an experience he had from childhood with trees and that he enjoys going back to that moment in his mind. It also hints to a mood and tone that is somber because Frost writes that tree branches aren’t bent permanently by swinging on them, but that this is the work of ice storms. Although ice storms can be taken literally here, the author uses connotation to give us a deeper meaning. Ice storms are unpleasant and disruptive, ice weighs branches down, as can everyday …show more content…
The reality of the ice storm damaged branches “shatters” his reminiscent moment and “avalanching” implies a heaviness felt by the author after he comes to this realization. This realization is sharp, like glass, and the mood and tone, as well as the desire to escape reality is confirmed when Frost says “…when Truth broke in with all her matter-of-fact about the ice-storm/I should prefer to have some boy bend them” (Frost 1969). This tells the reader that the author favors an imagined reality, rather than the real one. This statement also further sets the mood and tone of the poem, giving the reader a sense of pessimism and overall somber feel. The tone here implies that Frost is almost bitter toward Truth for barging in and sending him back to reality. This is relatable to readers, who have all experienced disappointment when reality did not meet the desires or expectations they imagined in their minds.
Another use of connotation is “Truth,” as it suggests reality and absoluteness, it is an unwelcome intrusion. This intrusion further dampens the mood and leaves the reader with that all-familiar feeling of being let down. Frost then goes on to describe his experiences as a child swinging from the branches of his father’s property as it was his only means of play (Frost 1969), which briefly lifts the mood of the poem, causing the reader to lapse into their own fond