After reading this poem, I believe that it can be divided into three The scientific explanation for the appearance of birches,Frost's boyhood fanatasy about their appearance, and his present dayinterpretation of their appearance. In the first section, Frost explains the birches appearancesscientifically. He implys that natural phenomenons make the branches of thebirch trees sway. He explains that ice storms, which is a characteristic ofNew England weather, can accumulate on the branches and cause them tobecome heavy and bending. (For those of ya'll not familiar with theappearance of the bark of the birch, click here.) Birches have a blackbackground with crackled snow white bark on top of the black bark. It hasan unusual appearance because both the black and the white are visable.Frost offers many suggestions for their appearance. It maybe due to the icebreaking that is burdened on the bark. The breeze causes the ice to moveand crack certain parts of the bark, creating the crackling effect. "As the[ice] stir cracks and crazes their enamel." He also compares this image tothat of breaking glass and compares it to the "dome of heaven" shattering.I enjoy how he offers such different interpretations for the appearance ofthe bark. My personal favorite is the shattering of the dome in heaven. Ithink this creates a vivid image for the reader. He goes on to say thatonce the branches are bent, they never return completely upright again, butthey are so flexible that they never break."You may see their trunksarching in the woods/ Years afterwards, trailing their leaves on theground." These are some of the natural phenomenons that Frost mentions toexplain the appearance of Birch trees. Frost then goes on to offer a more fantasy-like interpretation that heknows is not the real reason for their appearance, but it is imaginativeand creative. He imagines little boys could have caused this bending of thebranches to happen because they were swinging and ...
