Skip to main content

What are the abstract and philosophical elements of the poem "Birches"?

As an adult, the speaker longs to swing on birches again. He notes how swinging on the birches is a temporary escape from the earth.


I’d like to get away from earth awhileAnd then come back to it and begin over. 


When he was young, swinging on the trees was simply a matter of play. As an older man, and more reflective, he sees the practice of swinging in more philosophical terms. He wants...

As an adult, the speaker longs to swing on birches again. He notes how swinging on the birches is a temporary escape from the earth.



I’d like to get away from earth awhile
And then come back to it and begin over. 



When he was young, swinging on the trees was simply a matter of play. As an older man, and more reflective, he sees the practice of swinging in more philosophical terms. He wants to "get away" from the earth for a while, but then he wants to come back and repeat the process. This idea of getting away could be something as simple (and abstract) as daydreaming or living in one's imagination.


He may imply that he wants to be young again, or, at least, he wants to feel young again. Combined with these notions of dreaming and feeling young again is the more spiritual metaphor of moving between heaven and earth. As he swings up, he moves toward heaven and then he comes back down to earth. He does not want to escape from the earth completely and this indicates that he is happy in life and does not want to die. He only wants to briefly touch and/or dream of heaven.



May no fate willfully misunderstand me
And half grant what I wish and snatch me away
Not to return. Earth’s the right place for love:
I don’t know where it’s likely to go better. 



While leaving earth and coming back could imply living multiple lives, the abstract escape the speaker is dreaming of here might be as simple as a temporary escape from his daily routine.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is the meaning of "juggling fiends" in Macbeth?

Macbeth is beginning to realize that the three witches have been deceiving him since he first encountered them. Like jugglers, they have kept changing their forecasts in order create confusion. This is particularly apparent when the Second Apparition they raise in Act IV,   Scene 1 tells him that no man of woman born can overcome him in hand-to-hand battle--and then Macbeth finds himself confronted by the one man he has been avoiding out of a... Macbeth is beginning to realize that the three witches have been deceiving him since he first encountered them. Like jugglers, they have kept changing their forecasts in order create confusion. This is particularly apparent when the Second Apparition they raise in Act IV,   Scene 1 tells him that no man of woman born can overcome him in hand-to-hand battle--and then Macbeth finds himself confronted by the one man he has been avoiding out of a sense of guilt, and that man tells him: Despair thy charm. And let the angel whom thou still hast serve...
Post a Comment
Read more

What are some external and internal conflicts that Montag has in Fahrenheit 451?

 Montag, the protagonist of Fahrenheit 451, faces both external and internal conflicts throughout the novel. Some examples of these conflicts are: External Conflicts: Conflict with the society: Montag lives in a society that prohibits books and critical thinking. He faces opposition from the government and the people who enforce this law. Montag struggles to come to terms with the fact that his society is based on censorship and control. Conflict with his wife: Montag's wife, Mildred, is completely absorbed in the shallow and meaningless entertainment provided by the government. Montag's growing dissatisfaction with his marriage adds to his external conflict. Conflict with the fire captain: Montag's superior, Captain Beatty, is the personification of the oppressive regime that Montag is fighting against. Montag's struggle against Beatty represents his external conflict with the government. Internal Conflicts: Conflict with his own beliefs: Montag, at the beginning of th...
Post a Comment
Read more

In A People's History of the United States, why does Howard Zinn feel that Wilson made a flimsy argument for entering World War I?

"War is the health of the state," the radical writer Randolph Bourne said, in the midst of the First World War. Indeed, as the nations of Europe went to war in 1914, the governments flourished, patriotism bloomed, class struggle was stilled, and young men died in frightful numbers on the battlefields-often for a hundred yards of land, a line of trenches. -- Chapter 14, Page 350, A People's History of the United States Howard Zinn outlines his arguments for why World War I was fought in the opening paragraph of Chapter 14 (referenced above). The nationalism that was created by the Great War benefited the elite political and financial leadership of the various countries involved. Socialism, which was gaining momentum in Europe, as was class struggle, took a backseat to mobilizing for war. Zinn believes that World War I was fought for the gain of the industrial capitalists of Europe in a competition for capital and resources. He states that humanity itself was punished by t...
Post a Comment
Read more