The Mysterious Bending of Trees

"Birches," by Robert Frost, is an archetypical example of a Frost poem. Frost's poems are normally characterized by beautifully evocative descriptions of nature that form a very clear picture in the reader's mind. On first reading, many of his poems seem to be just a portrayal of events that occur in nature. However, there is normally another deeper meaning to the poem, mostly relating to the human condition. "Birches" seems at first reading to be …

…especially significant in providing the reader with a private picture into the poet's childhood and how he matured. The poem has a cheerful tone throughout, first beautifully describing the birch trees then looking at a young boy playing amongst them. In this poem Frost makes use of his "fooling" to provide the reader with a descriptive picture of New England life which is also more than it seems, being a metaphor for his childhood life.