Robert Frost...Mending Wall, Birches

In Mending Wall, Robert Frost describes the relationship between two neighbors. They are separated by a wall, but one of the neighbors sees no reason for the wall since there are no cows to fence in. The other neighbor insists that "good fences make good neighbors" (line 27). A sense of isolation and loneliness is suggested in a few words in the poem, including "frozen-ground-swell" (line 2), "gaps" (line 4), and "boulders that have fallen" (line 16). Also, the phrase "like an old-stone savage armed" (line 40) likens the stones to dangerous weapons. For the neighbor that doesn't see the purpose of the wall, this may seem true. This neighbor views the stone wall as something that tears apart a relationship, instead of strengthening it. The poem doesn't rhyme or have a specific rhythm. At the same time, it isn't choppy but flows well. This suggests a more casual and calmly misunderstood rather than cautious and angry tone. In Birches, Robert Frost writes about the limbs of birch trees, how their branches look as if a boy has been swinging from them. In reality, the bends in the limbs are caused from ice, but the narrator would rather use his imagination. The narrator believes that the bends were caused by swinging boys, like himself when he was younger. A few words in the poem suggest a beauty and fragility the narrator sees in the branches. These words include "crystal shells" (line 10), "broken glass" (line 12), and "you'd think the inner dome of heaven had fallen" (line 13). Comparing the birch trees to girls in lines 19 and 20 additionally gives the branches these feelings of beauty and fragility. The phrase mentioned above in line 13 also shows the reader that swinging through the birch trees places the narrator in his own haven. Phrases like "The click upon themselves as the breeze rises, and turn many-coloured as the stir cracks and crazes their enamel" (lines 7-9) also allow the reader to almost audibly hear ice breaking and cracking by repeating the "c" sound. Overall, the narrator regrets not being able to find the peace he did as a child swinging through the birch trees. He wishes to escape to that calm and find peace beyond a real world, or the "Truth" (line 21), filled with stress and calamity.