Poem Comparison Essay Sample

In this paper, two poems by Frost, Birches and Fire and Ice, are going to be compared together considering their themes, organization, and overall meaning. As in most of Frost’s poems, both of the poems are written on Life; a very important concept for Frost. In his poems, a sense of joy is always present. He delights in the world around him; in the countryside, in the animals, and in action. As is obvious in both poems, especially Fire and Ice, Frost is full of curiosity about life, whether it is mending the wall, climbing trees, apple picking, or how the world will end. He has a sympathy for all kinds of life, yet there is no sentimentality in his view of life because he is always totally sincere. In both poems (and in all of his works) he speaks with the voice of common experience, so it is easy for everyone to feel what he is talking about. In both poems, it is visible that he is a master of using simple words to convey great and serious ideas.
Birches is the description of a country game which is consisted of swinging from birches which includes climbing carefully to the top of the tree, and then flinging outward and causing the tree to bend and carry one to the ground. Through this poem, Frost describes the joy of life. All through the poem, he compares the act of swinging with the desire of escaping from the weariness of life.
Fire and Ice is about life too, but instead of describing the joys of life, Frost has decided to consider the end of life in this poem. He asks the question: How is the world going to end? In fire or in ice? This poem is too short but contains many elements and feelings inside its few lines. Of course, the question remains unanswered, and what we learn after reading the poem is how Frost looks at life. Exactly like Birches, The vocabulary here is so simple, yet it is working to convey a really serious and grave issue.
One of the differences between the two poems is that, Birches is one of Frost’s old-fashioned poems in which the readers get to know another aspect of New England lifestyle which Frost cherishes and uses to talk about life in many poems (like After Apple Picking), But Fire and Ice is one of Frost’s modern poems. Its structure is strikingly different from his other works, and its content and message are totally universal.
Maybe the most striking differences between Birches and Fire and Ice, is that Birches is celebrating youth, and Fire and Ice is wondering how the world will end. One can say that these two poems belong to two different stages of life, swinging from the trees is what young people in their twenties would do; but theorizing about the method we are going to die is something that someone in their fifties or sixties would be willing to do. Surprisingly, these two poems are written only four years apart (1916 and 1920)
Both of the poems are considering the relationship between the human beings and the natural world. In Birches, the human is enjoying the world around him, he plays with nature, and lives with it, and savors life’s every moments. In Fire and Ice Frost is still talking about the relationship between humans and the natural world, but this time, the question is how these two creatures (human and nature) come into conflict and how they are going to destroy each other. In Birches, the natural world appears kind, interesting and loving, but in Fire and Ice it is cruel and fatal, though the tone of the poet is not at all fearsome and worrying.