19. Describe one of the strongest literary images (not a picture or drawing from the reading) you
encountered from any of the following literature:
• from Of Wolves and Men by Barry Holstun Lopez
• "Birches" by Robert Frost
, "Haiku" by Kaga no Chiyo
• "Haiku" by Basho
"Spring is like a perhaps hand" by E.E. Cummings
• from An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore
, "The Deadliest Tsunami in History?" by National Geographic News
• "Orphans Give Indian Couple Will to Live; 2004 Tsunami Killed Their Son, Two
Daughters" by Shaikh Azizur Rahman
"Wave" by Dale Wisely
Why is this image memorable? How does the author use vivid descriptive details to help the
reader visualize what is being described? How does this image contribute to the main idea of
the text? Please use specific details from the text to support your answer.
guys shut he needs help give him something to work with instead of shooting him down
To describe one of the strongest literary images, let's focus on the poem "Birches" by Robert Frost. To get started, I recommend reading the poem yourself to fully understand the image being described. Once you've read it, you can analyze it to identify the vivid descriptive details, its memorability, and how it contributes to the main idea.
"Birches" portrays a beautifully visualized image of birch trees that have been bent by ice storms and then gradually return to their original position. The poet introduces this image through lines 22 to 31, which describe how a boy swings on birch trees and bends them down:
"So was I once myself a swinger of birches;
And so I dream of going back to be.
It’s when I’m weary of considerations,
And life is too much like a pathless wood
Where your face burns and tickles with the cobwebs
Broken across it, and one eye is weeping
From a twig’s having lashed across it open.
I’d like to get away from earth awhile
And then come back to it and begin over.
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."
The image of the birches being bent and then returning to their original position is memorable because it evokes a sense of resilience and rejuvenation. It acts as a metaphor for the human experience, suggesting that even when life weighs us down, we can find a way to bounce back and regain our balance.
Frost employs vivid descriptive details to help the reader visualize the scene. He references the cobwebs breaking across the face and the sensation of one eye weeping from the lash of a twig. These details create a tactile and visual experience for the reader, enhancing the image's impact.
This image contributes to the main idea of the poem, which explores the bittersweet emotions of growing up and longing for the carefree joy of childhood. Through the image of the birch trees, Frost highlights the desire to escape the burdens of adulthood and return to a simpler time, where one could swing on the trees and experience a temporary release from life's hardships.
By using specific details to describe the image, Frost not only enhances its visual impact but also reinforces the overarching theme of finding solace and hope amidst the challenges of life.