WAEC Literature in English 2016 Theory — Question 17

Model answer

In the poem 'Birches', the poet expresses his attitude towards nature. Birches are trees that grow in the temperate and arctic region of the northern hemisphere. The poet describes the situation in which the trees are bent either by a boy swinging them, or by nature through the effects of snow and ice-storms. Details of the ravages brought upon the trees are provided as they 'click' and 'crash' under the snow until summer when the warmth of the sun melts the snow and enables them to rise again. The emphasis throughout the poem is on the resilience of the trees, whether they are bent by humans or by nature itself. In spite of the fact that they never right themselves to their former weights, they never fail to rise 'years afterwards' as their trunks arch in the wood attractively like girl's 'hair' tossed 'before them, over their heads to dry.' The poet also recalls a memorable incident of some boy that had taken to swinging birches, and has taken care not to swing too low to lose hold as the trees swing back. He remembers his own childhood experience too: 'So I was once myself a swinger of birches'. The lesson from the poem is the resilience and determination to endure life the way birches do, just like the experience of the poet himself. Just as the 'birches' supple frames enable them to endure what both man and nature do to them, humans must as well be resilient and be able to endure situations as they are presented to them either by fellow humans or by nature.