Birches Spirituality Quotes

In "Kubla Khan," the stately pleasure dome that Kubla Khan built collapses like an interrupted vision.

Like in Coleridge's "Kubla Kahn," the speaker's vision in "Birches" is interrupted by a strange visitor. This time, however, the visitor is "Truth," a concept that often sparks skepticism. How do you understand "Truth." Do you take it at face value? Do you understand it in an ironic light?

Frost has thrown in "fate" another personification that can be as scrutinized as "Truth." But then again, you could also take these two concepts seriously. The poem doesn't necessarily argue that one interpretation is better than the other.