What are the literary and sound devices in this poem?

Question

What are the literary (Metaphor, Simile, Personification, Oxymoron, Irony, etc.) and sound (Assonance, Consonance, Alliteration, Cacophony, etc.) in this poem? Thank you!

 

One of my wishes is that those dark trees,
So old and firm they scarcely show the breeze,
Were not, as 'twere, the merest mask of gloom,
But stretched away unto the edge of doom.

I should not be withheld but that some day
Into their vastness I should steal away,
Fearless of ever finding open land,
Or highway where the slow wheel pours the sand.

I do not see why I should e'er turn back,
Or those should not set forth upon my track
To overtake me, who should miss me here
And long to know if still I held them dear.

They would not find me changed from him they knew--
Only more sure of all I thought was true.

Answer 1

In this poem, the literary devices used include:

1. Metaphor: "Those dark trees...were not, as 'twere, the merest mask of gloom." The trees are described as a "mask of gloom," which is a metaphor for their appearance as a representation of sadness or despair.
2. Simile: "I should not be withheld but that some day / Into their vastness I should steal away, / Fearless of ever finding open land." This simile compares the act of stealing away into the vastness of the trees to the act of stealing away into open land.
3. Personification: "The slow wheel pours the sand." The wheel is personified as pouring sand, which gives it human-like qualities.
4. Oxymoron: "The merest mask of gloom." The phrase "merest mask" is an oxymoron, as "merest" means "smallest" or "slightest," while "mask" implies a covering or concealment, which is the opposite of something being small or slight.
5. Irony: "I do not see why I should e'er turn back." The speaker says they do not see why they should turn back, but the idea of turning back is typically associated with returning to a place, implying that the speaker is considering leaving a place. This is ironic because the speaker does not see a reason for leaving, but is considering doing so.

The sound devices used in this poem include:

1. Assonance: The repetition of the vowel sound in "I should not be withheld but that some day" and "Into their vastness I should steal away."
2. Consonance: The repetition of the consonant sound "s" in "I should not be withheld but that some day" and "Into their vastness I should steal away."
3. Alliteration: The repetition of the consonant sound "t" in "those dark trees" and "the merest mask of gloom."
4. Cacophony: The harsh or discordant sounds in "firm they scarcely show the breeze" and "ever finding open land."

Best,

Erik L.

Answer 2

This poem is sonnet--10 syllables per line, follows a rhyme scheme AABB CCDD EEFF GG.

There is irony in the poem--it's written by a young person, a teenager, an adolescent--someone who is trying to stop being a child (or treated like a child?) and find total independence. The forest conveys that independence to him, even personifies it. But he still wants his family as a background, a foundation, even. So there's conflict between those two states.

There's another interesting literary conflict in the language and form of the poem. A sonnet is a very English form of writing, and Frost uses some very English (British) words: 'twere, e'er. He's still very invested in the English art of the sonnet and the English use of language. But the wilderness represents America; something different from England, but very much built upon it. America represents freedom, liberty, but not a total break from England. The forest represents adulthood, independence, but not a total break from childhood or home. The speaker will not "change" into an entirely different person, but through independence will be able to test his convictions and live them fully, the way he wants to.