The title of the poem speaks for itself, “Desert Places” is a moral and spiritual wildernesses, where the reader has lost his way. This poem uses imagery, word choice, and symbolism, to explain how depression can make one feel that their life is nothing valuable. He states that the depression felt, for a person …show more content…
“They cannot scare me…” Frost says. It contrasts greatly to the overall downhearted tone of the poem. The speaker is not frightened anymore because he found himself/herself and those flickers of hope, which they had lost. Moreover, the speaker explains that empty spaces are not what really frightened him/her. It is the inner void that is terrifying. The reader realizes the conformity and the void that will follow with doing so. They will never fully encompass their meaning of life, they would have just skimmed by like any other tree in the woods. But the reader realizes there is more of a possibility to be alone surrounded by everyone then there is to be alone as an individual. There is one more symbol, the symbol of the stars. They represent the elusive dreams and goals we are striving for. The speaker says that very often the goals of society are far from being realistic and easily achievable. They only suck the spirit out of individuals. That is why the speaker would rather make his personal decisions than be at society’s beck and call. He/she has his/her own path and the choice to explore it by himself/herself is the only mark of his individuality. And the ability to posses the tool to shape their own path and scheme the universe has set out for them, is more promising then the conformity to being the same and accepting life as it is. The speaker controls their life, and the meaning behind