Analyzing a Poem: The Journey by Mary Oliver - Essay Example

Analyzing Poetry Meaning In the poem “The Journey” by Mary Oliver, the poet is talking to a person wholeft home to find a new future. This anguish of the leaving emerges in the imagery of “felt the old tug / at your ankles” (8-9) although there is perhaps resentment expressed in the characterization of voices shouting bad advice (3-5). This suggests the ‘you’ of the poem has tried leaving before, but once they’ve left, they become capable of hearing their own thoughts, “there was a new voice / which you slowly / recognized as your own” (27-29), thus gaining the ability to save themselves. Thus, the basic journey of the poem can be considered to be that of coming of age of the adolescent as they move from dependent childhood to independent adulthood. It can also be considered a poem of discovery as the person discovers their own voice. In either case, the speaker of the poem takes on an exterior role, speaking to the actor rather than taking part in the action itself yet still having a knowledge of the events that have occurred. Antecedent meaning Within the poem, it is suggested that the person must have tried to leave before but couldn’t. This is heard in the voices crying out and the trembling of the house, putting in mind the way that older people tend to live vicariously through their children. The poet also indicates that “it was already late / enough, and a wild night, / and the road full of fallen / branches and stones” (19-22). The traveler has taken the advice that was shouted out before, gaining them nothing but the ability to recognize bad advice when they hear it. The road is not sunny and promising because of the time wasted, they have missed some of their opportunities. However, this time they were able to break through the boundaries that kept them home before, prompting the speaker to recount what the traveler has overcome and providing a comforting, reassuring voice that the traveler has done the right thing for themselves. Structural parts The poem is not divided along a simple rhyme scheme pattern or even along structured metrical rhythm. Instead, its first two divisions are indicated by the words “you knew what you had to do,” appearing in the first lines as well as line 13. In the first of these sections, the poet illustrates the clinging nature of the people of the house. They cling to the traveler through guilt and through pity. The second section talks about the desperate emotional struggle of the traveler in trying to take his leave. While the third section ends with the repetition of the key phrase “You knew what you had to do”, it begins with the word “but” in line 23 to distinguish it from the second section of the poem. Here, the poet is able to talk about how the steps of separation became easier as the person traveled further from home because of their new ability to hear their own voice over that of the others. The Climax The climax of the poem comes in this third section in which the traveler discovers their own voice: “there was a new voice / which you slowly / recognized as your own” (27-29). This shows a change in character, situation and direction. This new voice keeps the traveler company “as you strode deeper and deeper / into the world” (30-31). It is not grasping, trembling or shouting as voices have been described so far. The imagery of the storm-tossed outer world is reduced in intensity as “the stars began to burn / though the sheets of clouds” (25-26). In this shift in tone, the poet indicates a future different from what had been experienced thus far. While it might still be frightening, suggested in the concept that the traveler goes “deeper and deeper / into the world” (31-32), the traveler is able to stride into the world, taking steps much different from those that were weighted down at the ankles at the beginning of the poem. The other parts While the climax comprises the final lines of the poem, the other sections are also distinguished from the rest through their focus on the past. The past has been full of others, others who would have preferred the traveler to stay, somehow saving the others from their misery by sacrificing the traveler’s dreams. The anger and resentment felt toward these others is subdued but present in the characterization of shouting voices and bad advice, yet the pull of these others on the traveler is understood to be significant in this first section. With the characterization of the others established in the first section, a focus on the external, the second section discusses the pain of the separation the traveler feels on making their decision to leave, representing a shift to the internal. This is done through metaphors such as: “the wind pried / with its stiff fingers / at the very foundation” (16-18), in which the other voices tear at the very deepest levels of the traveler’s emotions and the characterization of the “wild night” into which he plunges as a state of his internal emotions as he struggles free. The skeleton The emotional skeleton of the poem seems to start on a slightly sullen middle ground that is the settled resolution of a long and fierce emotional storm. This is highlighted in the statement “one day you finally knew” (1), as if the traveler had finally managed to settle his internal turmoil into a conscious choice. The source of the storm is revealed as the others who shout bad advice, while the trembling of the house indicates the intensity of it. This tension slips quickly into a quiet sorrow as the wind pries at the traveler’s resolve and the melancholy of the others infects the traveler nearly to the point of turning back. The tone takes a sudden swerve upward with the word “but” in line 23, slowly taking on a crescendo as the traveler begins to recognize their own voice. While the poem does not necessarily end on a high point, perhaps only able to achieve the same emotional level as the beginning, it is a more positive note indicating a shift has occurred. Playing with the skeleton The poem takes on the shape of a then-now poem because of its focus on the then of the house that was left and the now of the traveler exploring the world, however it is all told within the context of a past tense. This is combined with a sense of the discovery poem as the traveler begins to hear their own voice, which has previously been drowned out by the others, yet this is imposed from the outside too, as if it’s a reminder of what has been accomplished. By returning the traveler to roughly the same emotional level as he started, the poem indicates there has been a lapse in resolve, which is indicated in the language as well; however, it also returns them to a different point, not making any promises as might be expected, but providing a reason to hope for the future. Language The language of the poem goes a long way toward illustrating what the poet intended. Enjambment breaks the six sentences of the poem into 36 lines, allowing the thoughts to run over two and sometimes three lines, yet bringing attention to specific words. Looking just at the end words, it can be seen that the first section of the poem is dominated by fear – people are ‘shouting’, the house ‘trembles’ and there’s a ‘tug’ at the ‘ankles’ indicating something that won’t let go. The pain of the second section is conveyed in the end words as well, conveying a sense of staying and going and the agony of teetering in between. End words such as ‘stop’, ‘do’, ‘pried’ and ‘foundations’ indicate a stay / go, movement / stationary concept that oscillates back and forth. However, the poem takes on a new direction in the third section with end words that expose the self, voices become ‘little’, fall ‘behind’, ‘burn’ and become hidden by ‘clouds’. In this, a new voice emerges, becoming ‘deeper’ and finally leading to the final words of the poem, “the only life you could save”, thus ending on a note of redemption. Tone The tone of the poem seems to be one of consolation and contemplation. The past life was unproductive and meaningless, which is highlighted by the idea that the others are expecting salvation yet remain unsaved and the futility recognized in the anger of first section. The difficulty in leaving is expressed through the inner feelings of ‘melancholy’ and outer weather metaphors of the second section. The poem takes on a slight note of hope at the end with a change in tone toward the recognition of the individual as the traveler is finally able to hear their own voice, begins to see by the light of the stars and takes on the possibility of at least saving their own life from the nothingness from which they came. Agency The speaker of the poem is not the traveler but is an external someone speaking to the traveler. This is done in a sympathetic tone, acknowledging the anger of the past as well as the pain of pulling away. Even as these painful events are listed, complete with the guilt of quotation, “Mend my life!” (10), so is the fact that there was no other option, “determined to do / the only thing you could do” (33-34). The main agent remains sympathetic throughout the poem, effectively illustrating not only that they understand what has been experienced and the crisis of resolve that instigates the poem, but also able to accurately illustrate how the traveler’s inner voice could only be recognized once it had removed itself from the past. Through this, it emerges that the difference between staying and going was the difference between life and death. Roads not taken With a poem of this sort, combining coming of age, exploration and discovery, one might normally expect to see some sort of first-person presentation. However, this poem is spoken as if directly to the reader, consistently referring to ‘you’. By shaping it in this way, the poem is able to reach out and grab the reader, taking on the dimensions of a personal narrative. By writing the poem in the past tense, the poem takes on aspects of encouragement and understanding through shared experience, forming a connection between the reader and the poet that would not be available in any other tense. Likewise, had the poem been written in first person, this aspect of it would have been lost and the understanding forged between the poet and the reader would have been of a more impersonal nature. Genre In this free verse poem, the poet presents a stuttering rhythm to the uneven lines that helps to illustrate the uneven steps taken by the individual struggling to find their own way. It acknowledges pain, loss and anger as well as the uncertainty of the future. The disconnected postmodern approach doesn’t promise a rosy future, yet the poem emerges as congratulating a future earned, one in which the destiny was embraced by the reader despite the pain and pitfalls that might be experienced along the way. It highlights the idea that the only person who truly has the power to save your life is you and this is only accomplished through a willingness to hear your own voice. Imagination Through her presentation, Oliver has created a poem that at once indicates the problems of leaving a past behind, abandoning the seemingly secure and structured form of the child, to embrace the uncertain world of the future. Her stumbling meter, her broken sentences and her lack of rhyme indicate that this is not an easy journey. Her language illustrates the many trials and pains to be overcome as the individual seeks to separate themselves from the clutches of the family. Through the disconnected lines of the poem and the exploration of separation from family and friends, Oliver has created a means of establishing a connection with her readers. Read More