She is known as one of the greatest female, top selling poets in American History, Mary Oliver wrote the poem “oxygen”, which was released in her collection as one of the forty-three poems written in her book Thirst. Written during a time she was going through the loss of a loved one, Mary writes “Oxygen” to express her gratitude toward her relationship. The poem is short and simple, yet is deep as it uses the idea of oxygen to represent love and life. “Oxygen” is written about two people, one of whom is ill and living on a breathing machine. The other person is explaining the importance of their love for the ill person and describing the need of love, to the need for oxygen. All things in life cannot survive without oxygen and some would
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The reader is offered important information about the human body and its needs, when reading, “Everything needs it: bone, muscles” (Line 1), and the reader begins to ask themselves what do I need? This opening captures the audience’s attention right away. The next line is more powerful and here is where the poet uses nature to compare against life, “Even, while it calls the earth its home, the soul.” (Line 2). She is now touching on how vital this necessity is, that even our souls will need it to survive on this place we refer to as home which is earth. The poet then chooses to use a simile when writing, “So the merciful, noisy machine stands in our house working away in its lung-like voice.” (Line 4-5), this is when the reader now realizes the crucial object the person will need to survive is Oxygen. The reader distinguishes that there is more than one person in in this poem when reading they, “hear it as”, they, “kneel before the fire”. (Line 5-6). The first stanza gives way for the reader to have many questions as to where the direction of this poem will head. One very strong impression the poem gives is that this will be about someone who is ill and possibly dying from the lack of oxygen. It is the second person who is kneeling before the fire when the poem begins to be set up for the comparison of the fire to the lack of …show more content…
She is also describing what it is like to watch your loved one slowly die, you can tend to it like the fire and help as much as you can but eventually the oxygen will run out and the flames will be no more. Air truly is our most precious “invisible gift” to life and our soul. I too have lost a special person to me from breathing problems. He had pneumonia when he was a child and as he became much older his lungs began to fill with fluid and slowly he stopped breathing, suffocating in his own fluid. I remember watching my grandfather cough for long periods of time, gasping on to his lasts breaths and wishing there was something we could do. This poem really touched me because I could relate to the precious necessity that we sometimes take for granted and the unconditional love you have for the person you have to say goodbye to and you just aren’t sure how that is even possible. Mary Oliver has done an excellent job at engaging her readers in her comparison of fire to breathing by using our beautiful
The reader is offered important information about the human body and its needs, when reading, “Everything needs it: bone, muscles” (Line 1), and the reader begins to ask themselves what do I need? This opening captures the audience’s attention right away. The next line is more powerful and here is where the poet uses nature to compare against life, “Even, while it calls the earth its home, the soul.” (Line 2). She is now touching on how vital this necessity is, that even our souls will need it to survive on this place we refer to as home which is earth. The poet then chooses to use a simile when writing, “So the merciful, noisy machine stands in our house working away in its lung-like voice.” (Line 4-5), this is when the reader now realizes the crucial object the person will need to survive is Oxygen. The reader distinguishes that there is more than one person in in this poem when reading they, “hear it as”, they, “kneel before the fire”. (Line 5-6). The first stanza gives way for the reader to have many questions as to where the direction of this poem will head. One very strong impression the poem gives is that this will be about someone who is ill and possibly dying from the lack of oxygen. It is the second person who is kneeling before the fire when the poem begins to be set up for the comparison of the fire to the lack of …show more content…
She is also describing what it is like to watch your loved one slowly die, you can tend to it like the fire and help as much as you can but eventually the oxygen will run out and the flames will be no more. Air truly is our most precious “invisible gift” to life and our soul. I too have lost a special person to me from breathing problems. He had pneumonia when he was a child and as he became much older his lungs began to fill with fluid and slowly he stopped breathing, suffocating in his own fluid. I remember watching my grandfather cough for long periods of time, gasping on to his lasts breaths and wishing there was something we could do. This poem really touched me because I could relate to the precious necessity that we sometimes take for granted and the unconditional love you have for the person you have to say goodbye to and you just aren’t sure how that is even possible. Mary Oliver has done an excellent job at engaging her readers in her comparison of fire to breathing by using our beautiful