Crossing The Swamp Mary Oliver

“Crossing the Swamp” is a second person point-of-view narration on the vast details of a swamp. Mary Oliver purposefully personalizes the text speaking in a direct manner to the reader as to explain an experience she dealt with or feels strongly about. The swamp acts as a deep characterization of some larger event, yet Oliver keeps in generalized to appeal to a larger audience. Through the use of elementary diction, grammatical pauses, and imagery, the poet creates a dramatic response to the negative impacts of the world on behalf of the common people.
“Here is swamp – here is struggle.” This sentence speaks of a general place juxtaposed to a general idea or feelings to show how strongly the “swamp” is applicable to all situations of life. The elementary diction is …show more content…
There is no reason to enrich the poem with coded text or a mysterious double entendre. It is a simple and effective way or communicating known, specifically, as speech. In the line, “Here is swamp – here is struggle,” Mary also utilizes the ‘pause’ as a grammatical technique to effectively dramatize events and/or arouse suspense. Here, specifically, the pause acts not to unify the two but clarify that they are the same. Almost as if she is given two separate interpretations as to lessen the gap between the obvious and more cryptic. She is breaking the fourth wall by enlisting a poem followed by an explanation. The poem, though, may still be interpreted differently making it a versatile text. Often people do not use poems as a mean of release or finding comfort but rather write them to express a common feeling. This poem, though, is almost like a colloquial expression of what it feels like to be caught in something unmanageable. It is not a sentiment but rather an assurance to any person feeling isolated in their own problems. Personally, growing up in a constantly changing environment and moving from house to house, I can relate to the simple text and subtext that create an