In the poem “Crossing the Swamp” by Mary Oliver, the speaker tries to navigate the terrain of a difficult landscape. He/she has a complex relationship with the swamp that is the focus of the poem. By employing expert diction/imagery, parallelism, personification, and symbolism, Oliver suggests that the speaker struggles with the swamp but also appreciates its endless capabilities for redemption.
In the first section of the poem, struggle is shown through the poet’s word choice and syntax. At the beginning of the poem, the speaker describes the swamp as everything. The speaker refers to the swamp as the “center of everything,” that is made of “dense sap,” and includes “branching vines” and “dark burred faintly belching bogs.” The poet’s word …show more content…
The speaker depicts a dry stick to provide a symbol of hopefulness in a setting as gross in nature as the swamp. He/she characterizes the stick as “given one more chance” that could “after all these years…take root, sprout, branch out, bud.” The description of the stick as being able to “take root, sprout, branch out, bud” given it has survived “all these years” highlights how a hopeless entity like the stick still has the ability to grow into a beautiful thing in nature. This contrast between the beauty that is yet to come of the stick to the swamp’s previous description of having a gross nature is meant to symbolize how although one might struggle, they still possess the ability to be spiritually and mentally reborn. Along with the usage of symbolism, the speaker also uses personification to emphasize the liveliness of the leaves that the stick could potentially grow. He/she says the stick’s leaves can become “a breathing palace.” The illustration of the leaves being “a breathing palace” by the speaker personifies the leaves capability to breath. By doing this, the speaker is showing that the dry stick described earlier can ultimately become something that is so full of life. In the final portion of the poem, the speaker uses symbolism and personification to exhibit the ability of a lifeless dry stick to eventually flourish in nature, exemplifying
In the first section of the poem, struggle is shown through the poet’s word choice and syntax. At the beginning of the poem, the speaker describes the swamp as everything. The speaker refers to the swamp as the “center of everything,” that is made of “dense sap,” and includes “branching vines” and “dark burred faintly belching bogs.” The poet’s word …show more content…
The speaker depicts a dry stick to provide a symbol of hopefulness in a setting as gross in nature as the swamp. He/she characterizes the stick as “given one more chance” that could “after all these years…take root, sprout, branch out, bud.” The description of the stick as being able to “take root, sprout, branch out, bud” given it has survived “all these years” highlights how a hopeless entity like the stick still has the ability to grow into a beautiful thing in nature. This contrast between the beauty that is yet to come of the stick to the swamp’s previous description of having a gross nature is meant to symbolize how although one might struggle, they still possess the ability to be spiritually and mentally reborn. Along with the usage of symbolism, the speaker also uses personification to emphasize the liveliness of the leaves that the stick could potentially grow. He/she says the stick’s leaves can become “a breathing palace.” The illustration of the leaves being “a breathing palace” by the speaker personifies the leaves capability to breath. By doing this, the speaker is showing that the dry stick described earlier can ultimately become something that is so full of life. In the final portion of the poem, the speaker uses symbolism and personification to exhibit the ability of a lifeless dry stick to eventually flourish in nature, exemplifying