Sleeping In The Forest And Fog Analysis

Poetry is an extremely complex form of art expression that can also be interpreted in various ways. It allows one to put feelings and emotions into words. Anyone can take the beaten rode to an empty field filled with sunflowers or hike the bare trail through a forest enriched with nature’s noises, but only a true artist, or in this case poet, can capture a specific instance with words and infuse a piece of paper with emotions. Both Mary Oliver’s Sleeping in the Forest and Carl Sandburg’s Fog visualize nature and its effects on someone roaming through a forest or city. Oliver focuses on the transcendental power of nature and its ability to be comforting while Sandburg concentrates on the baleful presence of a natural phenomenon. Patently, both poems focus on nature and the sensation that Earth can give someone. The contrasting …show more content…
Mary Oliver repetitively uses “I” to describe a tremendously personal connection to Earth and the beauty Mother Nature offers, making her experiences resemble an anecdote about an old time friend who once “remembered” and “took me [her] back so tenderly”. As cliché as the idea “being one with nature” may be, Oliver exquisitely records “vanishing at least a dozen times into something better.” She truly appreciates the peaceful transformation she undergoes. The third person point of view in Fog allows anyone to relate to the dramatic mood change that takes place in this poem. Likewise, the use of the word “city” to show who is impacted and defenseless to the “silent haunches” of the fog. The eerie fog in