Mary+Oliver

Aundrea Denson

Mary Oliver was born in 1935 in Maple Heights, Ohio. She attended Ohio State University and Vassar College, but did not receive a degree from either one. She is an American poet who has won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. The New York Times described her as "far and away, [America's] best-selling poet". Oliver’s first collection of poems, No Voyage and Other Poems, was published in 1963, when she was 28. During the early 1980s, Oliver taught at Case Western Reserve University. Her fifth collection of poetry, American Primitive, won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1984.

=The Journey by Mary Oliver= https://youtu.be/VNqSWiYWDaw


 * 1) One day you finally knew
 * 2) what you had to do, and began,
 * 3) though the voices around you
 * 4) kept shouting
 * 5) their bad advice—
 * 6) though the whole house
 * 7) began to tremble
 * 8) and you felt the old tug
 * 9) at your ankles.
 * 10) "Mend my life!"
 * 11) each voice cried.
 * 12) But you didn't stop.
 * 13) You knew what you had to do,
 * 14) though the wind pried
 * 15) with its stiff fingers
 * 16) at the very foundations,
 * 17) though their melancholy
 * 18) was terrible.
 * 19) It was already late
 * 20) enough, and a wild night,
 * 21) and the road full of fallen
 * 22) branches and stones.
 * 23) But little by little,
 * 24) as you left their voices behind,
 * 25) the stars began to burn
 * 26) through the sheets of clouds,
 * 27) and there was a new voice
 * 28) which you slowly
 * 29) recognized as your own,
 * 30) that kept you company
 * 31) as you strode deeper and deeper
 * 32) into the world,
 * 33) determined to do
 * 34) the only thing you could do—
 * 35) determined to save
 * 36) the only life you could save.

“The Journey” begins with the narrator coming to the realization that she has to do something but feels bad because it goes against the voices inside her head. When I think of “voices inside my head” I think of a crazy or paranoid person because they are desperate to run from something that is not physically there, only in their mind. Voices play a key role in this poem as if they were people. The repetition of “though” in lines 3 and 6 represent the voices constant attempts of trying to consume her. But as but as they try to shout and pry their way in, the narrator keeps fighting. This has to be coming from some sort of sickness given that the voices are crying out “Mend my life!” (10).

The lack of stanzas represent the journey of life. Life itself is a stanza without any breaks. Instead it is one fluid motion which is what I got throughout reading this poem. Transitioning into a lighter mood in line 24, triumph over oppression is the overall theme in “The Journey”. Many allusions throughout the poem refer to overcoming trials and tribulation such as “as you left their voices behind, the stars began to burn through the sheets of clouds”. The stars represent the narrators’ voice as it shines through the clouds which are the internal voices.

I cannot fully relate to this poem but can see how it can also relate to children going through the adolescence stage of life. Teens start working towards finding their own identity and place in this world. After several times reading this poem, I started thinking about a movie named Cyberbully. The main character tries to fit in but unfortunately gets nasty rumors being spread about her that spiral out of control resulting in a later suicide attempt. After all of the things she went through, she finally outshines the “voices” coming into her own light and finally saving herself.

=Oxygen=
 * https://youtu.be/SonncCwJsDs**

1 Everything needs it: bone, muscles, and even,  2 while it calls the earth its home, the soul.  3 So the merciful, noisy machine

4 stands in our house working away in its  5 lung-like voice. I hear it as I kneel  6 before the fire, stirring with a

7 stick of iron, letting the logs  8 lie more loosely. You, in the upstairs room,  9 are in your usual position, leaning on your

10 right shoulder which aches  11 all day. You are breathing  12 patiently; it is a

13 beautiful sound. It is  14 your life, which is so close  15 to my own that I would not know

16 where to drop the knife of <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 17 separation. And what does this have to do <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 18 with love, except

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">19 everything? Now the fire rises <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 20 and offers a dozen, singing, deep-red <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 21 roses of flame. Then it settles

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">22 to quietude, or maybe gratitude, as it feeds <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 23 as we all do, as we must, upon the invisible gift: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 24 our purest, sweet necessity: the air.

Going by the title, the celebration of oxygen is the theme of this poem. Oxygen is a necessity described as a “merciful” blessing. We need it to perform normal tasks, to keep the body functioning, and to live. We need oxygen without having to think about it. It is essential to do everything.

The narrator begins to talk about her partner whose life is so close to her own in lines 13-15. They are inseparable to the point where she can’t even cut them a part with a knife. Her partner has some sort of sickness that he is patently waiting to end. Even though he is dealing with aches and pains, he is still dependent on the air to keep him alive. In the midst of all of their problems, oxygen is always in between them, transitioning the poem into one focused on love. Oliver uses the fire as a symbol to further explain the importance of oxygen. In order to start a fire you need enough oxygen to be present as evident in line 19-21. The flames allude to their relationship which both thrive off oxygen in order to not burn out. The fire represents the beginning stages of their relationship as “a dozen, singing, deep-red roses of flame”. As the fire dies down along with their relationship, they are still able to feed off of what it used to be, using air as an anchor.

While reading this poem, the words were ones of sadness but the tone was uplifting. Her partner is seriously ill but her take on the situation is optimistic. The impression I received from the poem was that the only way she cannot be depressed is by remembering the past when their love was new and vibrant. She thanks the air for letting her experience love and still being able to keep it going after all this time.

=When Death Comes= []
 * 1) When death comes
 * 2) like the hungry bear in autumn;
 * 3) when death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse
 * 4) to buy me, and snaps the purse shut;
 * 5) when death comes
 * 6) like the measle-pox
 * 7) when death comes
 * 8) like an iceberg between the shoulder blades,
 * 9) I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering:
 * 10) what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness?
 * 11) And therefore I look upon everything
 * 12) as a brotherhood and a sisterhood,
 * 13) and I look upon time as no more than an idea,
 * 14) and I consider eternity as another possibility,
 * 15) and I think of each life as a flower, as common
 * 16) as a field daisy, and as singular,
 * 17) and each name a comfortable music in the mouth,
 * 18) tending, as all music does, toward silence,
 * 19) and each body a lion of courage, and something
 * 20) precious to the earth.
 * 21) When it's over, I want to say all my life
 * 22) I was a bride married to amazement.
 * 23) I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.
 * 24) When it's over, I don't want to wonder
 * 25) if I have made of my life something particular, and real.
 * 26) I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened,
 * 27) or full of argument.
 * 28) I don't want to end up simply having visited this world.
 * 1) When it's over, I want to say all my life
 * 2) I was a bride married to amazement.
 * 3) I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.
 * 4) When it's over, I don't want to wonder
 * 5) if I have made of my life something particular, and real.
 * 6) I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened,
 * 7) or full of argument.
 * 8) I don't want to end up simply having visited this world.
 * 1) or full of argument.
 * 2) I don't want to end up simply having visited this world.
 * 1) I don't want to end up simply having visited this world.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The first lines came to me like death is coming right now and you are about to face it. She talks of death as appearing in different forms such as a “hungry bear in autumn” (line 2) like death is approaching instead of it waiting on you. It can be a thief, disease, or something that can wedge between you and your relationships with others. In line 12-13, she wants to be surprised by the curiosity of new experiences and find out where they lead her. Later in the poem she looks at the world as a place for endless possibilities. In line 17, she is questioning time as just a concept that is more abstract than something we simply make concrete. She explains life as a flower in lines 20-21 that represent a person’s time living. As the flower petals fall off the petals are like a clock counting down till time is up. There is repetition such as “I” to show emphasis on the many things she wants to accomplish in her life. The speaker wants to be comfortable with words and on a level of intimacy with the world like a bride and groom. She talks about how she wants to face death when the time comes to die. When she dies, she wants to go meaning something to the world instead of just being a speck of existence. The tone is peaceful even though talking about life and death which is the theme. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This poem speaks to me like the speaker wants to properly and gracefully go through all of what life has to offer before she is gone. The speaker seems to be in the middle of adulthood reflecting on her life. She looks into late adulthood and wants to feel a sense of satisfaction instead of failure. I can relate to this thinking about my future. I want to feel like I actually meant something in the world when I retire than feeling like a failure. I like how the speaker wants to become one with the world and come to an underlying meaning of existence.

=<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Wild Geese = []


 * 1) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">You do not have to be good.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">You do not have to walk on your knees
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
 * 4) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">You only have to let the soft animal of your body
 * 5) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">love what it loves.
 * 6) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
 * 7) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Meanwhile the world goes on.
 * 8) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
 * 9) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">are moving across the landscapes,
 * 10) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">over the prairies and the deep trees,
 * 11) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">the mountains and the rivers.
 * 12) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
 * 13) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">are heading home again.
 * 14) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
 * 15) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">the world offers itself to your imagination,
 * 16) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting --
 * 17) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">over and over announcing your place
 * 18) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">in the family of things.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver is addressed to someone who is lost in the world. From the title I thought the poem would be solely bout wild geese but they are the primary symbol instead of the main theme. The theme is expectations of society versus freedom. She explains in the first few lines that you do not have to be perfect or feel guilty for not being so because life and nature do not have to be perfect to be important. Everyone has problems but the world goes on. You just have to be yourself and live life. Her naturalistic approach is especially evident starting in line 9. She uses nature to further support her point. Wild geese, sun, and raindrops all correlate with each other as they are all products of nature. They go in the direction they are destined to go. Wild geese represent freedom given that they are not tied down to one spot and constantly migrate to a new home. This is why she believes in destiny. Wherever you are destined to be, life will take you there. Enjambments are in almost every sentence ending on the next line or the sentence is one complete continuous thought. The tone is sincere in giving the lost audience guidance on how they should live their life. Her belief is that the world opens itself you but it is up to you what you make of it. The world calls you like it does a wild geese, unpredictable and unexpected, but it constantly gives you opportunities to make something of yourself. The world will always think of you as family no matter what form of being you are in. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I can relate to this poem because in this stage of my life I sometimes feel restricted to stay in one place and never fully get to do what I want to do. You have to earn your freedom in this society through hard work and dedication. It is not as simple to “go wherever the wind takes you” and still have a secure way of living at first, but it can be at the end of the day.

Sources:
 * 1) "Biography: Mary Oliver." //Poetry Foundation//. Poetry Foundation. Web. 26 Jan. 2016.
 * 2) "Mary Oliver." //Best-Poems Encyclopedia//. Best-Poems Encyclopedia Web. 26 Jan. 2016.
 * 3) Oliver, Mary. "The Journey." //Best-Poems Encyclopedia//. Best-Poems Encyclopedia, 26 June 2015. Web. 26 Jan. 2016.
 * 4) Oliver, Mary. "Oxygen." Meyer 824; Meyer, Michael ed. //The Bedford Introduction to Literature.// 10th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2013. Print.
 * 5) Oliver, Mary. "When Death Comes by Mary Oliver." //Famous Poets and Poems.com//. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.
 * 6) Oliver, Mary. "Wild Geese." by Mary Oliver." //Famous Poets and Poems.com//. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.