Analysis Of Crossing The Swamp By Mary Oliver

“Steam rising from ovens and showers like mist across a swampland” has a double meaning, steam rises from ovens and showers, but also in summer, as it rains on a hot highway, steam rises. It is comparing the lives of the people living in these houses to the disorder of a swampland by using the simile “like mist across a swampland”. It may also be suggesting that as cities expand, more land is being stolen from nature. The last line of this stanza “The cricket sound of voices and cutlery” is appealing to the reader’s sense of sound, indicating that the people on the highway can hear the noise of the people in the houses. It is likening the noises of the people to noises made in nature by crickets. In the next stanza Foulcher has written, “Only the children remain outside”, which informs the reader of what it is now like, with all of the adults gone inside. He describes the children as, “bruised with dirt and school”, this gives the indication they are both covered in patches of dirt, and bruised, which are similar colours. Also informs that they are relaxing by play after a hard day at school.

In Round-Trip to America: The Immigrants Return to Europe 1880-1930, Mark Wyman argues that many new immigrants that migrated to America from 1880-1930 never intended to make America a permanent residence and many of them returned home to their native countries. He claims that this phenomena is important to the history of American Immigration and is important to the histories of the home land in which the immigrants returned to. In his book, Wyman explores some key ideas such as the reason immigrants decided to voyage to a new land, across the ocean, to what was known as the “land of milk and honey” only to return to their small, and a lot of the time rural village. He also discusses American labor movement and what impact that had on

The appreciation of nature is illustrated through imagery ‘and now the country bursts open on the sea-across a calico beach unfurling’. The use of personification in the phrase ‘and the water sways’ is symbolic for life and nature, giving that water has human qualities. In contrast, ‘silver basin’ is a representation of a material creation and blends in with natural world. The poem is dominated by light and pure images of ‘sunlight rotating’ which emphasizes the emotional concept of this journey. The use of first person ‘I see from where I’m bent one of those bright crockery days that belong to so much I remember’ shapes the diverse range of imagery and mood within the poem. The poet appears to be emotional about his past considering his thoughts are stimulated by different landscapes through physical journey.

The speaker also chooses her diction precisely, so that there is clear contribution to the overall idea that the poem is indeed about the quest for change and longing from escape from the swamp. Two very different forms of description are used to represent this source of dread: once by the simple name, swamp, and

Dark words and phrases are initially sprinkled throughout the poem giving it a sense of despondence. For example, Oliver uses the phrase, “the dark burred/ faintly belching/ bogs” which describes the swamp as dark and grim (6-8). The imagery of the swamp is very dark because it symbolizes the hardships that people may have during their lifetimes. Crossing the swamp is a very difficult task, and Oliver compares it to the challenges of life. Therefore, she states “My bones/ knock together at the pale/ joints” (13-15). This once again demonstrates the difficulty of crossing the swamp as Oliver faces many physical challenges including the pain of her old bones. The author transitions from these dark and negative images to illustrations of hope and growth in the next few lines. For example, she describes “a poor/ dry stick given/ one more chance by the whims/ of swamp water” to take root and grow (28-30). This demonstrates how people may face tremendously difficult obstacles to overcome in their lifetimes similar to a dry stick having difficulty taking root. However, these challenges allow people to attain success. Without struggle, there would be no achievement in life. It is the hardships in life that truly allow people to appreciate success once it is achieved. Oliver concludes the fabulous piece with more uplifting and positive imagery of a

Oliver starts off by using imagery to describe the struggle with the swamp as a sense of hardship, and challenge. Her descriptions utilizes dark diction such as “endless,” “wet,” “dark,” “pale,” “black,” “slack,” “pathless,” “seamless,” and ‘peerless”, which gives the reader a sense of hopelessness and despair. Oliver also uses enjambment to emphasize the swamp as a never ending trail and symbolize

A little pondering suggests that the poem has a keen focus on the Australian environment. The poet is successful to grab our attention with descriptive explanation in the line in the

The book The Ugly American clearly demonstrates several of the established Special Operations Force (SOF) imperatives outlined in ADRP 6-22. As a Special Forces soldier I can relate these imperatives to stories illustrated in the book and apply them to real life situations that I have experienced in the field. The Ugly American is a goldmine of wisdom and a handbook for special warfare. All Special Operations soldiers should read it.

The swamp’s characterization carries density and weight, referring to life’s repeating rhythm that seems perpetual. The pressure of the “endless, wet thick cosmos,” prevents progression through the passage, as the heavy words slow the pace of interpretation. Oliver considers density in the opening lines to deliberately present life’s slow and repetitive movement.

There is hardly anyone that hasn’t had to grow up. Growth is central to every character in a story, but “Through the Tunnel” and To Kill a Mockingbird amplify this; the loss of innocence and coming of age is central to the entire story. Both “Through the Tunnel” and To Kill a Mockingbird’s main conflict test the characters (Jem in To Kill a Mockingbird and Jerry in “Through the Tunnel”) as they grow up in the face of adversity.

The lines in part three of the poem “This is the dead land / This is cactus land”

Mary Oliver’s article offers honest opinions on Rustum Roy. This article is very detailed when it comes to friendships. Friendship is the theme of the poem in “Wild Geese.” The article talks about Roy’s life and how he lived but most importantly what his friendship meant. He lived a very adventurous life and his friends miss that special memory they got to share with him.

A good writer possesses the ability to change an audience’s point of view on a specific topic using only pen and parchment. Such is the case with a set of essays written on the Okefenokee Swamp. Passage 1, written in 1988, serves to educate with a textbook-like didactic tone, and simultaneously give a positive view of the vast beauty of the swamp. Passage 2 on the other hand, written in 1990, illustrates the animalistic and wild side of the swamp, showing it as a horrible, disgusting, and endless place. While both essays are significantly different, they equally utilize visual imagery, strong diction, and parallel syntax to convey their respective purposes.

In the Okefenokee Swamp Essay, first passage uses pleasant imagery with detailed information to illustrate the swamp as a pleasant resort-like place while the second passage uses the vivid accumulation of the swamp’s features to emphasize a disgusting and dangerous atmosphere which portrays the writer’s daily experiences at the swamp.

Greg Pope's "The River Comes Closer" and Louise Glück's "Threshing" uses Imagine and Sound to Control their Poems