Poetry Blog #5

TWIST of "Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver

Tone: The tone seems to be contemplative and straightforward while maintaining a hopeful outlook. "You do not have to be good" comes across almost as a command, and sounds very matter-of-fact, while "Meanwhile the world goes on" has the hopeful tone to it. There is a shift after the third line, where the tone lightens a bit.

Word choice: Oliver addresses the audience as "you" rather than using a general term. It creates a feeling that she is speaking directly to the reader, telling him or her that he or she does not have to be good and so on. Oliver also begins a few lines with "meanwhile," creating repetition.

Imagery: This poem is full of imagery, such as "Meanwhile the sun and clear pebbles of the rain / are moving across the landscapes," and "Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again." Oliver paints two very realistic images of nature with these words.

Style: Oliver switches from short, one-line sentences to long, more complex sentences. She uses the shorter sentences for the more demanding words, while the longer sentences are used to explain her assertions. Her first sentence is "You do not have to be good," and her last sentence is "Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, / the world offers itself to your imagination, / calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -- / over and over announcing your place / in the family of things."

Theme: The theme of the poem is that no matter how lonely you may feel in this world, or how wrong your life may be going, you will always find solace in nature, and nature will always be there. This is evident in the last line, where Oliver calls the world and nature "the family of things."

I was drawn to this poem because it discusses a more unconventional relationship, and it creates a home out of nature. Oliver talks of doing what you love despite what others may say and to be happy being who you are, which are things I believe in. So in a way, I guess the speaker reminds me of myself.