“Dead Dear”
An Explication of William Stafford’s “Traveling Through the Dark”
The main theme of William Stafford’s blank verse poem “Travelling through the Dark” is the juncture of technology and nature. The author considers near the connection between technology and nature without telling a certain judgment. Nevertheless, Stafford offers the readers to reflect cautiously with him about the consequences of the world that individuals are generating.
The opening stanza of the poem sets the tone and settings of the scene, especially in the first two lines. The speaker communicates to us how he was driving somewhere at night and came across a dead deer. He specifies the place telling that it was “on the edge of the Wilson River road” so we can
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In the dim light, he sees that the dead deer is a doe and she is “almost cold” so we understand that the deer was hit recently (line 7). When dragging the body to the canyon’s edge, the speaker mentions the deer’s belly is enlarged. The tone of the stanza is distanced, and the speaker seems to be distracted and unaffected by the “heap” that he must move off the road (line 6).
In the third stanza, the tone softens as the speaker tells how he touches the warmth of the unborn fawn when feeling the doe’s belly (lines 9-12). He uses such words as reason, side, fawn, warm, alive, waiting, hesitated and the sounds help to reveal this new warmth (lines 9-12). The readers can feel that now the speaker is not a disconnected narrator, he gets involved in the situation as he learns a new unborn life that is condemned in the dead doe’s body and he
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The first three lines focus on the car and their imageries that suggests the advancing of technology. The car is personified, its’ engine is a heart that is purring under the hood and it is waiting for the speaker’s return (lines 13-14). Also, the unborn fawn is waiting, and its heart is pounding progressively inside the body of its dead mother. The speaker hears “the wilderness listen” (line 16).
The final stanza contrasts in the form because it is a couplet, so the poem ends in the same way to a sonnet. The speaker does not tell us what his views are. We know that he “thought hard for us all” before he pushed the deer over the canyon edge (line 17). It is suggested that his feelings of tension between modern technology and nature. The benefits of technology come with a price and Stafford suggests for the readers to think about
In nature, someone can hear the sounds of a creek flowing and birds chirping and insects buzzing; in civilization, someone can hear engines roaring, people chattering, and buildings being built. In nature, one feels happiness and contentment; in civilization, one feels guilt and misery and sorrow. These simplicities of nature are what appeals to William Cullen Bryant in the poem ‘Inscription for the Entrance to a Wood’. The poem tells the reader that nature is a happier place than civilization and that nature gives one the answers to their existence and problems of life that civilization created. Civilization is ugly and corrupt while nature is beauty and tranquility.
Hence, the poem's tone contains elements of remorse as well as impassivity. The traveler's detached description of the mother, "...a doe, a recent killing; / she had stiffened already, almost cold" (6-7), and the wistful detail with which he depicts her unborn offspring, "...her fawn lay there waiting...
Stanza two shows us how the baby is well looked after, yet is lacking the affection that small children need. The child experiences a ‘vague passing spasm of loss.’ The mother blocks out her child’s cries. There is a lack of contact and warmth between the pair.
In the first two lines, an aural image is employed to indicate a never-ending anger in the girl's father. Dawe uses onomatopoeia to create a disturbing and upsetting description of his enraged "buzz-saw whine." An annoying, upsetting sound, it gives the impression of lasting ceaselessly. His anger "rose /murderously in his throat." Because "murderously" begins on a new line, a greater emphasis is placed on it and its evil and destructive connotations. An image of a growling lion stalking its prey is evoked in the reader, as it threateningly snarls from its throat. The girl is terrified as it preys on her persistently "throughout the night." Furthermore, because there is no punctuation, these few lines are without a rest, and when reading out aloud, they cause breathlessness. This suggests that the father's "righteous" fury is ceaseless and suffocating the girl.
The first stanza incorporates a lot of imagery and syntax. “A toad the power mower caught,”(line1). The use of syntax in the very first sentence is to catch the reader’s attention and to paint an image for them. The stanza goes on to talk about how the toad hobbles with it’s wounded leg to the edge of the garden, “Under the cineraria leaves”(line4). The speaker uses the word cineraria, which is similar to a cinerarium, a place where the ashes of the deceased are kept. By using this, the speaker further illustrates the death of the toad. “Low and final glade.”(Line6) this line is like a metaphor for the dying toad, the final rest for the toad could be the final glade. In the first stanza it seems as if the speaker is making fun of the dying toad saying the garden sanctuaries him as if he were a person. The opening line even seems a bit humorous to the reader. The following stanzas also have a tone of sarcasm.
She elaborates on the traditional act of hunting through a simile: “my mother would lift and lay it in place / like a dead relative” (40-41). The relation to a dead relative shows reverence and respect for the animal. The white judges also observe the practice of “praying, coaxing, and thanking” (42), the dead animal as the speaker describes her mother performing the cultural practice of preparing the meat. Dumont’s use of description adds imagery to the poem as she states, “until we had become it and it had become us” (20), further noting the cultural and spiritual connection with animals. Overall, this incorporation provides the reader with information about the Indigenous culture and
Kinnell picks a certain style to write his poem. Of all the forms, he chooses to write The Bear with as little words as possible. Through this method, the poet manages to incorporate that like the verses of the poem, life is short. Also, Kinnell makes his poem more realistic by putting us in the driver’s seat. He writes the poem in first person, constantly using the word “I”. First person perspective allows the reader to connect faster than a third person would. We begin to picture our self in the situation and allow our imagination to think like the hunter. By using enjambment, repetition, and short phrases he keeps the poem spontaneous. This allows the reader to quickly visualize events in the poem to help show events that happened within the poem, but not in too much detail that our interest is lost. For example, in the first four lines the poet writes, “In l...
Though the way it relates to people in the 19th century and the way it relates to the modern world greatly differs, the symbolism in the poem and shift in tone throughout it shows a great appeal to human nature, and how desperate one can be to change it. The symbolism in the poem paints a ghastly picture of a man’s life, falling apart as he does his best, and worst, to keep it safe from himself. In lines 1 through 8 (stanza one), he gives a brief description of an incident in his life where things have gone wrong. “When the tiger approaches can the fast-fleeting hind/Repose trust in his footsteps of air?/No! Abandoned, he sinks into a trance of despair,” He uses these lines to show the lack of control he has over his actions, how his will to change his circumstances has weakened.
As a way to end his last stanza, the speaker creates an image that surpasses his experiences. When the flock rises, the speaker identifies it as a lady’s gray silk scarf, which the woman has at first chosen, then rejected. As the woman carelessly tosses the scarf toward the chair the casual billow fades from view, like the birds. The last image connects nature with a last object in the poet's
In a single year deer cause the death of 200 people and four billion dollars in damage (insurancejournal.com). This all could be prevented if people just took the time to move the deer off the road. This could save the lives of many.This is exactly what the speaker in William E Stafford's “Traveling through the dark” is going through. Although it may appear cruel to some people the speaker's choice to push the doe over the cliff because it prevents human deaths and it saved the fawn from unnecessary suffering.
This section of The Crossing begins in media res and the tone is one of frantic concern. Diction plays an enormous role in expressing the impression the wolf's death (and circumstances surrounding it) has on the subject. From the onset, the author establishes a dramatic mood by describing the scenery as having "talus sides" and "tall escarpments". The frantic tone is justified by the description of the wounded animal the protagonist discovers. The author demonstrates careful diction. The wolf is described as “stiff and cold” and her fur is “bristly with the blood dried upon it.” It can be inferred from this description that this wolf was not recently injured; rather it has been enduring the wound. She (the wolf) is not tossed over the back of the character or thrown to the side, but rather “cradled” by the protagonist. The connotation of this word implies that he cares for the wolf, since the word “cradle” is generally associated with the handling of a human infant. The second paragraph begins with “He got the fire going,” introducing the author’s contrasting images of darkness and light. Fire is usually associated with life, warmth, safety and comfort. In this case, it is a source of light which guides the main character whe...
The beginning of the poem starts with a humorous tone. Kinnell begins his poem with a simile “snore like a bullhorn”, an “Irishman”, or playing “loud music” to express the idea of something that is really loud and noisy, but still cannot wake the son up as opposed to the child’s ability to wake up to “heavy breathing” and a “come-cry” (line1-7). The tone that the...
From the combination of enjambed and end-stopped lines, the reader almost physically feels the emphasis on certain lines, but also feels confusion where a line does not end. Although the poem lacks a rhyme scheme, lines like “…not long after the disaster / as our train was passing Astor” and “…my eyes and ears…I couldn't think or hear,” display internal rhyme. The tone of the narrator changes multiple times throughout the poem. It begins with a seemingly sad train ride, but quickly escalates when “a girl came flying down the aisle.” During the grand entrance, imagery helps show the importance of the girl and how her visit took place in a short period of time. After the girl’s entrance, the narrator describes the girl as a “spector,” or ghost-like figure in a calm, but confused tone. The turning point of the poem occurs when the girl “stopped for me [the narrator]” and then “we [the girl and the narrator] dove under the river.” The narrator speaks in a fast, hectic tone because the girl “squeez[ed] till the birds began to stir” and causes her to not “think or hear / or breathe or see.” Then, the tone dramatically changes, and becomes calm when the narrator says, “so silently I thanked her,” showing the moment of
This poem is divided into six stanzas with four lines each. The poem opens with “When the black snake flashed on the morning road” (1-2). The narrator uses “when” to signify the beginning of the story and introduces the snake as the main character. Labeling the snake as “black” gives it a dark and sinister appeal. The word “flashed” is used to demonstrate how fast the snake moved, and how quickly this event occurred. “Morning” is applied to the time of day that this event occurred. The narrator sees the snake quickly flash across the road. This sets up the scene in our minds. The “truck could not swerve” (3) implies that this was an accidental death. The poet uses “truck” to suggest a big vehicle that is unable to make quick moves or sudden stops. The narrator sees the snake flash across the road, into the path of a big truck that is unable to stop or swerve. “Death, that is how it happens” (4). The word “death” is italicized, emphasizing its importance. The p...
Overall, it expresses the love and affection of Collin about this poem. This poem is basically looked at, or listened to, and the rodent tested. Such imagery used in poem supports the central ideas of Collin in poem, that the reading poetry must be, just like a good exploration, a discovery act. The poem has a very conversational effect and scholastic feel in it. First stanza directly linked to the second stanza while the third and fourth stanza of this poem has distinct thoughts in them. Similarly, the six stanzas come in a follow-up way but the mood actually changed in the last two stanzas of the poem. In short, Collin has written this poem in a very special and artistic way which really changes other’s minds about how to better understand a poem by knowing its actual meaning.