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Jun 26, 2015 · The Journey. by Mary Oliver. One day you finally knew. what you had to do, and began, though the voices around you. kept shouting. their bad advice—. though the whole house. began to tremble.
- Summary
- Themes
- Structure
- Poetic Techniques
- Analysis of The Journey
In the first lines of this piece the speaker addresses “you”. The second person narrationmeans that the reader is included in the poem. They are part of the story and are therefore asked to consider themselves within the same situation as the intended listener. The speaker describes how this person reached a point in their life when they knew “what...
Due to the deeply metaphorical nature of ‘The Journey,’ there are several themes a reader can investigate within Oliver’s poem. The text includes themes related to the progression of time/life, strength, and renewal. The latter is one of the most poignant as it only makes itself known in the concluding lines of ‘The Journey’. When the poem begins t...
‘The Journey’ by Mary Oliver is a thirty-six-line poem that is contained within one block of text. The lines do not follow one specific rhyme scheme, but there are moments of half or slant rhyme, as well as full rhyme at the end of, and in the middle of lines. Oliver chose to make use of these scattered instances of rhymein order to provide the tex...
Oliver makes use of several poetic techniques in ‘The Journey’. These include metaphor, enjambment, and alliteration. The first, metaphor, is the most important technique in the poem. The entire piece is one long extended metaphorfor life itself. A metaphor is a comparison between two unlike things that does not use “like” or “as” is also present i...
Lines 1-9
In the first lines of ‘The Journey,’the speaker begins by addressing a specific listener. This is less a single person than it is a type of person going through an intense emotional and mental transformation. The speaker describes how this person reached a point in their life when they knew “what they had to do”. Once they knew it, they began to make positive changes. It was as if they reached a mark and finally stepped over it. Once they were on the other side they were able to ignore the vo...
Lines 10-18
In the next lines of ‘The Journey,’the voices cry out to “you”. They ask this person to stop what they’re doing and go back to mending their lives. The voices want “you” not to focus on yourself, but to focus on them. From these lines, it is clear that the person, or people this poem is about, had in the past dedicated themselves to the care of others. But now, this person knows what they have to do. This is made clear by the fact that they are able to resist the wind which pried at them with...
Lines 19-29
Continuing on in ‘The Journey,’the speaker states that it was “already late enough”. Enough time has already passed, the listener does not want to waste any more of their life living as they used to. And, they have a hard road ahead. It is full of fallen branches and stones. The path is a difficult one to walk, but, little by little, this person is able to leave their past, and all the greedy voices behind. As this person transitions from one life to the next, the sky begins to clear. They ha...
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- “The Journey” Summary.
- “The Journey” Themes. The Importance of Self-Reliance. Where this theme appears in the poem: Lines 1-36.
- Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Journey” Lines 1-5. One day you ... ... bad advice — Lines 6-9. though the whole ... at your ankles. Lines 10-13.
- “The Journey” Symbols. The House. Where this symbol appears in the poem: Lines 6-7: “though the whole house / began to tremble” Lines 14-16: “though the wind pried / with its stiff fingers / at the very foundations,”
Mar 8, 2024 · Mary Oliver’s “The Journey” is more than just a poem; it’s a reflection of a pivotal moment in the author’s life, as well as a universal call to self-reliance and integrity. First appearing in her 1963 collection “No Voyage and Other Poems,” this piece stands out as one of Oliver’s more personal works, weaving in threads of her ...
The Journey. One day you finally knew. what you had to do, and began, though the voices around you. kept shouting. their bad advice—. though the whole house. began to tremble. and you felt the old tug.
New and Selected Poems, Volume One by Mary Oliver. The Journey. One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began, though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice— though the whole house began to tremble and you felt the old tug at your ankles. "Mend my life!"
Introduction. “The Journey” by Mary Oliver is a compelling piece of poetry that resonates deeply with themes of self-discovery and personal evolution. Mary Oliver, renowned for her clear and poignant writing, often explores the intricate relationship between the natural world and human experience. This poem, like many of her works, is ...
