Traveling through the Dark - Essay Example

Traveling through the Dark William E. Stafford’s literary work, Traveling through the Dark is asomber account of the reality of life. More so, it is a work which depicts the collision of two realities known to man and what this conflict signifies for human beings. Machine versus nature has been an epic tale of efforts and a tremendous struggle to gain supremacy, in the poem a consequence of this battle becomes visible as it lies “dead on the edge of the Wilson River road” (Stafford 11). The “voice” in the poem is representative of a persona of real life, where the speaker wishes to communicate to the audience what he sees as he travels through the dark, how he reacts to this discovery and what actions are taken by him. It is a plausible assertion to make that the “voice” in the poem is that of William Stafford who is presenting a realistic account to the reader. Of much significance is the tone of the poem and how Stafford chooses to address his audience. What may appear as the poet’s indifference towards the dead deer is soon transformed into sympathy as he touches the animal’s belly and feels the warmth of the life that is growing inside of her. The seemingly compassionate nature of this action, however, is short lived as the progress towards the fourth stanza of the poem brings into light the inner conflicts of the speaker. "It is usually best to roll them into the canyon: that road is narrow; to swerve might make more dead” (Stafford 11): the speaker had initially thought upon encountering the deer that her carcass must be removed from the path of traffic, but he soon drifted into his thoughts before the action could materialize. In this moment in the poem the tone shifts to a display of sympathy, however, the poet’s removal of the deer as he had aimed to do is a representation of the ironic tone of the poem which reappears in the forefront towards the departure of the blank verse. The symbolism of the word “Dark” is a notion which is central to the literary work. Even though, the literal meaning of the term is obvious from the title itself the figurative meaning of the word holds the immense significance due to its multidimensional interpretations. Stafford’s use of the word “Dark” represents shock, confusion, destruction, threat, struggle, death, destiny, and even failure; humanity’s failure to synchronize and harmonize what it invented and what God created. Like the dead deer lying on the edge of Wilson River road, death is the fate of every living creature, and this is a fact that cannot be denied. Therefore, the darkness in the literary work is also the darkness of death. The beauty of the imagery used by Stafford in the poem is that the poet allows it to be open for interpretation rather than being unequivocally clear about its purpose and intention in the context of the literary work. An intriguing line with respect to this observation says, “I stood in the glare of the warm exhaust turning red” (Stafford 11), where the reader is provided with the liberty to imagine the poet standing against his car with red light on his face. Certainly, this image can be interpreted in numerous ways, primarily because the connotations associated with this depiction can be comprehended as a plethora of emotions. If the red light is believed to be indicating danger then what or who is in danger? Is it the incoming cars that might meet with an accident if the poet decides that the animal carcass should not be removed? Or is it humanity itself which is in jeopardy as it refuses to mend its ways and revere nature as it is meant to be revered? Furthermore, the imagery of the “warm exhaust turning red” can also be associated with the emotions being felt by the speaker himself; these emotions that range from confusion, aggression to even embarrassment represent the challenges and complexity of the situation. Furthermore, Stafford’s use of imagery in the literary work is reflective of his ability to weave a story through imagination alone. The stark contrast that is vivid in the speaker’s comparison of the doe which lies “almost cold” and the warmth of the animal’s belly in which lives the unborn fawn embodies the dilemma and the irony of the situation. While, Traveling through the Dark is not characterized by the use of a consistent rhyme scheme, the literary work which is based on four stanzas consisting of four lines each and a closing couplet does make use of half-rhymes and off-rhymes where the focus lies on assonance as well as consonance. This observation is evident in the use of “killing” and “belly”, “canyon” and “reason”, “engine” and “listen”, and “road” and “dead” amongst other instances. Initial readings of the poem suggest that the poet has followed a meter which is irregular, however; it gradually becomes evident that the literary work is based on an iambic pentameter. The internal conflict being faced by the speaker in Traveling through the Dark is projected in a well-structured manner through the course of the poem as each stanza depicts the progression of the narrative to deliver the true meaning of the literary work. From the first stanza till the third stanza, the reader is introduced to the situation at hand. Furthermore, the audience can also note the highly distinct changes in the poet’s thought process. Upon initially noticing the presence of a dead doe on the Wilson River road, it is unequivocally clear to the poet what he must do with the animal carcass, “It is usually best to roll them into the canyon” (Stafford 11). However, when he feels the warmth of the doe’s belly against her cold body to realize the presence of a fawn, the resoluteness of the poet’s expected course of action becomes marred by a sense of uncertainty, “Beside that mountain road I hesitated” (Stafford 11). This is the aspect of the poem which exudes the notion of conflict and uncertainty. The fate of humanity has arrived at a point where it cannot choose both nature and machine, therefore, the dilemma posed by this situation can be seen in instances that are present all around us. In a broader scope, the theme of the poem can be approached in an exploratory manner as the two distinct aspects touched in the poem are of relevance to all of us. The question here is that since the conflict of technology and wilderness cannot be resolved should man abandon one in favor of the other? Or is it indeed possible to live harmoniously in a world which welcomes both technology and nature? The answer to this question lies in the concluding couplet penned by Stafford, “I thought hard for us all—my only swerving—, then pushed her over the edge into the river” (11). While, the poet claims that his decision to push the pregnant doe over the edge and into the river was triggered by a need to secure other drivers or who he calls “us”, one wonders whether humanity has excluded nature and God’s own creations from the meaning of “us”. After all, human beings are as much the children of nature as a doe or her fawn, yet, the decisions we take today fail to take into account what we proudly call “mother nature”. Review Paper a) How did you prepare? My preparation for this component of the module consisted of a selection and finalization process in which I scrutinized a range of poems before selecting Traveling through the Dark by William Stafford. The preparation that I undertook for the purposes of the completion of this poetry essay option comprised reading of the literary work several times to identify its essence and meaning. Once I became aware of the crux of the poem, I paraphrased the literary work which significantly aided the enhancement of my understanding of the poem. b) What did you learn (about language, poetry, yourself)? As readers of poetry we often ignore the significance of its language which lies at the heart of a literary work’s meaning. Certainly, a vivid understanding of symbolism, metaphors, imagery and figurative language enhances the experience of poetry by connecting the reader with the thoughts of the poet. I must admit that reading the poem made me realize that as human beings we are indeed the creatures of two distinct worlds. My reflections as a consequence of this poem have led me to recognize the harm to nature caused by my personal actions that I was previously unaware of. c) Is this a valuable project - should it be a poetry essay option for future 111 students? I cannot emphasize enough on the valuable importance of this poetry essay option. As a student it allowed me to explore the nuances of poetry in greater details. Therefore, I believe that this option should be present for future 111 students so that they can explore the literary works of great poets in a manner which suits their preferences, compliments their abilities, and broadens their horizons. Work Cited Stafford, William. Traveling through the Dark. Harper & Row, 1962. Read More