The Waking by Theodore Roethke - Essay Example

However, since he wakes to sleep again, there emerges the necessity to understand that his waking originates from perhaps a disturbed sleep or nightmare so that he eventually yearns for a truly peaceful rest upon his wake. As the speaker proceeds to express “I feel my fate in what I cannot fear” (2), he can be perceived to have optimism and confidence in any unpredictable circumstances which may bring him to encounter fear, yet for which he claims to bear the capacity to confront. Altogether, it sounds as though the man has been through a great deal of struggle which he manages to surpass, so he is brought to gain courage in return.

On this account, he then confesses, “I learn by going where I have to go” (3), to mean that wisdom is achieved out of taking the responsibility to deal with the challenges along one’s path. . Through this section of the poem, Roethke likely signifies a paradox in which an empirical perspective works in equivalent advantage as its logical counterpart. In order to progress in exploring knowledge yet unknown, one must be open to entertain the harmony between thoughts and senses. Such paradox unifies the cycle of waking and sleeping as it turns out and in the normal course of living life, this points at having to entail the ups and downs, or that instead of merely appreciating moments of happiness, there should be a similar amount of recognition for suffering.

For in the absence of hardships, the beauty of fulfillment may not be felt nor seen via a company of ease alone. By the third stanza where the speaker makes query, “Of those so close beside me, which are you?” (7), and the thematic flow of Roethke’s piece seemingly direct the reader to comprehend that the monologuing protagonist appears wholly free from worldly attachments and goes on to speak as a light soul imploring “God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there” (8). This somewhat exemplifies the “slow waking” which in reality can be interpreted as not going by the pace of modernization if one wishes not to be burdened or pressed with anxious worries as it typically costs too much to follow heights of an ambition.

Nevertheless, the speaker summons forth God’s presence believing in the divine provisions so that he can be kept guided while on a gentle walk which could be symbolic of a spiritual walk or a walk by faith. Then the man continues with “Light takes the Tree; but who can tell us how? / The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair” (10, 11) and ends the fourth stanza with “I wake to sleep, and take my waking