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How Does Mary Oliver Use Imagery In Crossing The Swamp

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Mary Oliver’s “Crossing the Swamp” describes a journey through a metaphorical swamp and uses it to demonstrate the potential for growth and change through overcoming hardships. Within the poem, the speaker’s relationship with this swamp is grueling, yet rewarding, revealing how difficult situations typically seen as unfortunate can actually be renewing. Through the use of personification and intimate imagery, the poet develops an affectionate relationship between the speaker and the swamp. Though imagery, used in nearly all pieces of literature, is always relevant, it is especially significant in “Crossing the Swamp.” The speaker shows their affection for this figurative swamp by using terms such as “succulent marrows” and “dark burred faintly belching bogs,” giving life to the otherwise dull images. Descriptions such as these effectively develop a personal connection between the reader and the swamp as well. Positive words such as “painted” and ”glittered” bring the more promising aspects of the speaker’s struggles to light and show that though there are difficulties in life, there is always beauty within them. …show more content…

Seemingly a simple, artistic description of a tree, these words also show the changed feelings of the speaker at the end of their journey through this swamp. After all their struggles that they once found difficult to even understand, the reader suddenly pictures this beautiful, inspirational tree, signifying a new life along a new journey. That newfound optimism also signifies closure for the speaker, and proves that they are capable of overcoming anything and nthat the resulting personal growth makes all struggles worth it in the

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In her poem, “Crossing the Swamp,” Mary Oliver uses vivid diction, symbolism, and a tonal shift to illustrate the speaker’s struggle and triumph while trekking through the swamp; by demonstrating the speaker’s endeavors and eventual victory over nature, Oliver conveys the beauty of the triumph over life’s obstacles, developing the theme of the necessity of struggle to experience success. Oliver uses descriptive diction throughout her poem to vividly display the obstacles presented by the swamp to the reader, creating a dreary, almost hopeless mood that will greatly contrast the optimistic tone towards the end of the piece. While describing the thicket of swamp, Oliver uses world like “dense,” “dark,” and “belching,” equating the swamp to “slack earthsoup.” This diction develops Oliver’s dark and depressing tone, conveying the hopelessness the speaker feels at this point in his journey due to the obstacles within the swamp. As the speaker eventually overcomes these obstacles, he begins to use words like “sprout,” and “bud,” alluding to new begins and bright futures.

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