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Life On Mars Analysis

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Deep into The Reality of Life
Is there a life beyond earth? What is the mystery in space? Where do dead people go? If God exists what is the nature of God? The author of Life on Mars, Tracy K. Smith deals with these confusing and puzzling relationships of human existence with the universe. She has tried to explain this idea very well in two of her poems in the collection of Life on Mars: “The Weather in Space” and “The Speed of Belief”. In these poems, the use of “space” as a metaphor along with the use of repetition technique by Smith, allows the reader to accompany her on her journey of grief of losing her father, exploring questions about afterlife, and how the sense of optimism and hope can help tackle the hardest journey of life.
The opening poem “The Weather in Space” in Life on Mars starts with Smith questioning about the nature of God. She already believes in the existence of God, but she seeks to know what God is and where is God. The lines “Is God being …show more content…

The lines “Probably he spun out of himself/ And landed squarely in that there, his new/… vibrating at the speed Of Belief” (49-52) infers Smith imagining her father in heaven. In the line “She was probably waiting/…him to come (52-54), it can be assumed that she refers to her mother whom she lost years ago. According to an article “Far from Ordinary: A Profile Of Tracy K Smith”, “Tracy K Smith was twenty-two when her mother died in 1994” (Shea). Smith had already lost her mother many years ago and losing her father again broke her completely. It can be inferred that Smith was very close to her father, and on losing him she had to tackle a circle of loneliness and depression. In an interview, “‘Moving toward What I Don’t Know’: An Interview with Tracy K. Smith” when she was asked how she came up with Life on Mars, she

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Smith’s life than she had ever intended. According to The Washington Post, the beginning stages of this book were written prior to her father becoming ill. Clearly, The Life on Mars poem collection was always something Smith wanted to create and originally no purposed to be an elegy. In an interview with The Adroit Journal Smith describes the process as “the sense of tribute developing gradually with Life on Mars. The sequence called “The Speed of Belief”, was written at the point during Smith’s father’s illness where death was not only possible but probable.

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What Lies Beyond? Intro What’s out there? Beyond the atmosphere of the only planet known to contain life, what else really exists out there?

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Bryant is discussing the afterlife of a human and what they will endure. He explains, “Thine individual being, shalt thou go To mix for ever with the elements, To be a brother to the insensible rock” (0000) Bryant perceives death as a glorious finale to an individual's life. In his poem, nature is connected with human beings in her never ending cycle. Bryant also provides examples of sensational writing in his poem.

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This ensures that the memory of her husband is safe from detriment. Furthermore, as a person who believes in deep and complex connections, she can look forward to reuniting with her husband by appreciating his presence in her own life. The characteristics that Smith has drawn and the associations that she has made serve her by assisting her in recovering from her losses and setting her back on the right track in

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