Margaret Atwood: The Animals In That Country

148 Words1 Pages
Atwood illustrates the natural world in many of her poems, one including “The Animals in that Country.” Through her traveling experiences, Atwood had developed her long-term emotions and fascination for the Canadian wilderness. Most of her early years were spent in the wilderness of northern Quebec, where her father sought entomological fieldwork. In the poem, Atwood pits civilization against the wilderness and its bold savagery. She creates a metaphor for the contrasts within the basic human personality. Society, civilization, and culture represent the rational, controlled side of humanity, while the untamed forest represents the very opposite: the irrational, primeval, and carnal impulses that exist in every living being. Between the lines,