Roethke Natural Causes

Monica Moreno
Mrs. Mcintire
AP Literature and Composition
3/01/16
Natural Causes There is a distinct connection between human beings and the nature that surrounds them. Evidence of this emotion is found when we deeply admire vast seas or the beauty of the stars against the night sky. Even though we do not obtain a special bond or blood attachment to nature, we still possess the capacity to extract a profound emotion from its presence. Theodore Roethke’s “Elegy for Jane” explores the expressions and notions of sorrow without reason or right. Feeling grief for a particular death without connection is a complex idea that is often looked down upon, but by employing natural imagery, Roethke challenges the perception of requiring a familial or

Jane serves as a vehicle for the complex yet ordinary and natural feeling of remorse due to a person’s death. She is described as having a “sidelong pickerel smile” (line 2). A pickerel is a type of fish with a somewhat smiling expression. However, the fish is not beautiful or radiant which implies that her smile was unique and authentic because Roethke could have easily used “glimmering sunshine” to describe her smile. The second and third stanzas revolve around Jane’s happiness and sadness which reveal her depth and range of character. Her voice and persona is obviously powerful and vibrant as her voice causes the “trembling of the twigs and small branches” (6). From the poem we can infer that she had an impact on others, especially the author, as “the shade sang with her”(7). After her happiness is portrayed, the third stanza develops Jane’s character when touched by sadness. The imagery in the text conveys that Jane’s sadness is not shallow or frivolous in that “she cast herself down into such a pure depth,/Even a father could not find her”(10-11). Here we can imply that her sadness causes extreme obscurity of vision and perception because it “stirs the clearest water”(13).

He is her teacher “with no rights in this matter/Neither father nor lover” (21-22). His admiring comparisons of Jane to certain aspects of nature correspond with our ability as humans to become attached or emotionally provoked by the beauty and radiance of nature. The trees, sunsets, mountains, and flowers that we see are not ours by any means, but we are affected by nature’s influence and raw artistry. The speaker has the same distant but innate connection to Jane, “My maimed darling, my skittery pigeon”(19), the emphasis being on “My”. The natural imagery throughout the poem also suggests that his sorrow is beyond social normalcy in that nature is secular from society. Mourning from a father or lover would be socially acceptable or plausible. However, Roethke gracefully and effectively challenges this