Crossing the Swamp Analysis: Exploring the Complex Relationship

Introduction

In life, environments always change a person. In “Crossing the Swamp,” a person trudges through the awkward terrain of a swamp. At first, the swamp causes hardship for the speaker, but she later recognizes the opportunity it provides. Through describing both the burden and pleasure the speaker feels towards the swamp, Oliver conveys the speaker’s complex relationship with the swamp as not only challenging but also enriching.

Body

Navigating Hardships

Before the volta, Oliver describes both the mental and physical impediments that the swamp poses to the speaker.

When the speaker details the endless nature of the swamp, she describes it as a “wet thick” cosmos and a nugget of “dense sap” (2-5). Oliver’s usage of disgustingly unpleasant diction emphasizes the speaker’s mental struggle to witness such a repulsive environment. Conveying the speaker’s mental struggle against the repulsive swamp, Oliver depicts the traveler’s challenging relationship with the swamp. When the speaker trudges through the difficult environment, her bones “knock together” at their “pale joints” (13-14). Oliver’s grim organic imagery describes the physical burden the swamp places on the speaker. Detailing the struggle the harsh environment causes the speaker, Oliver conveys the speaker’s unpleasantly trying relationship with the swamp. When the speaker attempts to physically and mentally grasp the swamp, she tries for a “foothold, fingerhold, mind hold” over the swamp (16-17). Utilizing an asyndeton that repeats the speaker’s failed efforts to understand the swamp, Oliver conveys the speaker’s lack of control over the harsh environment. Therefore, Oliver establishes the speaker’s regard for the swamp as troublesome. In the end, The speaker, although at first challenged by the swamp, develops an understanding of its value.

A Shift in Perception

After the volta, the speaker has a reversal of past feelings toward the swamp and begins to recognize the beauty it offers. When the speaker surveys the scenery around her, she notices the “fat” mires and the “rich” and “succulent” marrows (25-27). Oliver’s usage of pleasant diction conveys the speaker’s newfound enjoyment of seeing the swamp. Describing the many succulent aspects of the swamp, the speaker realizes the magnificence of the plethora of life within the swamp. Therefore, Oliver connotes the speaker’s enriching relationship with it. When the speaker considers a bough, she realizes that the swamp has given it a chance to “root, sprout, branch,” and “bud” (33-34). Oliver’s usage of calm, vegetative diction shows the speaker’s pleasure obtained from the swamp’s life-giving nature. Conveying the traveler’s recognition of the rewarding aspect of the swamp, Oliver conveys the speaker’s enriching relationship with the rewarding environment. When the speaker thinks about the cumulative effect of the beautiful marrows, she believes that they make the swamp like a “breathing palace of leaves” (36). Utilizing symbolism, Oliver conveys the speaker’s connection of the grandeur of a palace to the extravagance of the swamp. Demonstrating the encompassing beauty the speaker sees in the swamp, Oliver connotes the speaker’s pleasingly rewarding relationship with it. In conclusion, the speaker changes after the volta to regard the swamp as a pleasing, gratifying environment.

Conclusion

In the end, Oliver conveys the speaker’s regard for the swamp as not only troubling but also pleasurably rewarding. Oliver conveys this through the depiction of the swamp as a challenging obstacle for the speaker to overcome. Depicting the newfound pleasure that the speaker finds in the swamp, Oliver later describes the speaker’s enriching relationship with it. In the end, any environment, no matter how burdensome, can be thought of positively.

References

1. Oliver, Mary. “Crossing the Swamp.” Mary Oliver: New and Selected Poems, Volume One. Beacon Press, 1992.

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