What is the poem traveling through the dark about?
'Traveling through the Dark' by William Stafford is a powerful poem about life, death, and nature. The lines depict someone's choices in regard to a dead, pregnant doe he finds on the side of the road. The poem is quite direct in its language.
What kind of poem is traveling through the dark?
Traveling Through The Dark is an 18 line poem, 5 stanzas, 4 of which are quatrains with a couplet at the end. There is no full rhyme, no rhyme scheme in fact and the meter (metre in UK) varies somewhat, with iambic pentameter popping up here and there, in lines 7, 10 and 14.
Who wrote traveling through the dark?
William StaffordTraveling Through the Dark / Author"If you have been wondering where the articulate, readable poems have gone in the last third of the 20th century, you might start with [William] Stafford," declares Victor Howes of the Christian Science Monitor.
What does my only swerving mean in traveling through the dark?
I thought hard for us all—my only swerving—, then pushed her over the edge into the river. The speaker thinks about himself and the doe and the fawn. It is his only hesitation ("swerving").
What does the deer symbolize in traveling through the dark?
In the title, the darkness means the shroud of what is done when no one is around. Then, in the second stanza, the deer means the death of innocence. In the third stanza, the alive fawn in the pregnant mother means that hope still exists. Unfortunately the hope died with the innocence.
What is the main theme of Travelling through the dark?
Death and Morality. “Traveling through the Dark” is a poem about coming face to face with death. The speaker is faced with a no-win situation, understanding that moving the dead doe's body out of the road will potentially save other drivers, but also that doing so will kill her unborn fawn.
What is the tone of traveling through the dark?
Tone: The tone of the poem is sympathetic yet ironical. In the beginning, the poet is moved deeply by the fawn but at the end, we find he ends the life of the fawn by pushing its mother down into the river. So the tone of the poem is ironical but the readers sympathize with fawn.
What is an Enjambment in poetry?
Enjambment, from the French meaning “a striding over,” is a poetic term for the continuation of a sentence or phrase from one line of poetry to the next. An enjambed line typically lacks punctuation at its line break, so the reader is carried smoothly and swiftly—without interruption—to the next line of the poem.
Who killed the plan poem?
"I," said the Sloth, "I lagged and was loth. And I killed the Plan."
How do you interpret the meaning of the images silver tear and tiny flame in the poem The Gift?
Rather, it would seem that he planted something in his palm. By “silver tear”, the poet points to the unseen tear of his father that reflected on the shiny blade. It means his father was sad internally but he did not show it. By the phrase “tiny flame”, the poet is again referring to the idea of self-discipline.
In what way does the speaker experience a shift in perspective at the end of traveling through the dark?
In what way does the speaker experience a shift in perspective at the end of "Traveling Through The Dark"? He realizes he cannot save the fawn.
What is the tone of traveling through the dark?
Tone: The tone of the poem is sympathetic yet ironical. In the beginning, the poet is moved deeply by the fawn but at the end, we find he ends the life of the fawn by pushing its mother down into the river. So the tone of the poem is ironical but the readers sympathize with fawn.
What is an Enjambment in poetry?
Enjambment, from the French meaning “a striding over,” is a poetic term for the continuation of a sentence or phrase from one line of poetry to the next. An enjambed line typically lacks punctuation at its line break, so the reader is carried smoothly and swiftly—without interruption—to the next line of the poem.
Who killed the plan poem?
"I," said the Sloth, "I lagged and was loth. And I killed the Plan."
In what way does the speaker experience a shift in perspective at the end of traveling through the dark?
In what way does the speaker experience a shift in perspective at the end of "Traveling Through The Dark"? He realizes he cannot save the fawn.
When was Traveling through the Dark published?
William Stafford published "Traveling through the Dark" in a book of the same name in 1962 . Stafford was in his mid-40s at the time and the book was his first well-known collection, going on to win the National Book Award in 1963.
Who wrote the poem "Traveling through the Dark"?
The American poet William Stafford published "Traveling through the Dark" in 1962. While driving on a narrow road at night, the poem's speaker finds a dead deer and decides to move the body so that it won't cause other drivers to dangerously swerve out of the way.
What line in the song "The Car aimed ahead its lowered parking lights"?
Lines 13-16: “The car aimed ahead its lowered parking lights; / under the hood purred the steady engine. / I stood in the glare of the warm exhaust turning red; / around our group I could hear the wilderness listen.”
How many lines are there in Traveling Through the Dark?
The 18 lines of "Traveling through the Dark" are arranged into four quatrains (four-line stanzas) followed by a final couplet. The first four quatrains give the poem a feeling of consistency, as the speaker organizes each stanza in the same way.
What does the poem "Death is often unfair and inevitable" mean?
Death is often unfair and inevitable, the poem thus implies, with the speaker deciding that the best thing to do in this situation is just to limit death's reach as much as possible. Confronted with the body of the dead doe, the speaker fears that leaving it on the road will “make more dead.”.
What style of language did Stafford use?
Unlike the charged and passionate lyricism of a poet like Sylvia Plath or the verbose style of a poet like Allen Ginsberg, Stafford used conversational language that felt self-contained and measured.
What is the meaning of the poem "Travelling through the Dark"?
The title Travelling through dark has double meaning etymologically the speaker is travelling during the dark time. The next meaning of the title shows the irony of modern humans activities. Human beings invent new technology and vechiles to make their life easier. There is only one target to enrich the life of human beings but the inventions and technologies of modern science either destroy the natural order or they help to destroy the wild species. When one animal or insect remains absent from the ecosystem it creates crisis in the whole ecosystem. In the name of light and modernity we human beings are traveling through the dark. The future of human beings is not bright to address the aformention ideas the poet might have drafted the poem in title travelling through the dark. The speaker the poem is travelling during the night time. While he was going through the Wilson river road he found a dear on the edge of the road. In the first stanza the speaker thought that it was quiet batter to push the dead animal in to the ditch . As a result it will not call for further accidents. In the second stanza the speaker stopped his car and walked near to the dead deer then only he found that it was a dead doe. The doe was pregnant. In the third stanza when the speaker touched to the belly of dead doe he was quite shocked although the mother had already been killed thefawn of the fawn of the doe was waiting for life. But it is impossible. As a result the speaker couldn’t decide whether to push the doe in to the ditch or to leaves the doe as it was.At first, the speaker was guided by sentiment rather than the reasons.But at last the speaker is more guided by reason and decided to throw the dead doe on to ditch. In the poem the non-living thing, car has ahown the activities like the living thing.The car willing to go ahead and its engine is hot till the time. In country to it the living being doe is like non living thing.
Is driving in the dark dangerous?
Driving in the dark is exciting and adventurous, but it is equally dangerous. It is not without the danger of accident. We must not forget - the higher the speed, the greater the danger of being hit by something. There is a fear of colliding. If the driver is self-conscious and not drunk, the driving in the dark gives an exciting pleasure. But it is not always so. Excessive fun and excitement may lead to death and destruction.
Is driving in the dark fun?
Driving through the dark is an exciting and thrilling experience. The pleasure of driving depends on the time of traveling and the condition of the road. During the dark night on the open highway, the driving is funny. If we drive uphill on the mountainous road, we should be careful particularly at the turning point. In the dark there is no risk of domestic animals being run over.
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