Mary Oliver’s “The Journey” is a poem written as what seems to be a life lesson. It, quite obviously, is a poem that is directed to someone who is going through a life decision. It offers advice as to how to handle the decision and what the decision-making process entails. It is often useful to approach such texts like “The Journey” with an in-depth analysis of the language and grammar used in it. In doing so, one can discover details in the author’s message that may not be recognized upon briefly reading the text one or two times. One can also understand the methods the author uses to convey his or her message to the reader. To do this in-depth analysis, we will look at syntactical structures, word choices, and repetition of words and phrases to withdraw these previously mentioned details that often are beneath the obvious surface of texts. 

First, we will look at specific syntactical structures used in “The Journey.” The main syntactical detail that grabs the reader’s attention, is the phrase “Mend my life!” (92). This phrase is interesting to note the grammar of because it is the only line in the entire poem that is written with an exclamation point. This is done to show how enthusiastically these outside voices try to influence your life. Oliver seems to use this lone exclamatory phrase to emphasis how important this line is and how important she believes it is to stray from the voices of society. The entirety of this work seems to quite obviously be about encouraging the reader to find themselves and to not allow society to mold them into just another number among the population. The specific wording of this lone exclamatory phrase is also important, which leads me to the next segment of my analysis.

Next, Oliver uses interesting word choices to again possibly convey her message below the obvious surface message. The first important word choice is from the same lone exclamatory phrase above. When Oliver writes “Mend my life,” the word “mend” is a significant word choice (92). These outside voices that are attempting to knock the reader off of the path to success and the path to finding themselves, are only doing so for their own good. All of their “bad advice” is only being offered to the reader because it will help mend their own lives, not to help make the reader’s life more successful (92). The next two important word choice are used in the line “though the wind pried with its stiff fingers at the very foundations” (92). Within this line, Oliver first uses the word “wind” and personifies it as all of those who are offering their bad advice and jarring the reader from his or her path of success. She then uses the word “foundation,” to show that these outside voices will offer their bad advice to the readers most important and valued things in life. The final noteworthy word choice is found in the line “It was already late enough, and a wild night, and the road full of fallen branches and stones” (92). Oliver uses the words “fallen branches and stones” to describe the obstacles that these outside voices create. This is significant because these things can definitely hinder one’s progress along the road (of life) but can also definitely be avoided.

Lastly, Oliver’s repetition of words and phrases again offers more detail to the message she is trying to convey. The first notable repetition is that of the word “you.” Oliver uses the pronoun “you” or “your” fifteen times within this short text. This did not occur by chance, Oliver did so for a reason. She repeats “you” so many times because simply by doing so the reader can essentially pick up on her message. That message is: life is about you and not the misleading voices of society around you that guide you away from “you” and your own desires and towards their own selfish desires. Oliver also repeats the phrase “you knew what you had to do” twice in the text, and again, not by chance, but for a reason (92). Oliver wants the reader to understand that every individual has their own individual goals in life and that is what they should pursue. She is saying that every person knows within themselves what they enjoy doing, and what they need to do to accomplish what they want in life. The entire poem is about the fact that others will sometimes offer advice that is ultimately only going to help them and their own individual goals and not your own individual goals. So again, Oliver tells the reader: “you knew what you had to do” (92).

In writing “The Journey,” Mary Oliver seeks to offer advice for handling life’s tough situations. Oliver’s message to her reader is that life is about “you” and your own goals, and to not lose sight of that. Closely reading and analyzing the syntax, word choices, and repetition within a text often reveals the methods the author uses to convey their message. In “The Journey,” Oliver uses all of these techniques to convey her overall message. 
