In Mary Oliver’s poem “The Journey”, she talk about voices and knowing what she has to do. What I take from the poem is that she is trying to find herself, she is trying to become the person she wants to be and not what society wants her to be. At the beginning there are voices in her head and as the poem goes on the voices fade away to her finding her own voice. Throughout the text she uses many metaphors, arranges the text cleverly, and lets you go on her journey to find her own voice. The poem is very interesting and has many deep, hidden meanings.  

There are many metaphors throughout the text. The main one is about the voices. It seems to me that the voices are in a way society trying to conform her. She says they are shouting bad advice, I don’t think she means bad advice like a bad idea, but something more like advice that is not right for her. She also said that they say, “mend my life!”, implying that the path she is trying to take other don’t approve of. She then goes on not to listen to the voices. Towards the end of the poem she starts to leave the voices of others behind and finds her own voice. She says that her own voice kept her company so what she is saying is that she means that she became comfortable and confident in herself and can continue on with a new journey. 

Another metaphor that I notice is about the house and the tug of the ankles. What I get when she says, “though the whole house began to tremble”, the house is representing her and the voices are either scaring her or making her mad. Then she says, “and you felt the old tug on your ankles”, and I think she is meaning the the tremble went through the whole house, or her body, and finished and the bottom, or the ankles. A few lines later she even uses the word foundation and that relates to the metaphor of the house. I feel that this line proves my theory to be true.  

The last two metaphors I want to talk about are about the branches and stones, and the stars through the sheets of clouds. I think when she says, “and the road full of fallen branches and stone”,  she is talking about the the obstacles of her path or journey. Even though there are these issues she still makes her way and leaves the voices behind. When she finally leaves the voices behind the, “the stars began to burn through the sheets of clouds”, and so the worst for now is over a light has come on and she has realized who she is. 

 One thing about the text that sticks out to me is how she breaks up some lines a little different. Like when she says, “it was already late”, and then puts enough a line below. I think she is trying to say that it really isn not that late in her life to be finding herself but it is late enough, she is ready now. It isn’t like she has missed out on things in her life because she hasn’t found herself but that she is ready to go ahead and find herself now. She doesn’t want to be who everyone wants her to be anymore, she want to be a person she likes. 

About half way through the poem the author uses the word Melancholy. Melancholy means to have a harsh overwhelming sadness with no obvious cause. When she used the word she says, “though the wind pried with its stiff fingers at the very foundations, though their melancholy was terrible”. I perceive this as her not saying that she is sad with an unknown reason, she knows her reason, she is speaking of society being sad with an unknown cause. She could be saying they are sad because they are concerned about others and not just worried about themselves. The reason this word stuck out to me was because it was a word I wasn’t absolutely sure what it meant and it isn’t a commonly used word and that is why I think she was trying to say something with it.

Through the whole poem she is talking in second person. She makes it seem very personal. When I read the text I get a sense that she is in her own head, talking to herself. It makes it really interesting to read when someone is struggling with something like this and you get to basically hear their thoughts. Since she does speak in second person you would think it would seem somewhat more formal but I feel the opposite, it makes a stronger connection. 

Throughout “The Journey” there are many metaphors to be deciphered, interesting ways that the text is broken up, and the poem keeps you interested and thinking the whole time. I really enjoyed reading the journey and it actually is very meaningful to me in this stage of my life. Finding ones self is very important, it is hard to let go of what others think. That is why it is a journey, it is not an easy, short process but it is worth it in the end.
