“The Journey” by Mary Oliver is a poem that says so much in such a little amount of writing. Oliver wrote this poem in a very methodical way between the kurt style of the lines and the vocabulary that she chose to express her point. The poem is written in a way that it talks directly to the reader and it could even be argued that it speaks to the reader throughout their life. Mary Oliver recently said that poems “are meant to be read and heard” and it seems she wrote this poem with that sentiment in mind.  "The Journey" is written about the journey of life and how becoming independent is the only way to be the best person possible and she does this through her use of vocabulary and imagery.

The vocab and specific word choice makes this poem very powerful and grasping. In the first two lines the first word that stuck out most was “you.”(“Journey 1) Within the first line the poem is already talking directly to the reader and this gets many people’s attention. In lines three through five the poem reads “though the voices around you/ kept shouting/ their bad advice” (3-5). The words “voices” assigns no person in particular a voice and also implies that multiple people are “shouting their bad advice.”   This voices can be seen as society trying to get the reader to conform and lose originality. These voices again in line ten shout “Mend my life!”(10) showing that in like any society people will need help and try to have you fix their lives. The word “mend” is a specific choice because it implies that the reader is the one who is going to fix the other person’s life. This would distract the reader from fulfilling their own potential and doing another person’s work for them. A few lines later the poems reads “It was already late/enough, and a wild night,/ and the road full of fallen/ branches and stones.”(19-22) The language and format of these lines are very interesting because the cut off from nineteen to twenty is unusual. The use of the word “enough” and the line structure shows that it does not have to be a technically dangerous time for something detrimental and unexpected to happen. The phrases “little by little” and “deeper and deeper” implies that the journey of becoming separated from society and becoming an independent person is a slow and gradual process.  The repeating of the word “determined” in the last 4 lines also suggests that the reader stayed the course and was strong willed enough to survive the pitfalls of society. The last 2 lines which read “Determined to save/ the only life you could save.” The word “could” in this context is very powerful because it implies there was no other real option. If the reader wanted to succeed the only thing they could really do was listen to their own voice and no one else’s. Also this “determination” refers to the actual person reading the poem because it is written in such a unique style that many people find it troublesome to finish and understand. In the end this is what saved the reader or who the writer was talking to. The words in this poem were chosen for a specific reason and the choices definitely make a difference in the point the poem is making. 

The imagery in this poem is very distinct and there are multiple explanations for many of the phrases used. This poem is read as if this is following someone’s life, as if the writer was always present but never seen. The imagery in the first lines of the poem about the house trembling seems to be mean that at this point the reader or person being observed had their world shaken up and that there was people “tugging” at their ankles. The tugging at the ankles is conveying that someone or possibly society is attempting to hold them back. The next pertinent image is that of wind prying its stiff fingers at the foundations. The foundations can likely be equated to the ideals that the subject of the poem holds dear and how the wind is a negative force attempting to get into the life or head of the same subject. The connotation of the words such as “pried” and “stiff” definitely display an image of something dangerous or harming attempting to enter the a place it is unwanted. A few lines later Oliver writes “the road full of fallen/ branches and stones” showing that there will be obstacles in the road that everyone travels in life. This imagery is a clear implication that there will be hardships that cannot be avoided but they must be gotten over. The phrase “branches and stones” can also be seen as the popular rhyme for children about how sticks and stones can break our bones, but words will never hurt us. This can be seen as a reference to childhood where many people had to deal with someone hurting them whether physically or verbally but it can be overcome just as it has been most people by growing older and becoming their own person.  This is interesting because most of the time these obstacles are not literal objects to get past but many times they are things that are said to us. The next images of “The stars began to burn/ through the sheets of clouds,/ and there was a new voice/ which you slowly/ recognized as your own” display so much in a few lines. The stars in a way could be equated to popular image of a light bulb meaning an idea has become apparent. The “sheets of clouds” (26) could be thoughts that were previously uncertain but now with the ideas present are recognized and understood fully. This is showing another step in the direction of being independent and listening to one’s own voice. The next images of going “deeper and deeper/ into the world”(31-32) are presenting a progression of moving farther and farther in the world by one’s self. The poem ends with the Oliver writing that the only life that a person can save is their own. This is showing that in order for a person to survive they must listen to their own voice and tune out what society is trying to get take from them or what society is trying to make them like. 

“The Journey” is most likely named for the journey of life. But also this poem itself is a journey with the many twists and turns. The readers have no idea where this journey is going to take them but by the end most have realized something about themselves and what lies ahead of them in life. The poem takes the reader through many different feelings and emotions that are experienced throughout life. It talks about how people themselves are responsible for how well they do and to not get lost in what society expects of each person. There will be struggles both within ourselves and with others, but what ultimately matters is that each person listens to their own conscience no one else’s. Each person has to recognize the simple fact of being independent is what will make the more successful in the end.  The lines of how the “house/ began to tremble”(6-7) is referring to our comfortability and how our secureness will not always be what we want but in the end this is good for everyone.  The journey of life is not always an easy one, but it is one worth taking and that is what “The Journey” succeeds in telling.  
