Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In Mary Oliver's "Black Oaks," the reader is drawn into an intricate dialogue between human ambition and the natural world, articulated through the speaker's interaction with the titular oaks. The poem serves as an inquiry into the complexities of human achievement, asking us to evaluate our relationships with ambition and the relentless passage of time, set against the serene backdrop of the forest and its residents.

The poem begins by acknowledging the limits of the black oaks. Unlike humans, they cannot write a symphony, a dictionary, or even a heartfelt letter to an old friend. They can't even "manage a single sound" without the influence of the wind. By beginning this way, Oliver juxtaposes the creative capabilities of humans with the apparent stasis of nature, almost setting up a hierarchy that places humans above other life forms in terms of agency and potential.

However, as the poem progresses, this initial hierarchy is subverted. The speaker admits to being "pale with longing" for the oaks, irresistibly drawn to their "thick bodies ruckled with lichen" and "shining green hair." Here, the trees are anthropomorphized with "bodies," "shoulders," and "hair," transforming them into entities worthy of human-like descriptions, and thus human-like admiration. This shift portrays the oaks not as static or limited but as embodiments of a different kind of richness-one not tied to human notions of productivity or achievement.

Amid this meditation, a human voice interjects, personifying ambition. This ambition urges the speaker to "get going," reinforcing society's valuation of time, urging us to be continually productive. In contrast, the speaker wishes to embrace "the wrists of idleness," a captivating metaphor that illustrates the lure of doing nothing as almost a form of rebellion. By doing so, they reject the notion that life's worth is solely determined by measurable achievements or material wealth.

The speaker does not "want to sell [their] life for money," an expression that effectively encapsulates the existential dilemma many face when reconciling individual desires with societal expectations. There's a certain audacity in this refusal, in the embrace of idleness amid the "mossy shadows, under the trees." Even the speaker's reluctance to "come in out of the rain" becomes a form of resistance, choosing to engage with nature in its rawness rather than seek shelter and conform to societal norms.

Oliver's "Black Oaks" subtly critiques the human drive for perpetual accomplishment, questioning whether our relentless pursuit of 'more'-more money, more fame, more knowledge-is inherently fulfilling. The poem finds its own kind of symphony in the "carp and whistle" of the blue jays, its own dictionary in the natural inscriptions of lichen on tree trunks, and its own comforting letter in the unwritten, lived experience of simply being in nature.

In doing so, "Black Oaks" invites the reader to reevaluate the meaning of success and achievement, offering the alternative notion that perhaps there is just as much to be gained from listening to the silent wisdom of the oaks, and from cherishing the simple, uncountable moments spent under their sheltering branches.

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