Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

The poem "Rapture" by Mary Oliver is a resonant meditation on the transformative power of nature and emotion, evoking a sense of wonder and exhilaration in the midst of life's intricacies. The poem unfolds as a journey through the fields that deepen "every morning, / every rainfall," and this pastoral setting becomes a metaphorical space for the speaker's emotional and spiritual transformation.

The speaker, presumably Oliver herself, ventures into the fields, "thickening" with life, drawn to the everyday miracles of "weeds and blossoms." The landscape pulsates with vibrant energy, "pale as flames," yet so utterly complete that "that was all there was." This notion of completeness, a full circle that encompasses both the ordinary and the extraordinary, reverberates throughout the poem. The distinction between the natural world and the emotional realm blurs as the speaker describes experiencing a sense of "rising," as if lifted by an invisible force, their "boots / touching suddenly the tops of the weeds."

At the heart of this experience lies "passion," a force powerful enough to summon the speaker forth, disorient them, and then enfold them in "the cloth of happiness." Oliver, often acclaimed for her keen observations of the natural world, employs her affinity for the outdoors to construct an emotional and psychological landscape just as nuanced and lush. By invoking a sense of "rapture the gleaming," she seems to argue that this feeling, however inexplicable or illogical, is the epitome of existence, the "only prize."

The language is characterized by Oliver's trademark simplicity and precision. Her choice of words-like "shimmering," "extravagant," "replete"-radiate an energy, a vibrancy that mirrors the emotional elevation the speaker experiences. The lines are short and the structure of the poem is not rigid, offering a free-flowing narrative that mimics the unpredictability and richness of nature and human emotions.

When reading "Rapture," one can't overlook the importance of its cultural and historical context. Mary Oliver, an American poet born in 1935, was deeply influenced by both the naturalistic writings of Henry David Thoreau and Walt Whitman, and the confessional tone of poets like Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton. Her work is often read as a 20th-century continuation of the Transcendentalist tradition, valuing individual experience and the inherent goodness of people and nature. In an age increasingly dominated by technology and materialism, Oliver's words act as a grounding force, reminding readers of the age-old symbiotic relationship between humans and the earth, and of the spiritual sustenance that can still be derived from it.

Ultimately, "Rapture" is a powerful ode to the ineffable, the "illogical the weightless," that which escapes easy definition or reason. It encapsulates the mysterious allure of both nature and human emotion, which can "strip" us "clean" and yet cloak us in incomprehensible joy. Whether it be for the love of an object, a person, or the "dark floss of the earth itself," Oliver extols the virtue of surrendering to that which defies logic yet feels profoundly right, urging us to "open / such wild, blind wings" at the edge of "sweet sanity," embracing the full, gorgeous chaos of existence.

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