James Dickey wrote many poems that all dealt with people, nature, and animals in some way. Dickey labeled his poetry with very significant titles that told the reader exactly what the poem was about. Sometimes poetry can be very confusing to me, and I have to read things over and over to understand visually what is being told, but with the help of significant titles I can make better connections. Sometimes in poems the title has nothing to do with the poem, and it makes it harder to comprehend. In this case, this was not a problem.
"Walking on Water" was the most interesting poem to me out of all of Dickey’s poetry, and I thought it had a religious significance built into it. Once I read the title of the poem, I automatically thought of Jesus. When I continued to read, I got to the second paragraph and read the following lines:
Later, it came to be said
That I was seen walking on water,
Not moving my legs
Except for the wrong step of sliding:
A child who leaned on a staff,
A curious pilgrim hiking
Between two open blue worlds,
My motion a miracle,
Leaving behind me no footprint,
But only the shimmering place
Of an infinite step upon water
The first thing that came to mind was the vision of Jesus walking on water and the significance of this event. When Jesus walked on water he was walking on it to save people. In Dickey’s poem, the person walking on water, I think, was trying to help the animals. The tone throughout this poem was definitely intense. The tone was intense due to the build up of wanting to see if there was going to be the same connection of walking on water with Jesus. The message that I got from this poem was that Dickey was taking the place of Jesus when he walked on the water, and he wanted to leave a mark on nature by leaving steps in the sand. Dickey made the connection of people, nature and animals and how they all are linked to one another.
For the most part, I can never interpret what a poet is trying to say in their poetry. I do not like to read poetry, and I do not like when I have to write it for an assignment. I think it is too personal to the writer to have other people interpret a writer’s work, and that it should not have to be examined, but rather only read. However, I feel that Dickey’s “Walking on Water” was the most comprehensible, to me, and that is why I chose to write about it, especially because I was able to make a religious connection.
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6 comments:
I agree with what you said about Dickey's poem titles. It's so hard to find hidden meanings or understand what poems are about because they are often very short, and metiphorical. Dickey however seemed to have planted images in our minds even before we started to read the actual poem itself. I think that had a good impact on me while reading, because like you and many other people it's very difficult sometimes to really find the true meaning of poems.
Good point! I agree the poem titles introduce the poems to the reader, and kind of explains what they are about the read. When I was reading this poem, I did not think about religion, but after you mentioned something about it, I kind of agree that this poem was religious in a way. I also agree, that it is difficult to read and understand poetry.
I like how you tied "Walking on Water" with Jesus because when I read this poem I thought the same thing, I immediately pictured Jesus walking across the water. I found this poem very easy to interpret and like you said the title made that a little bit easier. The title plays a big part in a poem, it's what draws the reader in and if it is a few good words that describe the poem than it makes me want to read it even more because then I know what I am getting myself into before I even read the poem.
Kathryn,
I also wrote about “Walking on Water” and made the automatic, religious connection to Jesus. I did not however, come to connect Jesus to Dickey wanting to save animals. Although he does mention all of the animals that surround him in the water and the nearby area, I feel that this is merely to show that all of God’s creatures surrounded him. I feel that to Dickey, they are a constant reminder of God and therefore he wrote about Jesus in this poem. I also believe that the seriousness of the reference to Jesus helps to create the “intense” tone that you discuss. You are wondering, as the reader, as to what Jesus is going to do next, and therefore are on the edge of your seat. I think that although poems can be personal, as you stated, that this one is just spiritual and therefore is meant to be shared and read by others, and so that they too can think about the “miracle” of Jesus Christ.
This is really random, but by connecting Dickey's themes of nature/animals, and religion, I was thinking about how weird it would be if there was an animal Jesus/Messiah figure. Like a monkey messiah, walking on water--think about it. Poetry makes me think of really weird things. I guess it gets that creative side of the brain going, but there's some weird stuff going on up there that might be better left unspoken...like this entire comment.
Kathryn,
I really enjoyed reading your blog; you always have unique insight into things. I, too, immediately thought of when Jesus walked on water when I read the title. But I really didn't think about how perhaps Dickey was comparing himself to Jesus, where he was a savior of animals instead of the Savior of men. But I think that is a very interesting possibility and, kind of a strange thing for Dickey to propose, if that is indeed what he was insinuating.
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