Essay On Sleeping In The Forest By Mary Oliver

When analyzing a poem a reader must closely examine the style of the poem in order to comprehend the text better. In the poem ‘Ode to Enchanted Light’ by Pablo Neruda, the poet uses different types of style to create a pleasant image of his poem. In the poem ‘Sleeping in the Forest’ by Mary Oliver, the poet uses figurative language and sound devices to create a well organized and meaningful poem. When comparing poems a reader must always examine the text and look for specific word choice, sound devices, and form of structure that will make up a good poem. Both poets use similar styles of work choice. Neruda and Oliver both use figurative language to create an image in their poems. In, "they floated light as moths among the branches of the perfect trees"(Oliver, lines 9-11) the poet uses the word ‘like’ to compare the way the stars floated to moths among the tree branches. Neruda also uses a simile to compare to viewpoints. The poet says “every leaf drifting down like clean white sand” (Neruda, lines 14-15). Being that both poets include a simile in the poems, they are able to create
Both poets use consonance such as, “dark skirts, her pockets full of lichens and seeds” (Oliver, lines 4-5) and “the trees” (Neruda, line 1). Oliver continuously uses the sound “s” and Neruda continuously uses the sound “e”. Another sound device that both poets use is assonance. For example, “dropped from the top” (Neruda, line 2) and “remembered me, took me back so tenderly” (Oliver, lines 2-3). Neruda creates assonance by using the same vowel sound of “o” and Oliver creates assonance by using the same vowel sound of “e”. One more thing both poets share is repetition. In Oliver’s poems, she continuously uses first person words all throughout her poem. Neruda uses repetition by using alliteration. All together, both poets use similar sound devices in order to give their poems more detail and to interest the reader