Traveling Through the Dark (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: William Stafford
- First Published: 1962
- Type of Work: Poem
- Genres: Poetry, Lyric poetry
- Subjects: Traveling or travelers, Nature, Roads, streets, or highways, Deer, Animals, Mountains, Automobiles, Night
“Traveling Through the Dark” is Stafford's most famous, most often anthologized poem. It is somewhat atypical, as it tells a story about a real experience in a fairly straightforward way. Yet in its underlying concern with nature—in this case, a deer found dead in the road—with humans’ invasion of the wilderness, and with the individual's responsibility to do what is right “for us all,” the poem reveals some of Stafford's abiding themes.
“Traveling Through the Dark” achieves its power by subtly blending the symbolic and the real and by seeing underneath the...
[The entire page is 695 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
See Also
