Why I Wake Early (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)
At a glance:
- Author: Mary Oliver
- First Published: 2004
- Type of Work: Poetry
- Genres: Poetry
- Subjects: Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Nature, Religion, Native Americans or American Indians, Faith, Birds, Animals, Belief or doubt, Soul, Maryland
By beginning her book with a quotation from George Herbert, a seventeenth century metaphysical poet, Mary Oliver establishes the religious tone and content of her work. Herbert writes, “Lord! Who hath praise enough?” Oliver's poems offer direct and indirect praise of the creator. Herbert, whose chief work was The Temple (1633), found God in nature, just as Oliver does, but her poems lack his liturgical themes, and the structure of The Temple is more pronounced. The fourth poem of Oliver's Why I Wake Early is titled “Where Does the Temple Begin, Where Does It...
[The entire page is 1861 words long]
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