1 1346013460Mrs. CarpenterAP English Lit.25 January 2013The Universality of a SwampAs in a human life, a swamp maintains a level of life beyond the organic sense. Using dynamic contrast in connotation and denotation, accompanied by slant rhymes and themes of duality, Mary Olivers Crossing the Swamp celebrates a connection between man and nature beyond simple organic compounds. As the poem begins, Oliver employs a tactic to grab the reader: the use of words that denote and connote differing ideas. The use of this aforementioned tactic begins on line three, specifically the word cosmos. While the denotation of the word suggests a grand structure, the connotation within the poem defines it as an increase of complexity within the swamp. This idea is portrayed in a similar manner with the words dense, branching, and dark. The next idea presented through words is a sense of unquestionable power within the swamp. The denotation of words such as pathless, seamless, peerless, struggle, and closure, found in lines eleven through thirteen, create an idea of novelty in the swamp. Given that information, the connotation of the words, in conjunction with the mind of the reader, create the idea of an unseen power held by the swamp. This difference, to the inexperienced reader, causes a misinterpretation. To the experienced reader, however, whose vocabulary is more advanced, the difference in the literal and contextual definitions is apparent and duly noted. Lines thirteen through twenty-two present an additional challenge to the interpretation of Crossing the Swamp. To appeal to the common crowd, Oliver applies a series of slant rhymes. In not rhyming the words in their entirety, Oliver creates the continuance of focus and thought, compared to the complacency that can occur when developing perfect rhyme. The final portion of the poem, consisting of lines twenty-two to thirty-six, contains the final devices engaged by Oliver to maintain focus. Where previous sections employ the use of differences in connotation and denotation, this portion applies the duality of nature. While the swamp is a place characterized by life, a vivification occurs to all those who enter its grounds. To render this idea a thought within the readers mind, Oliver creates a duality of life and death. This same duality is then overcome by the life factor in the argument, creating the idea that nature restores natural order, making death a rebirth into life. To accomplish this task, Oliver employs a dead stick as the vehicle of death and ultimate rebirth. By taking root in the swamp and sprouting, the readers idea of death is temporarily altered to be a simple rebirth in a new form, and not an eternal silence as characterized by the more somber poets Poe and Dickinson.In summation, Crossing the Swamp develops a connective bond between man and a swamp. This bond goes beyond the synapses required for thought, the many parts of a swamp, and the ink on the paper where the poem rests. To both the reader and author, the swamp becomes a living companion in the journey known as life.