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Analysis of When Death Comes. There is a stream of consciousness feel to this poem as the speaker, presumably Oliver, considers what happens to someone after his or her life ends.
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“When Death Comes” is one of Mary Oliver’s most remarkable poems originally published in New and Selected Poems (1992). It is a particularly impactful poem in which Oliver engages with the confusing and fearful subject of death. She does not take a conventional approach to death.
“When Death Comes” is a poem that deals with how one chooses to live once they realize they must die. There’s an almost fantastical quality to death in the opening stanzas. Death is not clinical or manmade, but natural, a next step in the journey of life.
Oliver, Mary. “ When Death Comes .” 1991. Virginia Quarterly Review. Summary. The speaker begins this lyric poem discussing how they will eventually be greeted by death. They speculate that death might come as a “hungry bear” (Line 2), from illness, or similar to “an iceberg” (Line 8).
Mary Oliver's poems are remarkably consistent in their approach. She experiments with several styles in terms of line breaks and structure and length, and takes on the big themes of life and death...
Dec 28, 2019 · Along the gradual path of grieving, adapting, and accepting a loss in our lives, we often make our own very personal meaning that is intertwined with the continuing bond of love. A friend recently shared a poem with a profoundly beautiful message about death and grief and love.
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In her poem "Brother," celebrated poet Mary Oliver eloquently expresses the ever-lasting presence of a brother, even in their absence. Oliver's words encapsulate the delicate balance between grief and gratitude.
