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MiriamBriggs
Mrs.Burr,Instructor
English1010,Section8
23May2016
AnalyzingPoetry:TravelingthroughtheDark
InTravelingthroughtheDark,astorytellingpoembyWilliamE.Stafford,a
predominentAmericanpoet,hedescribeswhathappenstoapregnantdoethathasbeenhitand
leftonthesideoftheroad.Hehasthedecisiontosavethefawnortopushbothdeeroverthe
edgeofthecliff.Thespeakerdecidestoletthemfallintotheriver.Staffordisattemptingto
bringustotherealityandharshnessofanimalcruelty.Thestorylinedemonstratesthedistinct
differencebetweenanimalsandhumans.Asarace,humansareoftenharshandlackempathyfor
animalsbecauseofthethinkingthattheyarehigherrace.Thetextalsodescribeshowhumans
oftenhavethechoiceofchoosingbetweentheharderrightandwhatseasy.Everypersonhas
opinionsandviewsthataffectthewayheorsheactsandchooses.Thismakesupourcharacter.
Butwhenputinsocialsettings,humansareeasilyinfluencedbyothersbeliefs.Whatonedoes
whennobodyiswatchingorputunderpeerpressuredefinesapersonscharacter.Themanin
thispoemisgivenachoice:tosavethefawnaliveinsidethemotherortoletitdie.Hehesitates
beforedecidingtoletthehelplessfawnfollowthesamefateasitsmother.Butnotwithoutmuch
thoughtandcomingtotherealizationthatifleftwithoutamother,thefawnwouldmostlikely
dieorcomethesamecruelendashismother.Thissupportsthespeakersreasoningtoleavethe
deerotherthansimplybeingcrueltotheanimal.Thoughthispoemmayatfirstseemasimple


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tellingofwhathappenstoanunfortunatedeeronadarknightonavacantroad,theauthoruses
symbolism,falserhymes,andtonetodevelopandsupportthethemesofthepoem.
Apredominentsymbolusedwasthatofthecar.Itsymbolizesthelivingandmoving
forward.Staffordalsopersonifiesthecarbydescribingpartsofthecarsimilartothatofalive
human.Thebeamingparkinglightsaretheeyesstaringstraightahead,thepurringsteadyengine
representthepumpingheartbeat,andthewarmexhaustisthebreath.Bymentioningthecar
severalothertimesbeforeincludinganentirestanzaofdescribingthelifelikecar,thisdominant
symbolstandsoutashemakestheaudiencereflectnotonlyonthepersonifyingfeaturesofthe
car,butthemechanical,stimulatedfeaturesofhumans.Anothersymbolistheroad.Thepoem
describesitasbeingnarrow.Likethedeer,ifapersongetsoffcourseofwhatisacceptedor
mostthemostworn,theyarefigurativelytossedtothesideoftheroadandpushedoverthecliff
tomakeroomfortheevermovingforwardliving.StaffordincludesThecaraimedaheadits
loweredparkinglights,toshowthatthelivingareconstantlylookingaheadtothefuture(line
13).Specificallytheterm
aimed
createsavisualamongtheaudiencetodevelopanimageand
enhancedeeperunderstandingwiththereader.
FalserhymesareawellusedtacticaddedbyStaffordtohelpfurtherdevelopthetoneand
themeofthepoem.Falseorslantrhymeshappenwhenendingwordsofalinedontexactly
rhymebuthavesimilarsoundsinbothwordsinvolved.Anexampleofthishappensinlinessix
andeight:andstoodbytheheap,adoe,arecentkilling,Idraggedheroffshewaslargein
belly.Thewordskillingandbellycontainsimilarconsonantsthatdontmakeitrhyme
completely,butenoughtokeepitunited.Bothwordsareimportantwithinthetheirrespective
linesmakingtheslantrhymealittlemorerecognized.Thereadermaynotnoticethisslight


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variationbyStafford,butbynothavingcompleterhymes,heisabletotosupporttheserious
toneofthepoemwhilealsokeepingitlooselyconnectedevenwhentalkingaboutdeath.
Staffordisabletocreatetheserioustoneheldthroughoutthepoemfromthebeginning
startingwiththetitleandfirstline.InthetitleTravelingthroughtheDarkisthefirstandonly
timeitismentionedthatheistravelingamidstadarksetting.OnceStaffordestablishedthatit
wasdark,hewasabletorelyontheominousandscaryconnotation.Thepoemisconcernedwith
dying,inparticular,thedeathofadeerthatmayseemnaturalorinevitabletomany.Butoncethe
fawnisrevealedtobealive,sympathybeginstobethelikelyemotion.Stafforddeliversthe
messagethatHerfawnlaytherewaiting,alive,still,nevertobeborn.Besidethatmountain
roadIhesitated.(lines1012).Duringtheselinesthetoneofthespeakerchangesfrombeing
almostcarelessandabsentmindedtocontemplative.Thespeakerhesitates,displayingachange
intheirownemotions,callingactiontoachangeinthereadersemotion.Fromthispointon,the
toneisthoughtful.Thiscausesthereadertothinkaboutwhattheywoulddoinasituationsimilar
tothis.
Everypersonwillhavemillionsofchoicestomake,butwhatonedoeswhenthose
decisionscome,especiallywhennooneistheretoinfluencetheirchoice,determinescharacter.
Manytimes,knowledgegainedmakesthechoiceevenharder,andchoosingtherightthingisnot
alwayseasiest.Thelivingkeepmovingforwardonthestraightpathprovided,counselednotto
questionthenarrow,secludedpath.Bydisplayingthisstoryofadeerandahuman,Staffordis
abletoshowthathumanstreatanimalsdifferently,oftenwithdisrespect.Heisabletoconvey
thesethemesthroughastory,usingapoemashismessenger.Thepoem,richwithsymbolism,


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falserhymes,andtonearethetoolsStaffordusestoeffectivelysendhisthemesacrosstothe
reader.

WorksCited
Stafford,WilliamE.TravelingthroughtheDark.Literature:AnIntroductiontoReadingand
Writing.2nded.Eds.EdgarV.RobertsandHenryE.Jacobs.EnglewoodCliffs:Prentice
Hall,1998.Print.