Analysis of How I Go to the Woods
Mary Oliver 1935 (Maple Heights, OH) – 2019 (Hobe Sound, FL)
Ordinarily, I go to the woods alone, with not a single
friend, for they are all smilers and talkers and
therefore
unsuitable.
I don’t really want to be witnessed talking to the
catbirds
or hugging the old black oak tree. I have my way of
praying, as you no doubt have yours.
Besides, when I am alone I can become invisible. I can
sit
on the top of a dune as motionless as an uprise of weeds,
until the foxes run by unconcerned. I can hear the almost
unhearable sound of the roses singing.
If you have ever gone to the woods with me, I must love
you very much.
Scheme | AXXA XBCB XXBXX CX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 0100111010111010 1111110100 1 0100 1110111101010 1 1100111111111 10111111 01111011101010011 1 1011011100111011 01010110111101 11101010 11110110111111 1101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 564 |
Words | 117 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 5, 2 |
Lines Amount | 15 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 109 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 28 |
About this poem
reverence and stillness
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"How I Go to the Woods" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/150127/how-i-go-to-the-woods>.
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