Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In Mary Oliver's "Why I Wake Early," the speaker greets the morning sun with gratitude and wonder, presenting a vision of the world that marries the cosmic with the personal. Oliver captures the simplicity of a morning's first light while offering an intimate look into the transformative power of nature, particularly the sun, as it touches life on Earth. The poem not only praises the literal dawn but also suggests a more profound illumination that could be read as spiritual, intellectual, or emotional.

The poem opens with a salutation, "Hello, sun in my face," establishing an immediate and intimate relationship between the speaker and the celestial body. It is an interaction that transcends mere observation; the speaker feels the sun, suggesting a tactile, almost visceral relationship with the day's first light. Oliver furthers this intimacy by giving agency to the sun, referring to it as "you who made the morning," and crediting it with the scattering of light "over the fields and into the faces of the tulips and the nodding morning glories." This personification brings the universe into a harmonious relationship with earthly existence, implying a mutual dependency and gratitude.

The speaker also reflects upon the indiscriminate nature of the sun, stating that its light reaches "into the windows of, even, the miserable and the crotchety." Here, the sun becomes the "best preacher that ever was," offering sermons of light and warmth, without judgment or reservation. Its mere position in the universe is enough "to keep us from ever-darkness, to ease us with warm touching, to hold us in the great hands of light." The sun is both an everyday spectacle and a celestial event, an entity that provides not just light but also an existential counterpoint to "ever-darkness," a metaphor that could extend to ignorance, despair, or even mortality.

The poem concludes with a promise from the speaker to start the day "in happiness, in kindness," as if the morning light has offered a blueprint for human action. The speaker seems to be inspired by the sun's magnanimity, extending its teachings into personal conduct. The sun's impartial distribution of light serves as a lesson in generosity, kindness, and the universal beauty of existence, showing how the natural world can provide moral and spiritual guidance.

"Why I Wake Early" not only celebrates the grandeur of nature but also examines the simple, almost unnoticed ways that it enriches our lives. Oliver encapsulates the essence of morning in a way that is both grand and intimately personal. Through this poem, she invites us to consider the beauty of everyday experiences, encouraging us to greet not only each new dawn but also the manifold possibilities that come with it. The poem stands as a reminder that the ordinary can indeed be extraordinary, and that the beginning of each new day offers a chance for renewal, both of the world and of the self.

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