Dream Work, assignment 4

Mary Oliver's poems in 'Dream Work' all tend to be lyric poems, disregarding time and rigid structure. She does not usually use a rhyme scheme, but occasionally she uses repetition to drive a point home. It seems as though Oliver writes many poems about her life experience, in first person. Her poems have a common theme of personal emotion, challenges in every person's life and relationships. Each one of her poems seems to, in one way or another, relate to everybody, no matter how different they may seem. The titles are almost misleading because the real message of the poem is not found within the title. She focuses on humans and what events affect their spirits. 

After reading all of her poems, I feel more of a connection with myself. Reading her work made me feel inspired to always work on my relationships and to have faith in my own decisions. One of her poems was particularly motivating. The last few lines of "Banyan" read:

'Listen, said the voice.

This is your dream.

I'm only stopping here for a little while.

Don't be afraid.'

Her poems are so unpredictable and in my mind, uplifting. The titles are so simple and often disconnected with the deeper meaning of the poem. For example, a banyan is a type of fig, and the meaning of the poem does not relate to a fig in any way. In each poem, the reader is bound to find some sort of message that relates to himself or herself. 

Her poems are all free verse. They are typically around 30 lines each, and quite consistent. Oliver's lines tend to be very short, only a few words, but I think this line length adds to her powerful messages. The lines never feel too short and are never cut off in an abrupt manner. On the contrary, the short lines flow very well together. Her word choice is plain, but each word has a distinct purpose because the lines are so short. Each word has an important role in creating vivid images for the reader.

After reading 'Dream Work', I decided, on a whole, that Oliver's goal in the book is to inspire and to give hope to people- especially those who need guidance or those who are suffering. The book ends with the poem "The Sunflowers". The final message is optimistic. She tells the reader, life is not going to be easy, everything requires work, but there are rewards in relationships, in beauty and in adventure. Those rewards are well worth the effort.