Poetry analysis

The waking

I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow

I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.

I learn by going where I have to go.

We think by feeling. What is there to know?

I hear my being dance from ear to ear.

I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow

Of course so close beside me, which are you?

God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there,

And learn by going where I have to go.

Light takes the Tree; but who can tell us how?

The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair;

I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

Great Nature has another  thing to do

To you and me, so take the lively air,

And, lovely, learn by going where to go

The shaking keeps  me steady. I should know.

What falls away is always. And is near.

I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

I learn by going where I have to go.

By Theodore Roethke (1908-1963)

First stanza

ayufi

The waking, by  Theodore Roethke, here he told about the waking. The waking here is time between awake and asleep, a half awake and a half sleep. It means that if we are on that condition, our brain can not think clearly. And we can still feel a dream.The speaker said “I feel my fate in what I cannot fear”, so the speaker sees the fate without feeling fear, because the still in waking time. In the time, the speaker will not feel fear his fate which may be bad. And then, here the speaker tried to us that even he realized that his fate may be bad, he will keep learning. The speaker learn everything wherever he is.

Second stanza

In this stanza shows that the speaker try to enjoy his life. “We think by feeling” he thinks but also he involves his feeling to know something. Like a life that he does, that he learns everything he sees, everything he hears to make his life easier.” I hear my being dance from ear to ear.” So, the speaker really learns from his around. Like he tries to dance and he learns from ear to ear here, means by surrounding.

Third stanza

Here the speaker tells us about God who always beside him. The God is so close with his life. On the area that he steep on it, he must be careful. Careful here means that he must be polite there. So that he said “ I shall walk softly there.” And also it means that the speaker has to be patient to live his life. Then, he must keeps to learn wherever he is. He must learns by surrounding.

Five stanza

The speaker now describes about the even that happened and at the time he saw it. “Light takes tree” here means that in the morning when the light of the sun is shining, and the shining light of the sun break through gaps among the leaves of the tree. The speaker also see the worm climb up from the low place to the higher place to get the warm of the sun. And from that, the speaker can learn how to enjoy the life with everything in surrounding.

Sixth Stanza

The speaker feels the surrounding is amazing. He said, “Great nature has another thing to do”, he wants to say that there is something from the nature which can be learned or understood. There’s mystery of nature which must be disclosed. The life, the nature, are wonderful. Just enjoy with the life. And the speaker said “And lovely learn by going where to go”, the speaker feels glad to learn by going where to go. Learn by going where to go means that experiences which can be gained from learning surrounding , wherever he goes. How can he learn? Of course by looking around the life.

Seventh stanza

 “The shaking keeps me steady. I should know.” The beginning of this stanza here means, troubles make the speaker more strong to face the life. The shaking here is the trouble that always there with the life. But, even the problem can really me the shake (it means the problem is very big), in other hand, it can make the speaker to be more patient. Even always the speaker always breaks. And he hope that he just keep awaking. Because, he wants to feel how is life by learning surrounding.