The Waking
By Theodore Roethke
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 those 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.This 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.
Summary of The Waking
- Popularity of “The Waking”: Written in 1953 by Theodore Roethke, an American poet and intellectual, he composed this poem during his high time in the poetic profession. The poem presents the situation of the poet about his waking hours when he tries to sleep and brings inducement that by attempting to do things, a person could accomplish Herculean tasks. The popularity of the poem lies in its form of a villanelle.
- “The Waking” As a Representative of Human Existence and Its Cycle: The poet starts the poem in the first person saying that he wakes to sleep but takes it slowly, which he thinks has become his fate. It means that the poet has taken everything slowly, even if it is something that involves going somewhere that he must do. This fate that he cannot fear continues with different activities involving different actions that he has to take. The poet continues saying that several things happen, and it seems that the Great Nature is not involved in any of these, yet it seems quite ironic that we learn by learning and not by taking a rest. This intellectuality of the poetic text ends on the same note it has started with.
- Major Themes in “The Waking”: Learning, natural cycle, and life cycle are three major thematic strands of this poem. The poet starts the poem with the lesson of learning that we learn things through paradoxical activities, as the first line shows, and this fate of the human life cycle continues until death. There are so many things in nature that involve natural cycles, but they teach highly precious lessons to human beings. The poem shows the deep observation of the poem that “We think by feeling” and continues with the same strain of using paradoxes until he reaches the end and continues with Great Nature having an indifferent attitude toward life. By saying this, the poet shows that he has a full understanding of life full of paradoxes, and this is the main source of learning about this life cycle and natural cycle.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in The Waking
Theodore Roethke has demonstrated his skill in using various literary devices to enhance the intended impacts of his poem. Some of the major literary devices used in this poem are as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /e/ in “I hear my being dance from ear to ear” and the sound of /o/ in “Of those so close beside me, which are you?.”
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession, such as the sound of /l/ in “lovely learn.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /t/ in “Light takes the Tree; but who can tell us how?” and the sound of /s/ in “This shaking keeps me steady. I should know.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example,
Great Nature has another thing to do
To you and me; so take the lively air,
And, lovely, learn by going where to go.
- Irony: Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words. The poem shows several ironic statements, such as “I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Theodore Roethke has used imagery in this poem such as “This shaking keeps me steady. I should know”, “The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair” and “Great Nature has another thing to do.”
- Paradox: It means to use contradictory ideas in a statement, as the poem shows in the first verse “I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.”
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols of sleep, wake, tree, light, and other things to signify life and death.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in The Waking
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction and Tone: It means the type of language and the type of voice that the poet has given to the poem. The poem shows informal and poetic diction with an ironic and tragic tone.
- Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. Here the last stanza is quatrain.
- Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows a different rhyme scheme due to its being villanelle. The first stanza shows the rhyme scheme ABA, which continues until the end, where it is ABAA in the quatrain.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are six stanzas, with the first five having three verses each and the last having four verses.
- Tercet: It means a stanza of three verses. This poem has five tercets in it.
- Villanelle: This poem is a villanelle having five tercets and one quatrain.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote about learning new things in life.
This 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.
