The Heaven of Animals
By: James Dickey

The poem “The Heaven of Animals”, by James Dickey, explores the relationships between predator and prey as well as the controversial topic of whether or not animals have souls. The end of the poem also touches on the idea of a circle of life; death being the centre. The structure of the poem as well as Dickey’s use of poetic devices reflects these themes whilst also painting a vivid mental imagine of “the heaven of animals” for the reader. In the first stanza, Dickey introduces the animals with the simple phrase “The soft eyes open.” (Line 1) Throughout the poem, there is no mention of any specific animal, but in the opening line of the poem, Dickey chose to represent animals as a whole rather than individual species. This hints at the idea of everyone being created equally and everyone deserving the chance of a perfect afterlife. The reader is also expected to draw the parallel between the title and the setting of the poem, because within the poem, it is never said that they are in “heaven”. The vivid imagery allows the reader to fully understand the beauty of animal heaven. Dickey is describing this place as a more perfect version of the animal’s habitat on earth. This creates a sense of fulfilment which is carried throughout the entire poem. The next stanza is the one that raises the controversial topic of animals not having souls. Dickey presents the reader with a very clear paradox: if animals do not have souls, then which part of them went to heaven after their death on earth? The rest of the poem does not support the idea of animals lacking souls, but rather elaborates on the inner kindness of animals. Dickey described their eyes as “soft” which is often associated with a gentleness while the act of opening one’s eyes is an act that represents a certain awareness of one’s surroundings. This phrase “The soft eyes open” is used twice in this poem; line 1 and line 11. This repetition is clearly used to emphasize the gentle awakening of animals in heaven. The next stanza is the only one that does not focus on the animals but rather on describing the beauty of their surroundings. “Outdoing, desperately, outdoing what is required” (Lines 14-15). These two lines shows the perfection of heaven. The word “outdoing” has a sense of overachievement and greatness that can all be related with the perfect heaven. In this stanza, Dickey is showing the reader that just because it is a heaven for animals, does not mean that it is any less perfect than heaven for humans. This sense of perfection continues into the fourth stanza, where the primal needs of predator animals is addressed. Blood is mentioned and seems like a very strong contradiction to the rest of the poem that was all about happiness and beauty. However, for a predatory animal to be completely happy and fulfilled, it must hunt. Therefore, their claws and teeth are perfectly sharp and everything about their preying technique is perfected in heaven. This allows them to live with a sense of contentment and, as mentioned before, fulfilment in the afterlife as well. This idea is continued throughout the next stanza, where Dickey describes the different ways in which the predatory animal’s hunting is perfected. “They stalk more silently” (Line 23). In the sixth stanza, Dickey addresses the prey that is being hunted by these bloodthirsty predators with newly perfected skills. How can it be a heaven for those animals that are the prey? They get to live without fear; once they are hunted, they get right back up unharmed. Dickey is showing that both the predatory animals and the prey are both learning to accept their roles in the food chain. The fulfilment of not having to worry about being hunted or not hunting well enough, vanishes in this animal heaven. To finish the poem, Dickey introduces the idea of “the circle of life”. Most people see death as an “end”, however in this representation it is placed in the centre of the circle. “They fall, they are torn, they rise, they walk again.” (Lines 40-41). These two lines are talking about the hunted prey and their reward of never dying but rather getting back up and continuing to live in their heaven. This shows that there is life after death and death is a part of life. In the afterlife, animals come to accept the latter. Although the last stanza is the first time Dickey clearly mentions the circle of life, it is shown throughout the poem through the use of multiple enjambments and repetition. The enjambments allow the poem to flow very smoothly, just like a circle. The repetition symbolizes this as well, only it shows that there is life after death and that this continues forever, just like a circle. Dickey presented the idea of an animal heaven in the same way humans imagine their heaven: perfect. Although the entire idea of a heaven for animals is controversial, he managed to create a sense of fulfilment for the reader, as well as paint a picture of an almost utopic world. The idea of a perfect world creates a yearning in both humans and animals that through this poem then forms a link between the two. According to Dickey, the circle of life is the same for humans and animals, even if animals have no souls.