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When Death Comes

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Submitted By slr1974
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“When Death Comes” for my explication of a poem. In regards to Oliver’s poem I have found two topics that can be intrigued upon one being life the other death. I have chosen my focus on what I believe to be Oliver’s true intention of “When Death Comes” and that is, death is not something to be afraid of yet a curiosity to be looked upon.
Oliver seems to touch the audience by speaking of death and curiosities of the afterlife. While answering the characters own questions about life and the characters time as a visitor upon earth to be satisfying. Oliver draws the audience in with a sense of speaking directly to the reader about death presenting that death is a possibility of an invitation to new adventure and knowledge; not just a mere cold, silent darkness to be afraid of as one passes onto death which is what some believe.
Oliver wants to welcome death without fear giving the poem a more free versed technique in comparison to the character in the poem that comes across as free spirited and gentle character; which I will address in the next paragraph. Oliver shows no true structure of her poem with rhyming but what I did notice is that her words seem calm while she addresses death and sincere while allowing her words to flow emphasizing on sounds in the stanzas after reading them a few times out loud and they seem to just simply flow together like door and curiosity. Oliver demonstrates several similes to death and anaphora’s for images of death which I will further discuss later to persuade one that my belief of Oliver’s poem is to be not afraid of death and to embrace it as a possibility of a new existence in the afterlife.
In the first four lines of When Death Comes we read
When Death Comes
Like the hungry bear
When death comes takes all the bright coins from his purse
To buy me, and snap the purse shut (Oliver 1-4)
Oliver’s poem gives a sense of the character being in a tranquil and natural in setting as well as throughout the poem. Maybe a woman or man’s outlook on life observed through his/her quaint attention in his/her beauty and surroundings along with spirituality observing nature all around such as the bear romping in the woods or cubs playing. While the bright coins represent autumn leaves that trickle to the ground meeting their end. He/she knows death will consume his/her brightness in trade for the bright coins from deaths purse.
At lines 15, 16, and 19 Oliver compares life to a flower not only as a group but as individuality along with music to silence. I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering; what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness? (Oliver 15-16) Oliver sucks the reader into sitting with her character as the charater speaks to see the natural beauty that lies within each one of us and how precious our individuality and beauty are. Oliver sets the image of the character moving among the flower fields singing or humming a song that too will end with time, and we as the reader need to appreciate this because we to shall cease to exist when death comes just like the song ends and the flower withers pondering questions related to life and death. One cannot help to ponder back at line 15 for it states “life as a common field flower”; life as a field flower will reproduce in the following spring or summer. Is Oliver gearing this line of life and a common field flower toward the warm outlook upon death of not being afraid for future existence after death?
When the character ceases to exist the character wants to welcome death even though not knowing how it may come, for example in line 6 “like the measles or pox”; in line 7 “like an iceberg between the shoulders. This is only two of the many instances that Oliver’s character represents similes to death like measles or pox and death like an iceberg between the shoulder blades. The character is representing that death can be slow, drawn, out and made comfortable or come out of nowhere like an iceberg causing a quick, harsh, sudden death like ones heart. I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering; What is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness? (Oliver 9-10) I perceive the character outlook to be reflecting upon society and how several look at death as dark, dreary, unsafe, cold, and uncertain where a simile arrives again veered toward the cottage of darkness representing society’s outlook, but the character looks forward to entering the cottage of darkness opening the door to death exploring his/her curiosities not just a mere bleak, cold ending but an adventure into the afterlife of comfort and no fear.
In lines 22 the character demonstrates:” I was a bride married to amazement” and in line 23 a” bridegroom, taking the world into my arms”. Like on ones wedding day the character has embraced life with amazement looking forward to the future joys as a bride would her new married life and as a groom takes his bride to love forever embracing her with his love always the character wants to embrace death just as life in the same outlook. I believe Oliver used these as metaphors to an outlook in life after death.
In Lines 11 and 12 the character explains looking upon everything as a brotherhood and sisterhood. He/she is comfortable with death waiting to explore curiosities, and embracing the idea. I think the perception of brotherhood-sisterhood can be seen by the joining of others as in family, friends, new acquaintances to welcome new surroundings and gain knowledge for the characters stay in ones afterlife. It’s almost as though the characters sisterhood-brotherhood is in representation to those in society who believe in a heaven.
In lines 13 and 14 the character tells us that “I look upon time as no more than an idea and I consider eternity as a possibility”. These remarks speak exactly what they are. Oliver uses the character to put question into the readers mind to make his/her own decision focusing is time really no more than an idea? No, because time has an ending in life. So I ask then, does it not make sense that eternity is a possibility after death with time? When it’s over, I don’t want to wonder If I have made of my life something particular, and real I don’t want to find myself sighing and frightened, Or full of argument I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world (Oliver 24-28) As I examine lines 24 through 28; a realization comes from the character to the reader as a question. Now the character has accepted death with embrace and wonder of possibilities to afterlife. Making one’s life among the living great, fulfilled, accomplished, knowledgeable, embracing all living things; why do I need to argue or wonder; if I just simply visited the living to live in fear of death? The character has gained all that is needed in the life of the living to transpire to a life of afterlife in the end with no fear and many possibilities believed in for death. So, in conclusion I would like to draw attention to the repetition of When Death Comes in the first three stanzas. In my opinion it allows us the reader to remember death is coming; drawing attention to death being near yet, not to be afraid for Oliver’s character has spoken knowledgably while watching natures surrounding speaking in to existence the possibilities of death so kindly. Embracing death and the curiosities that lie behind deaths door taking his/her knowledge to a new stage of the soul, the afterlife without fear.

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