December 17, 2014
“Crossing the Swamp”

 See the “forest”
 What is the “big picture”?
 (With poetry, it is often an extended metaphor.)
 Include this in your introduction.
 Hannah: In “Crossing the Swamp,” Mary Oliver
communicates how the nature of a swamp is representative
of her experience as a human being. She uses the form and
shape of the poem to illustrate unpredictable and universal
nature, and uses aspects of sound (alliteration, internal
rhyme, and euphony) to communicate her feelings about
struggle and redemption.
“Crossing the Swamp”

 Calvin: In Mary Oliver’s “Crossing the Swamp,” she utilizes imagery
and extended metaphor to convey the situation that humanity is in.
Humans are but a “bough” at the “whims” of “earthsoup.” But there is
still a chance for us to flourish if we and the world decide it should be
so.
Other tips

 Do not praise the writer.
 Avoid “parroting” the prompt.
 Parroting: Mary Oliver uses techniques to develop the
relationship between the speaker and the swamp.
 Semi-Colons (;) work exactly like periods. They are
used to show the close connection between the ideas
in two independent clauses.
Other tips

 Assume (unless it’s clearly otherwise) that the
speaker shares the author’s gender.
 Avoid “he or she” or “they” to refer to a singular
speaker
 Citing line numbers is unnecessary.
 Remember the “vehicle” and “tenor.” If you refer to
a metaphor, make sure you know what the vehicle &
tenor are. (If it’s unclear, it’s probably not a
metaphor!)