Human Nature
In both Mary Oliver’s “The House” and “The Fish”, the main subject is death. Whether it be through the anecdote of a watching a fish die in “The Fish” or the metaphor of a decaying estate used in “The House”, the work is centered on death and dying. Despite this similar subject matter, however, through use of particular focus and structure, each poem provides a wholly different view on the subject. “The House” tells an easily followed story. It begins with youth and happiness, imagery creating the picture of a beautiful life by all means. But through use of the same imagery and the ever present metaphor of the home itself, life is shown to decay and end in death. “The Fish” is the story of the author catching her first fish and regarding its death throes. When the fish is eaten, the author is struck with a realization of the connection she now shares with the creature she has consumed.
Where the differences become clearer is in how the poems portray death. “The Fish” dictates that death is a cycle through its use of an impersonal focus and a basic, more natural structure. The poem’s lines a short, quick and animal in nature. The cyclical nature is clearer defined in the end, when the realization that the author and the fish belong to the same cycle is made noticeable. “We are risen, tangled together, certain to fall back to the sea.” But the cycle is shown to be even more distant and, arguably, of no consequence when the focus is noted. The focus is impersonal and difficult to relate to, using first person for every part until “we feed this feverish plot”, which is a reference to Oliver and the fish. This impersonal focus pertaining only to Oliver and the fish keeps the reader from identifying with or feeling close to the death of which it speaks.
In Oliver’s “The House”, death is branded as being a finality that all of us must experience through its use of metaphor, a more mature structure, and relatable focus. The poem at first glance has longer lines than those in “The Fish”, and its word choice is more varied and mature. “And sang upon the crumbling stairs, and danced upon the sodden floors.” Throughout the work, the metaphor is present and the central interest, as the house and yards go from happy and bright to “crumbling” and “empty”. The finality cannot be better displayed than with the second to last line “Bound to that final black estate.” The focus, itself, is markedly more open to the reader. It uses plural first person, inviting the reader to feel included, and it is devoid of the second character clearly from nature like the titular fish. This appeals to the human aspect of those reading. The poem is clearly referring to humanity and humanity alone as whole. This aspects work together to create a work that invites the reader in and allows it to be told the meaning as though Oliver and they are experiencing it side by side.
Focus, structure, and smaller aspects such as metaphor and imagery, play a crucial part in determining how the reader feels about the work as whole. They determine the differing outlooks on the subject shared by the separate works.
Where the differences become clearer is in how the poems portray death. “The Fish” dictates that death is a cycle through its use of an impersonal focus and a basic, more natural structure. The poem’s lines a short, quick and animal in nature. The cyclical nature is clearer defined in the end, when the realization that the author and the fish belong to the same cycle is made noticeable. “We are risen, tangled together, certain to fall back to the sea.” But the cycle is shown to be even more distant and, arguably, of no consequence when the focus is noted. The focus is impersonal and difficult to relate to, using first person for every part until “we feed this feverish plot”, which is a reference to Oliver and the fish. This impersonal focus pertaining only to Oliver and the fish keeps the reader from identifying with or feeling close to the death of which it speaks.
In Oliver’s “The House”, death is branded as being a finality that all of us must experience through its use of metaphor, a more mature structure, and relatable focus. The poem at first glance has longer lines than those in “The Fish”, and its word choice is more varied and mature. “And sang upon the crumbling stairs, and danced upon the sodden floors.” Throughout the work, the metaphor is present and the central interest, as the house and yards go from happy and bright to “crumbling” and “empty”. The finality cannot be better displayed than with the second to last line “Bound to that final black estate.” The focus, itself, is markedly more open to the reader. It uses plural first person, inviting the reader to feel included, and it is devoid of the second character clearly from nature like the titular fish. This appeals to the human aspect of those reading. The poem is clearly referring to humanity and humanity alone as whole. This aspects work together to create a work that invites the reader in and allows it to be told the meaning as though Oliver and they are experiencing it side by side.
Focus, structure, and smaller aspects such as metaphor and imagery, play a crucial part in determining how the reader feels about the work as whole. They determine the differing outlooks on the subject shared by the separate works.