Layout

1. Introduction
2. Milieu of Roethkes poems
Grew up loving nature (greenhouses) and expresses this feeling in both poems
Father died, in The Waking, he talks about change in life in night journey, he talks
about loving the good and bad parts of life
Lived in depression and was hospitalized expressed in poems
3. Meaning of The Waking
Rhyme Scheme someone who is learning where he has to go in life will change
(rhyming mirrors development)
Iambic pentameter is almost like footsteps (echoing the speakers trek forward)
4. Meaning of Night Journey
Continuous iambic trimeter train and life has rhythm
Symbolism the night journey isnt merely a train ride, its a symbol for the
speakers journey through life (ex. The iron bridge, the forest and the mountains, the
bleak space)
Irregular rhyme scheme represents a rocky ride through life and on the train
Love all good and bad things in life
5. Counterclaim
6. Conclusion