The Journey

by Monty, Kabir, Finn, Seia & Cyril

The Poem
One day you finally knew It was already late
what you had to do, and began, enough, and a wild night,
though the voices around you and the road full of fallen
kept shouting branches and stones.
their bad advice— But little by little,
though the whole house as you left their voices behind,
began to tremble the stars began to burn
and you felt the old tug through the sheets of clouds,
at your ankles. and there was a new voice
"Mend my life!" which you slowly
each voice cried. recognized as your own,
But you didn't stop. that kept you company
You knew what you had to do, as you strode deeper and deeper
though the wind pried into the world,
with its stiff fingers determined to do
at the very foundations, the only thing you could do—
though their melancholy determined to save
was terrible. the only life you could save.
The Poem & Poet’s Background
• Raised in Maple Hills Heights (Cleveland, Ohio)
• Lived in a difficult & abusive home
• Would often retreat to the woods where she would build huts
and write poems
• Got sexually assaulted by her father
• Left home and never came back

• About midlife crisis

• Talks about self-resilience & how to reach self salvation by
overcoming external voices that surround you, tell you what
to do and the constrictions that surround you
• Listen to your own truth, sail into your new life, trust yourself
Lines 1-9 (Monty) The assonance of oo sounds in these first
lines "you knew what you had to do" feels
insistent. it evokes both the echoing shouts
of the people around the speaker
The opening line, "One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began," establishes the
sense determination that drives the speaker's
The enjambment of these opening lines also pulls the
journey. The use of the second-person point of
reader forward through the poem, pushing them from
view invites the reader to identify with the
one line to the next. This could imply how Oliver's past
life is bleeding into her current on through past One day you finally knew speaker. 
traumas. 
what you had to do, and began, Oliver cleverly uses a perfect rhyme in the ends of line
though the voices around you one and three. The use of you in the text so many times
works as a connecting element for the entire piece, This
kept shouting could represent her memory constantly and consistently
haunting her. 
The line "though the whole house / began to
their bad advice –
tremble" suggests that the process of personal though the whole house
transformation can be unsettling and disruptive,
shaking up one's existing beliefs and sense of began to tremble Voices around you has connotations to being
self. and you felt the old tug trapped and this may be how she felt,
especially when she was younger, being
at your ankles. abused by her father. 

The image of the "old tug at your ankles" conjures a sense of

being held back by the past, whether it be familial or societal The next few lines, "though the voices around you kept
expectations, past mistakes or experiences that still linger. shouting their bad advice," create a sense of opposition and
This may have been written by Oliver as she may also be held conflict. Oliver acknowledges that the world may not always
back by her past traumatic experiences earlier in her life.  support one's journey of self-discovery, and that external
pressures can be a hindrance to personal growth.
 Lines 10-18 (Cyril) Exclamation mark emphasises desperation and
suffering. Creates intense atmosphere

Pushing through / overcoming challenges

"Mend my life!"
each voice cried. Connotations of greed and desperation, refers to the

But you didn't stop. outer challenges holding you back portrays them as
predatory and clingy

“stiff fingers”- connotations of death and sickness/disease could be

You knew what you had to do, Personification of wind compares wind with the
comparing these unhealthy relationships emphasising on how they
hold you back. Could also be indicating that death and sickness are
though the wind pried outer struggles with the wind which possesses
connotations of coldness and harshness
constant struggles in life and can tear you down with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
Continues extended metaphor comparing a house to life. Foundations though their melancholy
indicate the starting blocks / your true character. Foundations represent
what support you in life. Suggests that outer challenges aim to destroy was terrible.
your foundations also indicating how deep rooted mental issues can be
by emphasising foundations with “very” indicating that the hardest
challenges come from within ourselves.
Suggests that although it may make other suffer/sad you
need to prioritise yourself and your own survival above
others
Lines 19-29 (Seia)
Once you let the
Ambiguities of life
clouds in your mind
Pronoun ‘You’ allows
everyone to relate
It was already late open, you will be
enough, and a wild night, able to hear a
Repetition of ‘little’
Feels overwhelming and and the road full of fallen ‘voice’.
represents Yoursteps
the baby voice.
catastrophic like the ‘sun’ blowing
up. But turns into a moment of branches and stones. And once you allow
reconciliation with your inner But little by little, •thatMarygreat
Oliverball of about how
– talked
being as you’re set free from the
as you left their voices behind, firea new
to evaporate
life requires a death of
constrictions that surround you and some form of letting
disperse into ago
from life and from within the stars began to burn • The death of a star can lead to
supernova of light,
through the sheets of clouds, the formation of other planets
However, it follows up with this the roadyourself
Once you allow to selfto
line which could represent the idea and there was a new voice discovery
abnegate willand
your duties come
allow
of self destruction in the form of which you slowly yourself to ‘[leave]
with their voices
the rebirth of
guilt when you regain your senses
and realise you have things to do
recognised as your own, behind’ you will be a step closer to
your newly
self discovery
awakened life

A BLACK HOLE
Write an PETAL analytical paragraph about:
• How does the writer explore self identity in the journey 
Bibliography
• https://poemanalysis.com/mary-oliver/the-journey/
• https://interestingliterature.com/2022/11/mary-oliver-the-journey-su
mmary-analysis/
• https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/mary-oliver