William Stafford

Jake Satchwell

Period 3

4/14/08

William Stafford

William Stafford’s poems revolve mostly around nature and human’s effect on it. William can often be seen questioning himself as well as man in decisions that effect nature. William also talks about natures overwhelming power over man and how man will always continue to fight against that power. William praises men who have left behind humanity and have embraced nature because he believes that they are the way man was intended to be. Although none of William Staffords poems contain any form of rhyming or beet William can easily conveys in idea by using one of two methods. In some poems William will uses beautiful analogies and metaphors to paint a perfect picture of the landscape. However if the poem he is writing is sad William will use simple language with little beauty however this does not take away from the poem but rather makes the reader feel many different emotions.

William Stafford’s questioning of mans role in nature can be seen in the poem Traveling Through The Dark in this poem he describes coming upon a deer that has been recently hit by a car. William bends down and feels the deer’s belly and realizes that she is pregnant and that the doe is still alive. However William decides that he cannot save the doe and roles the body of a cliff. William comes to the understanding in this poem that although he loves nature he cannot fully protect it. Humans and their carelessness for the environment frustrate him. However William speaks vary highly of men who have left behind large cities in order to embrace the wild.

William Stafford’s poem Remembering Mountain Men describes a beaver hunter and how he must battle to survive. The mans only wish is to be able to rest the poem ends with the line

Save a place for me,

No matter how small, somewhere by the fire.