Traveling Through the Dark

When reading a poem for the first time, it is fairly easy to view it on a literal level. Nonetheless, after analyzing the subtle complexities such as the purpose, tone, word choice, and figures of speech and how they simultaneously work together, the reader is hit with a whole new perception of the poem. William Stafford’s “Traveling through the Dark” certainly holds this characteristic. The poem is about a man driving on a narrow road at night and his internal conflict triggered by an encounter with a dead deer along the road...