Poems about Spiritual Journeys
Roethke | Rich | Plath | Wagoner

• Theodore Roethke, "In a Dark Time,"(1964)
• main point
• about looking inward, trying to find reality; a spiritual journey to find God
• structure
• based on the mystic journey which includes a phase "the dark night of the soul" which is similar to the low point in Campbell's journey: the nadir, the moment when the hero faces death.
• tricky bits
• here's an explanation of the poem that might help some-- but adapt it to your own reactions; don't just parrot it
• important passages
• connections with other works

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• Adrienne Rich, "Diving into the Wreck" (1973)
• main point
• diving into the unconscious is a journey like diving into the water
• structure
• Basically it's a scuba dive; she is diving into a shipwreck-- but it is also the wreck of her unconscious
• tricky bits
• important passages
• connections with other works



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• Sylvia Plath,"Lady Lazarus" (1965)
• main point
• about someone who keeps trying to kill herself but keeps surviving.  Meant to be a triumphant assertion of her wil and ability to survive-- to face death and be reborn.  But biographical context of her successful suicide makes it more tragically ironic.
• structure
• tricky bits
• important passages
• connections with other works

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• David Wagoner, "Hero with One Face" (197??)
• main point
• structure
• tricky bits
• important passages
• connections with other works