Question

Read the poem. Then, write an essay in which you analyze the poem’s message about the natural world. To support your interpretation, consider any of these features of the poem, or choose your own:

Visual images of plants and animals
Imagery that describes the sounds of plants and animals
Metaphorical descriptions of plants and animals
The speaker’s amazed tone
The use of informal sayings like “forget it” and “guess what”


If you get stuck, try using the tips and lessons on the left side of the screen to help you out!



If you’d prefer, you can open this PDF version of the poem.

This World

Mary Oliver

In this poem, the speaker overflows with wonder while celebrating the natural world.



Close-up of flowers near a mountain glowing in the sunset light.
Photo by Ulysse Pointcheval on Unsplash.


I would like to write a poem about the world that has in it

nothing fancy.

But it seems impossible.

Whatever the subject, the morning sun

glimmers it.

The tulip feels the heat and flaps its petals open and becomes a star.

The ants bore into the peony bud and there is a dark

pinprick well of sweetness.

As for the stones on the beach, forget it.

Each one could be set in gold.

So I tried with my eyes shut, but of course the birds

were singing.

And the aspen trees were shaking the sweetest music

out of their leaves.

And that was followed by, guess what, a momentous and

beautiful silence

as comes to all of us, in little earfuls, if we’re not too

hurried to hear it.

As for spiders, how the dew hangs in their webs

even if they say nothing, or seem to say nothing.

So fancy is the world, who knows, maybe they sing.

So fancy is the world, who knows, maybe the stars sing too,

and the ants, and the peonies, and the warm stones,

so happy to be where they are, on the beach, instead of being

locked up in gold.

Answer 1

In "This World," Mary Oliver uses imagery and informal sayings to convey the beauty and wonder of the natural world. The speaker describes the morning sun "glimmering" on various elements of the world, from tulips to ants to stones on the beach. The tulip is described as "a star" and the ants as borers into "a dark / pinprick well of sweetness." The stones on the beach are described as beautiful enough to be set in gold, but the speaker suggests that they are better off in their natural state.

The speaker also uses imagery to describe the sounds of the natural world. The birds are "singing" and the aspen trees are "shaking the sweetest music / out of their leaves." The silence that follows is described as "momentous and / beautiful" and the speaker wonders if even the seemingly silent spiders might be "singing."

Throughout the poem, the speaker conveys amazement at the beauty and wonder of the natural world. The use of informal sayings like "forget it" and "guess what" conveys a sense of awe and wonder, as if the speaker is marveling at the beauty of the world around them.

Overall, the message of the poem is that the natural world is incredibly beautiful and full of wonder. Even the most seemingly mundane elements, like ants and stones on the beach, are infused with beauty and mystery. The poem encourages the reader to take a moment to appreciate the natural world and to listen for the "music" that it offers.

Step-by-step explanation: