Meditation on Death in Mary Oliver's Poetry

Abstract

This research examines the images of death in Mary Oliver's poetry. Meditation on death is the motif behind this research. As we know, there is co-relation between life and death, where there is life; it's sure and certain that there is death. Oliver's most of the poems are related to death. A number of her poems have the word death occurring in them and there are terms linked with the effects of death, silence, grave, funeral, and tomb. Time and again she has imagined her own death, or of poetic persona, or the death of any other character in her poetry. Her death poems give the glimpse of life poems. Except death nothing is beautiful for her. Whatever position human beings acquire in the society is nothing for her because one day everyone should die. In most of her poetry, she is searching her existence in death. Nothingness is the goal of her life. Death is a certainty among innumerable uncertainties of life. Death is the gateway to achieve freedom in her life and it is the essential factor in her poetry.