After reading A Dog Sleeping On My Feet by James Dickey I thought about the symbol of the dog and animals and how they all seemed to be connected to this idea of nature and God being one thing.
Throughout the selection of poems by Dickey, it seemed that whenever he mentioned an animal there was a greater connection to God. In this poem, I think that the imagery at the end alludes to Jesus Christ:
A boy with a staff,
To loose them, beak and feather, from the spell
Laid down by a balancing child,
Unstable, tight-lipped, and amazed
And, under their place of enthrallment,
A huge, hammer-headed spirit
Shall pass, as if led by the nose into Heaven.
In that stanza I think that the boy with the staff is suppose to represent God leading people into heaven. The dog is a symbol of the good life and duty. And when the narrator feels the dog on his feet he is recognizing what the good life is. The dog has his purpose and fulfills it. And maybe that is the greater message.
The tone of the poem is not urgent but is more contemplative. I think that Dickey may have written it that way so that the message is not startling. Rather, the message becomes something to strive towards.
ME!
- Kyle P.
- I am a freshman at the College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York. I am majoring in History and Political Science. I am proud to say that I live in the Berkshires
4 comments:
I like the way that you evaluated this poem, and were able to dissect it peice by peice and fully grasp Dickey's intentions of writing this poem. I, on the other hand, took it in a more literal sense and read it for what I thought was simpler than you made it sound, but your interpretation is much better than minne. I have a much harder time understanding poetry more than anything else
I am horribel and the more blogs I read the more I see I have missed from the poems. I agree with you about the God reference but when I read it, it really didn't occur to me. I do like how to talked about God and the dog, that the dog sitting at her feet was Gods way of saying this is the good life.
Kyle,
I really liked reading your thoughts on this poem. I really missed any meaning that this particular poem had. But it was very interesting to read your evaluation and thoughts and I think I may have a better grasp of what Dickey was trying to say.
I like what you said about the dog in "A Dog Sleeping On My Feet," and how he could be a symbol of the good life. I never really thought of it this way, but I think you could be right because both the dog and the poem just seem so comfortable and happy.
Also I definately think that there is a definite reference towards God in "Walking on Water." Although the poem is actually about the kid, the first thing that many people think of when first reading the title is when Jesus walked across water, so before you even get into the poem you have a sense that there is something spiritual about it.
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