Gabriel's Rebellion: The Virginia Slave Conspiracies 1800 & 1802 Douglas Even a cursory read of Gary Kinnell's poem, "Saint Francis and the Sow" and William Stafford's "Traveling Through the Dark" reveals that there are similarities between them. Some of these similarities even pertain to the authors themselves, who were both well-educated American professors born in the early part of the 20th century and greatly influenced by nature in their works. Each of the aforementioned poems is largely about nature, and uses similar settings and imagery. However, a closer read of these works reveals that there is a subtle difference between them. Despite sharing a similar subject matter as Stafford's poem, Kinnell's poem is more a celebration of life as indicated by his characterization, diction and theme.

Characterization plays a principle role in both of these works, and helps to indicate the crucial distinction between them. Stafford, for his part, is both the author and the main character in "Travelling Through the Dark," which largely chronicles his drive along a canyon and an encounter with deer. The poem is told from his perspective as a concerned motorist who sees a dying deer. This fact gives the narrator a first-person encounter with death; his familiarity with this situation is underscored by his knowledge that "it is usually best to roll" dead deer off the road. On the other hand, Kinnell's poem features "Saint Francis" as its principle character. The revered saint comes across a pig and pets it. The simple fact that the author has chosen a religious figure...

The positive connotations of the character in Kinnell's poem are contrasted with those of death that surround Stafford in his poem.
The diction in Kinnell's poem is substantially more joyful and representative of life's wonders. Stafford's diction, for the most part, is preoccupied with the tragedies of life as signified by the presence of a dead deer. Some of Kinnell's word choice is actually exceptionally beautiful, and quite moving. His description of the breast feeding that the sow who Saint Francis pets -- in which the author describes the "sheer blue milken dreaminess"-- is definitely an example of good writing. Moreover, there are positive religious connotations in much of his word choice. For instance, he describes the very life force of flowers as a "self-blessing." Stafford, for his part, mostly employs diction that connotes death. For example, he describes a newborn dear -- which is dead -- as a "recent killing" and "still." By describing the dear in such terms, Stafford's poem is less representative of the joy of life, while the beauty in Kinnell's word choice and its positive, religious connotations reinforce the beauty and happiness of life.

Lastly, the authors' themes emphasize the fact that although they are both writing about nature, Kinnell does so in a way that is more celebratory of life whereas Stafford's work is a reminder of death. Both authors have written poems primarily about nature and which…