Adrienne
Rich’s “Diving Into the Wreck” seems like a straight forward poem about a diver
exploring a sunken ship, but reoccurring themes and symbols let the reader know
that this work is not just skin deep. I felt that this poem focused around
transformation. The first example of this was the ladder. Rich takes something
as simple as a ladder and describes it as "hanging there innocently", and
"a piece of maritime floss, some sundry equipment". The ladder for a
diver hold much more significance, it’s the portal that allows them to enter
the water. The ladder is the barrier for the diver
between his/her normal life, and the unfamiliar. Throughout the poem the
narrator suggested that they were alone. At one point the narrator points out
that unlike Jacques Cousteau, they were alone and with out an “assiduous team”.
At the end of the poem the speaker says that they have been transformed into a
Mermaid, and a Merman. The speaker has not only changed twice, but has bridged
the gap between land and sea, and men and women.
I think the part about bridging the gap between men and women is the most important part of the poem. The book of myths that the narrator carries are full of tales of only men. I think Rich's idea here is that we have to write new myths rather than reaffirming old ones. Just as she is trying to salvage knowledge and information from this wreck, we have to look into our past, take that knowledge and redefine it with different insight.
ReplyDeleteI like the ladder analogy and how it symbolizes the gateway between the safe and familiar air filled world that we live in and the treacherous waters of the unknown in which we cannot breath and are not meant to be. Acknowledging the fact that most whats beneath the ocean is unexplored and that it is extremely dangerous to dive in it, the ladder is the most important life saver besides the very equipment used to keep you alive during your dive. You can dive and survive shark attacks, underwater vertigo, and being swept by oceanic currents, but its all in vain if someone has no access to the ladder on the boat that will bring you to safety.
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