Analysis Of James Dickey's Poems

James Dickey once said that, “A poet is someone who stands outside in the rain hoping to be struck by lightning” (“James Dickey,” 2015). Thus, one would be lead to believe that James Dickey must not like poets or poetry. Contrary to this belief, James Dickey is a renowned American poet himself and is praised for his works in poetry. Throughout his poems, Dickey writes about the concerns for humans’ and animals’ instincts. These concerns are portrayed in the themes of his poems and is the basis for much of his poetry. Born and raised in Buckhead, Georgia in 1923, James Dickey’s interest in poetry grew as his father read him famous speeches. Growing up, he was a high school football star and continued his sports career at Clemson college. During
He focuses on the concern for humans’ and animals’ instincts and the result or results that follow. Dickey expresses his themes and concerns “through direct confrontations or surreal juxtaposition of nature and civilization, [and] the need to intensify life by maintaining contact with the primitive impulses, sensations, and ways of seeing suppressed by modern society” (“James L. Dickey”). There are three poems that illustrate the thematic concerns. In A Sleeping Dog on My Feet, Dickey poses the concern for the hunting dog’s instinct to be a man’s best friend and to hunt for its prey. Also, in Falling, Dickey focuses his concerns on the instincts of humans that become captivated by fear in shocking situations. This is exemplified in his poem as a flight attendant falls from a plane to her death. Again, the concern for humans and their instincts is understood in The Lifeguard, where the instinct of emotional burdens of a tragedy takes over the lifeguard. There is a reoccurring concern and theme in all three of these
This leads to the theme that life’s journeys lead to death. In A Sleeping Dog on My Feet, the main character lets the dog sleep on his feet because the dog is his muse. It indicates that the man’s inspiration for this poem comes from the dog. The poem states, “The poem is beginning to move, up through my pine-prickling legs, out of the night wood, taking hold of the pen by my fingers.” (Dickey, “A Dog Sleeping on My Feet”) and thus implying that the reason for his poem is because of the dog. Also, in Falling, the poem focuses on the mental processes that occur due to the flight attendant falling out of an airplane. The fall is symbolic to the idea that humans cannot determine their destiny, and can only control their actions. At first, the flight attendant screams because of her instincts. During the fall, “she [the flight attendant] is screaming singing hymns her thin human wings spread out” (Dickey, “Falling”). The human wings symbolize her regaining her conscience and she plans to make her death significant by undressing during her fall and to hit the ground nude. Ultimately, the flight attendant’s journey leads to her death and supports the concern for humans’ instincts. Even in The Lifeguard, the concern for humans and their instincts remains prominent. In this poem, a lifeguard attempts to save the life