Analysis Of William Stafford's Poem 'Traveling Through The Dark'

In his poem, "Traveling through the Dark," William Stafford presents the reader with the difficulty of one man’s choice. Immediately, the scene is set, with the driver, who is "traveling through the dark" on a treacherous winding road when suddenly he sees a dead deer in the road. Right away, the speaker realizes what he must do: “It is usually best to roll them into the canyon.” The reader can recognize that this is not a new situation for the speaker and he makes it clear that to leave the deer lying in the road could cause an unsuspecting car to swerve and go toppling into the canyon, which “might make more dead.” The speaker then continues to report the details of what he did next: he got out of the car, which he parked just ahead of the deer carcass, and “stumbled back of the car.” He examines the deer and finds that she has “stiffened already, almost cold.” But as he
In the first stanza, the road is described as being narrow and is called the "Wilson River road.” Also, the reader gets the sense that the road is dark and isolated. The only lit section of this road is the stretch that the speaker is travelling on. Symbolically, this represents the speaker’s current life. The road that has already been traveled symbolizes his past. The speaker may be unable to see his past because of the darkness. He also literally can’t see farther ahead, only as far as the headlights will allow, because of the darkness. This symbolizes how the future in our lives is yet to be discovered. Stafford’s symbolic description of the road is comparable to a man’s trip along the path of life. In this poem though, Stafford reveals conflicts with stopping along the path of life, not travelling along it. The deceased deer is what forces the speaker to stop along the road, but death in life is what causes humans to stop along their path and take time to make