Mary Oliver’s Response to Nature in “Owls”
...y seen towards the middle of the passage is of the great horned owl as associated with great fields of flowers. She writes, “while I have stood listening to the owl’s auguring song…I have found myself thinking of summer fields.” This not only shows that she can relate two dissimilar objects, but also how she can effectively use language to portray a certain style to her audience; which is filled with insightfulness and intuitiveness. Following this, Oliver continues to expand on her style as she includes several rhetorical questions. These rhetorical questions are put in place for effect, rather than an actual answer. Oliver’s most powerful and effective rhetorical question appears as she writes, “Are roses not also – even as the owl is –excessive?” The intended meaning carried with this question is that owls – along with roses – are excessive. Both are beautiful in small numbers, but an abundance of either causes an “immutable force.” Using the rhetorical question in this manner allows for an expanded understanding of what is presented and fortifies Oliver’s incisive style, in which she describes the complexity of nature. The concludin...