The Waking Poem Analysis
‘The Waking’ is a contemporary jazz piece written by American vocalist, Kurt Elling, and features Theodore Roethke’s 1954 poem of the same title. Released in 2007 on the album Nightmoves, Elling uses musical techniques to enhance the message of Roethke’s poem. However, in order to understand the reasoning behind the devices Elling has used, the meaning of Roethke’s poem must first be discussed.
Roethke wrote ‘The Waking’ after a series of intense poems such as ‘Praise to the End!’ and in it he describes the process of enlightenment through waking (living) and sleeping (dying). Two main themes are repeated in the villanelle form of the poem. ‘I wake to sleep’ and ‘I learn by going where I have to go’ are alternately repeated at the end of
Roethke wrote ‘The Waking’ after a series of intense poems such as ‘Praise to the End!’ and in it he describes the process of enlightenment through waking (living) and sleeping (dying). Two main themes are repeated in the villanelle form of the poem. ‘I wake to sleep’ and ‘I learn by going where I have to go’ are alternately repeated at the end of