Journey to the Interior (Margaret Atwood)

 Introduction:

“Journey to the Interior” is a poem, written in the form of an extended metaphor of the poet Margaret Atwood’s entangled journey into her mental world. The mind, a complex and seemingly inaccessible region, is shaded by a wide array of thoughts and surrounded by the hilly regions of the unknown. Yes, it is too dangerous for a person to roam there without assistance. In this poem, Atwood talks about her regular journey into her mind in order to seek food for poetic thoughts or creative pursuits. Somehow she tries to keep her head during the journey or she will be lost forever.

Summary:

“Journey to the Interior” begins with a description of a hilly region that seems flat from a distance. When the poetic persona gets closer to it she finds a passage through the hills as endless as the prairies. There is a cliff stopping the speaker from progressing further. During her travels, she has faced a lot of challenges. The location of this region is not easily accessible. An inexperienced mind can get lost due to the lack of reliable maps for guidance. Furthermore, the speaker thinks she regularly travels in a circle without discovering any further places. For this reason, it becomes difficult for her to keep her head. She can get lost in that dangerous region more easily than in other landscapes.

Structure & Form:

Margaret Atwood’s poem “Journey to the Interior” consists of two parts. The first part contains the description of the metaphorical landscape. In the following part, she talks about her realization after regular roaming there. The first section has three long stanzas and the next part contains four short stanzas. There is not any specific line count in each stanza. Besides, this poem is written in the form of an interior monologue. As there is not any specific rhyme scheme or meter, it is also an example of a free-verse lyric poem.
Literary Devices:

Atwood uses the following literary devices in her poem “Journey to the Interior”.

• Extended Metaphor: The overall poem is an extended metaphor. Atwood’s journey to her “interior” is a reference to her metaphorical journey into her mind.
• Simile: It occurs in the following lines: “the hills/ which the eyes make flat as a wall”, “become/ endless as prairies”, “sodden as a fallen log”, etc.
• Enjambment: It occurs throughout the poem. Atwood uses this device to internally connect the lines and create suspense in the transition of lines.
• Imagery: In the first stanza, the poet uses visual imagery to depict the landscape of her mind. The second stanza contains the use of tactile imagery in “a net of air” and “light and dark”.
• Repetition: In the first stanza, there is a repetition of the word “that” at the beginning of consecutive sentences.
• Alliteration: It occurs in “wall, welded”, “point to point”, “square surface”, etc.

 

Themes:

This poem taps on the themes of the inaccessibility and mystery of the human mind and self-discovery. Throughout the poem, Atwood details her travel to the unknown regions of her mind by using several metaphors. She describes the mind as a hilly landscape with no access point. The more she visits there the more she becomes entangled in the web. Finally, when she understands the complexities of the mind, she warns readers not to follow her path. It might cause someone to lose his or her mind. In this way, Atwood depicts how inaccessible and mysteriously beautiful the human mind is.

Another important theme of this piece is self-discovery. Atwood, being a veteran of creative pursuit, is well-versed in dealing with her mind. She knows the nooks and corners of her mind’s alleyways. If anyone needs some help, she is always there to help. Her knowledge of her own self, as well as her mind, gets reflected in this poem.