4th Annual WML Academic Symposium

Theodore Roethke’s poems breathe life through every pore, yet his works never forget death. The symbol Roethke most often uses for force, energy, and life is nature. Just as he refuses to ignore death, Roethke also staunchly shows nature naturally—not in some idealized state. In his “Greenhouse Poems,” Roethke’s philosophy presents itself: life can be ugly and dirty and always at the edge of the grave, but its pulse runs through everything. The poems that I believe display Roethke’s admiration for voracity for life are “Cuttings (later),” “Weed Puller,” and “Root Cellar.”