The Waking
The Waking is a poem written by Theodore Roethke in 1953 in the form of a villanelle. It is a self-reflexive poem that describes waking up from sleep. It comments on the unknowable[1] with a contemplative tone. It also has been interpreted as comparing life to waking and death to sleeping.[2]
Use in popular culture
- The poem appears as an object in Kurt Vonnegut's novel Slaughterhouse-Five.
- An excerpt of the poem also appears at the beginning of Dean Koontz's novel Odd Hours.
- Kurt Elling sings the poem on his 2007 album Nightmoves.
References
- ↑ dead link]
- ↑ The Waking by Theodore Roethke. Poetry Foundation. Retrieved 16 August 2013