Comparing the Poetry of Gary Snyder and Ruth Stone Essay -- Comparison

Comparing the Poetry of Gary Snyder and Ruth Stone Gary Snyder is not only a poet, but a preacher of sorts. His poems carry powerful messages about getting back to your roots. His poems contain strong themes of anti-consumerism and spirituality. "Facts" is a short piece consisting of facts on consumerism in America. This piece warns of the dangers of over consumption and lack of moderation. In some cases, however, Snyder does appear far too extreme in his views, like in "By Frazier Creek Falls" where is says "We could live on this Earth / Without clothes or tools." This theme of "primitivism" is a common theme in Snyder's poetry. Many of his poems are about nature and the "uncivilized" world. the settings of his poems are often woods, lakes, mountain trails, or other similar uninhabited uncultivated areas. Snyder's poetry is sometimes political activism in disguise. "Four Changes" is less like a poem and more like an environmental extremist's manifesto. Each of the "changes" closes with a suggestion of what type of soci al or political action to take in order to make the aforementioned change occur. Loss is a major theme in Ruth Stone's poetry, although her poems are rarely depressing as one might expect from loss poems. Instead, her poems contain a bitter yet sharp tone of humor. She writes about the loss of her husband, old lovers, her mother, and the past. Stone also writes about the dangers of getting too caught up in the modern world and losing touch with our roots. In "The Solution" she refers to "My friend the Supermarket" which brings her gratification in several ways. In "Lullaby" she writes about babies who kiss their computer goodnight and tells how they program computers after putting on thei... ...aired Mother† and writes many poems about mothers. Both Snyder and Stone make use of strong concrete images in their poems. In â€Å"The Bath† Snyder appeals to almost all of the senses by talking about the â€Å"crackle of waterdrops† and â€Å"the scent of cedar† and his wife entering the sauna, â€Å"letting in cool air.† In â€Å"Simplicity† Stone’s intense use of adjectives and figurative language creates strong images in the reader’s mind. She describes her surroundings as â€Å"wrinkled skin on a cup of boiled milk† an describes â€Å"the water’s muscular flow.† The writings of both poets can be described as both simple and complex at the same time, just like the world they’re writing about. While on a purely literal level you may be reading about loss, family, traveling, or nature, all of the poems have a deeper meaning about these topics that the poet leaves the reader to discover.