“Diving into the Wreck” is the titular poem of Adrienne Rich’s seventh collection of poetry, which won the National Book Award in 1974. Written at the height of the second-wave feminist movement, this collection is considered one of Rich’s most explicitly feminist, and its titular poem is no exception.
The poem imagines the speaker diving into a wrecked ship and trying to make sense of it.
After having read “the book of myths,” the speaker prepares for the dive into the ocean, putting on scuba gear and gathering necessary supplies. Then, she inspects a wrecked ship.
This poem has been interpreted as a meditation on artists’ role—as well as women’s role—in inspecting the “wreck” of history. The dive into the ocean is highly metaphorical, and for various critics, shows a dive into “female fantasy” (Milford), a scene of rebirth (McDaniel), and a quest for truth. It is one of Rich’s most famous poems.
