Beauty in the Midst of the Unlovely: An Analysis of Mary Oliver’s poem, “Out of the Stump Rot, Something” A. K. Bobo College

When one imagines the season of spring, images of fluffy chicks hatching, tulips blooming in every flowerbed, or lambs lying in meadows of daisies may come to mind. Spring is widely considered to be a cheerful season, filled with sunshine and a plethora of pastel colors. This description of spring, however, is not the one Mary Oliver uses in her poem, “Out of the Stump Rot, Something.” In this poem, Oliver illustrates the unlovely aspects of spring, the death and decay that must accompany the life and growth of the season. Through her use of imagery, diction, and figurative language, however, Oliver reveals the power and beauty of nature in the springtime that is present in the midst of the uninviting and unlovely.

Throughout this poem, imagery plays a big role in illustrating the beauty of nature during the season of spring. In the very first line of the poem, the reader is met with an image of a rotting tree stump—an image of death and decay. In the following lines, a black snake emerges from this stump rot. This image has now introduced a sense of life coming out of that decay. Oliver then shifts her focus from the snake to the grass that is “[…] just beginning / to fuzzle out of the earth” (14-15). This depiction of the...