"The Waking," a villanelle by American poet Theodore Roethke, reflects on the unknowability of the future as well as the beauty of feeling and intuition. The poem's philosophical, almost aphoristic statements—such as "I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow" and "I learn by going where I have to go"—suggest the value of taking life slowly, trusting one's intuitions, and learning by doing. Roethke published "The Waking" as the title piece of his 1953 collection, The Waking: Poems 1933-1953, and it has proved one of his most popular and enduring poems.

• Read the full text of “The Waking”

• “The Waking” Summary

• “The Waking” Themes

  • 

    The Unknowability of the Future

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-3
    • Lines 6-12
    • Lines 18-19
  • 

    Feeling vs. Rational Thought

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 4-5
    • Lines 13-17

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Waking”

  • Line 1

    I wake to ... my waking slow.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 2-3

    I feel my ...
    ... have to go.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 4-6

    We think by ...
    ... my waking slow.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 7-9

    Of those so ...
    ... have to go.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 10-12

    Light takes the ...
    ... my waking slow.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 13-15

    Great Nature has ...
    ... where to go.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 16-19

    This shaking keeps ...
    ... have to go.

    

    

    

    

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• “The Waking” Symbols

  • 

    The lowly worm

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Line 11: “The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair;”

• “The Waking” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

  • Alliteration

    

    

    

    

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    Where alliteration appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “sleep,” “slow”
    • Line 2: “feel,” “fate,” “what,” “fear”
    • Line 3: “where”
    • Line 4: “We,” “What”
    • Line 6: “sleep,” “slow”
    • Line 7: “which”
    • Line 8: “God,” “Ground,” “walk”
    • Line 10: “Light,” “takes,” “Tree,” “who,” “tell,” “how”
    • Line 11: “lowly,” “worm,” “winding”
    • Line 12: “sleep,” “slow”
    • Line 14: “lively”
    • Line 15: “lovely,” “learn”
    • Line 16: “shaking,” “should”
    • Line 18: “sleep,” “slow”

  • Repetition

    

    

    

    

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    Where repetition appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “I ,” “wake,” “waking”
    • Line 2: “I”
    • Line 3: “I,” “going,” “go”
    • Line 5: “ear,” “ear”
    • Lines 6-6: “I / to sleep, and take my / slow.”
    • Line 6: “wake,” “waking”
    • Lines 9-9: “And learn by / where I have to / .”
    • Line 9: “going,” “go”
    • Line 12: “I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.”
    • Line 15: “learn by going where to go.”
    • Line 17: “is,” “is”
    • Lines 18-19: “I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow. / I learn by going where I have to go.”

  • Paradox

    

    

    

    

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    Where paradox appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “I wake to sleep”
    • Line 3: “I learn by going where I have to go.”
    • Line 4: “We think by feeling”
    • Line 6: “I wake to sleep”
    • Line 9: “And learn by going where I have to go.”
    • Line 12: “I wake to sleep”
    • Line 15: “learn by going where to go.”
    • Line 16: “This shaking keeps me steady.”
    • Line 17: “What falls away is always.,” “ And is near.”
    • Line 18: “I wake to sleep”
    • Line 19: “I learn by going where I have to go.”

  • Caesura

    

    

    

    

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    Where caesura appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “sleep, and”
    • Line 4: “feeling. What”
    • Line 6: “sleep, and”
    • Line 7: “me, which”
    • Line 8: “Ground! I”
    • Line 10: “Tree; but”
    • Line 12: “sleep, and”
    • Line 14: “me; so”
    • Line 15: “And, lovely, learn”
    • Line 16: “steady. I”
    • Line 17: “always. And”
    • Line 18: “sleep, and”

  • Personification

    

    

    

    

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    Where personification appears in the poem:

    • Lines 13-14: “Great Nature has another thing to do / To you and me”

• “The Waking” Vocabulary

  Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

  • Lowly
  • Winding stair
  • (Location in poem: Line 11: “The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair;”)

• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Waking”

  • Form

  • Meter

  • Rhyme Scheme

• “The Waking” Speaker

• “The Waking” Setting

• Literary and Historical Context of “The Waking”

• More “The Waking” Resources

  • External Resources

    • All Things Considered: Roethke's Humble Beginnings — An NPR feature about the house the poet grew up in and how his humble beginnings influenced his work. 

    • Remarkable People: A Short Film About Roethke — Watch a short documentary about the poet by filmmaker Jean Walkinshaw.

    • Roethke's Relationship to Mystery and Darkness — A Seattle Times article discussing one of the Pacific Northwest's greatest poets, his upbringing and influences, and his lasting legacy.

    • The Poem Aloud — Listen to a reading of "The Waking."

    • More About Roethke's Life — A brief biography of the poet at the Poetry Foundation.

  • LitCharts on Other Poems by Theodore Roethke

    • My Papa’s Waltz

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