Analysis of A Blessing by James Wright

In the poem “A Blessing,” James Wright analyzes the relationship between human beings and nature through the descriptive explanation of an encounter between his friend and himself and two Indian horses. He shows that although we are able to relate and interact with the animals we don't have the ability to join them or as Wright puts it: “break into blossom” (26-27). Wright uses imagery and personification to describe the nature he witnesses as he escapes from the stress of human life.

The ponies in this poem are personified by comparing them to human beings, mainly through the description of their emotions. This personification lessens the gap between the author and the horses and separates him from civilization represented by the highways of Rochester, Minnesota. As the poem goes on the differences between the humans and nature start to fade away as they begin to interact. When the poem opens we see the harsh contrast between the highways of human civilization and the imagery being used to describe setting of the encounter between the humans and nature, or the horses.

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The horses welcome the writer and his friend, which is shown through personification. The writer and his friend “step over the barbed wire into the pasture” (7) and meet the lonesome horses that have been alone all day. The barbed wire serves as a figurative barrier between the human world and the natural world of the horses in the pasture. The simile: “ they bow shyly as wet swans” (12) describes the ponies and shows the beauty and elegance of the ponies in their natural environment.

The ponies are at home in their environment as “they begin munching on the young tufts of spring in the darkness” (15). The author is also starting to feel more comfortable in the natural world, on the other side of the barbed wire. Wright describes the beauty of the horses using imagery of their mane and their colors. The writer is so drawn in by this beauty in the horses that he desires to become a part of them and “hold the slenderer one” (18). This shows the merging of the two groups into one happy combination of the two.

This point is proved further as “A light breezes moves [the author] to caress [the ponies] long ear” (23), showing that nature itself is encouraging the merging of the two sides, because the wind encourages the hand to pet the horses ear. Another simile is used to describe the horse’s ear “as delicate as the skin over a girl’s wrist” (24), again blurring the line between human and nature. Finally Wright comes to the realization that if he were “blessed” enough he would be able to step out of his body and break into blossom, thus becoming a part of nature.

But, he realizes that is past the realm of reality and therefore cannot be done. Wright examines the relationship of human being and nature using his descriptive language including such devices as imagery and similes. Wright sees the idea of nature and humans joining as one as a possible feat and he shows this though his written experience with these Indian ponies. He initially shows the contrast of the two worlds, but they grow on each other and end up becoming one. Wright sees the loneliness of the ponies, gains their affection, as the ponies are very welcoming.

He ultimately ends up wanting to join them by being able to “break into blossom” (26-27), but he is unable to do so because he reached the maximum threshold of the union between humans and nature. Which brings us back to the Wright is able to disregard the average day for humans and take a day to appreciate the true value of nature in its raw form while ignoring the troubles of the human world. With this he creates a memorable analysis of the relationship between humans and the natural world.