Traveling Through the Dark by William Stafford In his poem “Traveling Through the Dark,” William Stafford presents the reader with the difficulty of choosing a man. Immediately, the scene is set, with the driver, who is "traveling in the dark" (line 1) encountering a recently killed deer. At first, his decision about what to do with the deer is easy; he knows he has to push it over the limit for the safety of other drivers, but then, a closer examination of the deer reveals new circumstances to the man. His decision is now perplexing and his course of action is unclear. Through his use of metaphor, symbolism, and personification, Stafford alludes to the difficult decisions that occur along the road of life and the consequences that arise from those decisions. With the use of these stylistic devices, William Stafford illuminates death as a consequence of certain decisions. To illustrate the theme of death, Stafford presents a metaphor that connects the literal road to the road of life. In the first stanza the road is described; it is narrow and called "Wilson River Road" (line 2). Furthermore, the reader has the feeling that the street is very dark and therefore isolated. The only illuminated section of this road is the section that the man is currently traveling along. Symbolically, this represents the present in man's life. The road already traveled symbolizes the past. Man cannot see it because of the darkness; however, it is implanted in his memory through his experiences. Furthermore, on this road man literally cannot see further, only as far as the headlights allow him. Likewise, the future of our lives is yet to be discovered. As you can see, Stafford's metaphorical description... in the center of the paper... takes all the factors into account. This personification adds to the development of the poem and illustrates how we are all affected in our decisions. Through his explanation and description throughout this poem, Stafford creates the image of the road of life and illustrates how the decisions we make are all interrelated and have consequences. “Traveling Through the Dark” reveals the difficulties of life and the difficulty in adequately dealing with problems that naturally arise as one progresses along life's path. The greatest obstacle that can occur along this progression is death, which must be adequately addressed, as William Stafford demonstrates through his use of metaphor, symbolism, and personification. Works Cited: Stafford, William. ?Traveling in the dark.? Sound and sense. Eighth edition. Ed. Laurence Perrine. Orlando: Harcourt Brace, 1992.