The Element of Walking

  A major theme throughout this semester has been the element of walking and the way in which this rather passive activity greatly shapes the audience's understanding of the piece. With this being said, this pass-time can be understood as that which allows the audience to step into the speaker's mind and be able to truly view his or her inner thoughts and monologue. A major example of this aforementioned trope being, Robert Frost's "Acquainted with the Night". For example, the text reads, "I have walked out in rain - and back in rain. I have outwalked the furthest city light [...] I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet when far away an interrupted cry came from another street" (Frost, Lines 2-3, 7-9). In saying this, I believe these lines to be rather crucial to the entirety of the piece because they highlight the speaker's innate sense of loneliness - a sense that he or she is looking for something, but is not quite sure what that something may be. 

In light of this continual conversation about walking, a friend and I decided to go on a walk this past weekend together throughout Baltimore. While, yes, I did take this walk with another individual, it almost felt as if I were completely alone - as he and I rarely spoke and appeared to be in our own little worlds. While on the walk, I began to take note of the way in which I was becoming more comfortable with my thoughts - a sense of comfort I do not typically feel as I spend many hours throughout the week looking at a computer screen. With this being said, it is worth noting that the act of walking is rather mindless. It does not require one to think of an end goal or as a check next to a long list of weekly to-do's. 

This walk finally allowed me to internally go through all the thoughts I had throughout the week and be able to move past many things that had made me anxious or upset. Which thus leads me to think about the relationship between walking and literature. To start, oftentimes I view these two pass-times as a sense of relaxation - an activity that I choose to typically dive into on my own. Both of these activities allow an individual to take matters into their own hands. This pass-time allows the individual to delve into the inner self and truly address their inner monologue in a way that many other activities do not. And in times like these, I think it is crucial for all people to, even if only for a moment, unplug and go for a walk - because who knows, maybe that is what you needed?