Diving into the Wreck by Adrienne Rich

“First having read the book of myths, and loaded the camera, and checked the edge of the knife-blade…” This quote taken from Adrienne Rich’s poem, “Diving into the Wreck,” informs the reader about an adventurer; trying to find what is in the “book of myths” that is lost at sea. The reader is informed that the adventurer carried a knife, book, and camera.

These three objects are very symbolic, each conveying a hidden message to the readers. The knife symbolizes protection, protecting the adventurer from danger. But the question is, will the knife be able to protect the adventurer? Meanwhile, the “book of myths” is the “map” that will lead the adventurer to its “treasures” - the main focus of the poem. Additionally, the camera will be use to take pictures of the “treasure,” showing evidence that the myth is real - not a story written for children, but a real story misinterpreted throughout the ages.

However, the most ironic part about Rich’s poem is she restates the three items mentioned earlier in the first stanza, emphasizing that the dead person found at sea is also the same person that was looking for the “treasures.” Because they too carried “a knife, a camera[,] a book of myths in which [their] names do not appear.” Meaning, whoever tries to find what is in the “book of myths” will never find it. Even though their book led them to the location, their knife will not be sufficient enough to protect them from what lies in the sea, and their camera will never able to provide evidence that this myth is real. Instead, they will all be trapped, “rot[ting]” at sea along with the many other adventurers before them. Those who found the “treasure” were somehow never able to get back to the surface. Their names were drowned away at sea, never written in history, and are lost forever. This is perhaps the reason why this poem is titled “Diving into the Wreck,” because who ever seeks the treasure will soon end up in a “wreck” never able to return.