In this inquisitive yet alarming poem entitled “The Moment” Margaret Atwood presents us with an adult speaker recalling a moment when she realised the importance and power that nature has over us, as she stood in the centre of the room. Atwood establishes that humans owe a lot to nature and we usually take it for granted. Atwood also describes that nature is what is supporting us and without it, we wouldn’t be able to survive. 

Atwood establishes that humans owe a lot to nature and we usually take it for granted, humans try to take control over nature. Atwood uses juxtaposition by comparing the perspective of the human life to nature and shows us this bigger perspective of the earth and how we humans are just a tiny part of nature. She tells the reader “You own nothing/ You were a visitor” by doing so she suggests that humans are merely living on earth and we don’t own nature and it is not in our possession, therefore, we cannot use it in however way we please. The poet uses personification to illustrate that nature has a character “the trees unloose their soft arms from around you.” this displays that earth is ‘holding’ us to make the reader feel nature as a person that is possessing us.  Atwood describes nature as this bigger picture and how we think that independent on this planet, the poet uses similes for example “the air moves back from you like a wave.” 

Atwoods establishes that nature is what is supporting us and without it, we wouldn’t be able to survive as nature always finds its way back to humans. The poet uses similes and visual imagery to help the reader to relate with the poem and to relate with the strong feeling that Atwood has with nature and to share that with the reader. She establishes that we humans are merely living on earth we don’t own it and it is not in our possession therefore we cannot use it in however way we please. The poet uses repetition of ‘the moment’ to show that the refers to this ‘moment’ when we realise that we owe to much to the earth for all that it has given us. Atwood also changes the mood in here poem showing a contrast between the stanzas. In the first paragraph, it is in a very prideful emotion form the speaker. the second and third paragraph it is more calamitous, we can feel through this that the poet has a very strong connection with nature. we believe that we have control over nature but this is misrepresented concept that we choose to live by to make us feel this sense of power