Some other techniques to note are the lack of punctuation and sudden use of rhyming couplets towards the end.
I know that some of the other texts in the stimulous booklet may be easier (certainly "The Road Not Taken", however so many people do this that at my school, we're actually not encouraged to use it because so many other people do!) but I wouldn't go as far to say that they are better. I think Journey To the Interior is quite a good one (I'm doing it!
) but requires a little more D & M type thinking.
I'm not sure whether anyone's mentioned it yet but anothing thing to note is how one's physical atmosphere/journey can distract from one's inner journey (constant references to everyday objects such as kitchen utensils). Also, physical journeys can be landmarked, by inner journeys cannot- hence all the "a compass is useless".
(below notes based on supplementary material given in class)
Structure: Poem becomes clearer as we go deeped into it, into the 'interior' of the poem. The further we go into the interior, the harder it is to map, to distinguish between one thing and another, increased ability to become lost (possible link to madness by inability to gain solid sense of self?)
Style: First person narrative using modern, free-verse structure. There is an unregulated form which allows Atwood to experiment with meaning- note how there is a constant sense of physical and inner journey at the same time (fancy huh?). Look at how they intertwine, conflict and co-exist.
The language itself is pretty straightforward, monologue, reflective, self-evaluative in tone. Natural pauses and hesitations of natural speech achieved by semicolons, rhetorical question etc.
And finally, another look at the 'objects' in the poem. We have overday things like unclosed gates, kitchen knives, clutter both in her mind and in her house, sometimes confused with each other such as the line "your shoe among the brambles under the chair". This obviously isn;t to suggest indoor plants, but how confusing and difficult it is to journey on both physical and inner journeys, how they conflect, merge with one another, and repeated references to the fact that "many have ventured here, but only some have returned safely".
And she also likens her inner journey to a physical one (perhaps the distinctions between the two, or lack of, might be something you can explore), with such references as sodden log, erratic movements of the sun, and finally, she describes her interior as a "landscape". Could this be likened to a unexplored/undiscovered land, which she is trying to discover/explore/chart?
Well, that's all I can think of now! Keep working, it's a good text and you should be able to get a lot out of it. Atwood is a brilliant writer!
Best wishes!