How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #4
Nor need you mind the serial ordeal
Of being watched from forty cellar holes (20-21)
This is no pleasure cruise. Is it just Shmoop, or is this poem getting seriously spooky? Well, we guess that comes with the territory. If you're going to explore the unknown, you have to learn to take the good with the bad—especially if your main goal is to get lost.
Quote #5
The height of the adventure is the height
Of country where two village cultures faded
Into each other. Both of them are lost. (33-35)
The speaker is giving mile markers to show how far you've come on your "adventure." Is height a matter of altitude or is it about intensity? Again, you don't have to choose between one or the other. Both can coexist in "Directive." In any case, it's clear we're reaching the climax of this poem.
Quote #6
And if you're lost enough to find yourself (36)
Wait. What? Paradox much? How does being lost help you find yourself? No seriously, Shmoopers. We're asking.