Luke Huskins
English 3
Emily Dickinson’s Work
Mini-task #1
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Emily Dickinson led a fairly normal childhood and it wasn’t until later in her life in which she began to redraw from public encounters and preferred to rather live out her life within her own home, only spending time with her closest friends and family. One aspect of Dickinson’s work that seems to truly show through it how real and honest all her work is, she said what she wanted to and it’s as if the reader can always take what they need to from her poetry. This part of her work seems to stem from the fact that she didn’t write her poetry in hopes of millions of people reading them, as the majority of her work wasn’t published until after her death by her family, she wrote them for herself and Dickinson wrote what she wanted to read.
Dickinson also seemed to have some sort of affinity for the subject of death as she wrote about it quite often in her work. Many people who Emily was close to, rather it was family or friends, passed away well before she did and especially in the early 1880’s it felt as if she was surrounded by people she cared about dying. Her possibly most famou work focusing on death was “Because I Could not Stop for Death” a poem in which she, the narrator, is riding with her personification of death through what seems like very personal areas that hold memories for her. The last stanza of the poem,
Since then – ‘tis Centuries – and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses’ Heads
Were toward Eternity –
Suggests that she has been dead for years and it is delivered in such a calm and peaceful way it could almost make the reader feel eery and as if Dickinson was nearly ready to enter the carriage herself.
Mini-task #2
The first thing to note about Dickinson’s poetry style is that she often challenged readers expectation as to what poetry should be and how it should read. Dickinson often wrote about abstract concepts and would begin a rhyme scheme and abandon it or just purposefully not completely follow it. I believe that Dickinson used this unconventional structures and themes not only to challenge all poets and poetry but simply because she could.
Dickinson passed and left behind hundreds of poems, yet because she didn’t share them with that many people, not everyone understood at first. The first collection of her work was altered to include some titles, something Emily herself never did, and even had entire rhyme schemes changed. While not titling any work and never dating anything can seem odd, it was how Dickinson created her art and it wasn’t until her niece created her own collection of her aunts work and didn’t alter any fundamentals of Dickinson’s writing that the world saw her true brilliance shine through.
Mini-task #3
Title: “Because I could not stop for Death”
Going off the title alone, one could conclude that this poem will have themes of death and possibly the narrator dying (the fact that there is a narrator is known due to the fact that it is first person in the title)
Paraphrase:
Line: “Because I could not stop for Death-”
The first thing to note is that it begins in first person, letting the reader know that this is a story, or basically a monologue, being told to them by a singular person.
The line also gives the sense that the narrator has had experience with death, whether it was a close call or they did die, they have met Death (who is personified) and it was not on their terms.
Line: “He kindly stopped for me-”
People tend to think of death as a bitter thing but the use of the word “kindly” lets us know that the reader does not feel that way, even delighted by it.
Line: “The Carriage held but just Ourselves-
And Immorality.”
An important thing to note is the use of capitalization, as Dickinson tended to capitalize anything that was a noun.
But the line itself lets readers know that Death and the narrator are travelling together, but the use of the word “Immorality” here makes the reader feel like this is not the end.
Line: “We slowly drove – He knew no haste”
This tells us that wherever they’re going, Death (he) is not in any hurry to get there, but it seems that this annoys the narrator as if she wants to get there faster.
Line: “And I put away
My labor and leisure too,
For his civility-”
This line is a bit confusing, but I read it as she gave up all her work and pleasure because Death was such a gentleman and very proper.
Line: “We passed the School, where Children Strove
At Recess – in the Ring-”
These lines are where the poems begin to explain what they’re seeing as she and Death ride by.
In this circumstance, we pass a school where children play, something that is a very familiar sight but takes on a whole new tone when its Death and his passenger that are the ones watching.
Line: “We passed the Field of Gazing Grain-
We passed the Setting Sun-”
The setting sun can be thought of as the light going down on her life, that she and Death are getting closer to not only the end of the day but the end of it all.
Line: “Or rather- He passed us-”
The sun is being personified in this line, I’m not sure why but she does use this line as sort of a correction, as if she’s seeing the world differently the further she rides with Death.
Line: “The Dews drew quivering and Chill-
For only Gossamer, my Gown-
My Tippet – only Tulle-”
Taking note of the fabrics named that she’s wearing, gossamer and tulle, they are both very thin fabrics and she is saying that is it beginning to get cooler in the night. Hinting that she is very underdressed and was not prepared for this journey. Which makes sense when you go back to the first line where she states that she could not stop for Death, because nobody really can, nor do they know when it’s coming.
Line: “We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground-”
The house in this acts as a tombstone but the swelling of the ground sounds less like a grave and more like something is already buried.
Line: “The Roof was scarcely visible-
The Cornice – in the Ground”
So the house can’t be a tombstone, but rather the house is buried.
Line: “Since then – ‘tis Centuries – and yet
Feels shorter than the Day”
This is sort of what would be semi-plot twist if it were a movie, the whole poem plays out as if this had been happening in real time but here we discover that it all happened centuries ago.
Line: “I first surmised the Horses’ Heads
Were toward Eternity -”
The ending of the poem explains that when Dickinson first met he horses who pulled the carriage, she assumed they were going towards eternity, which is really telling.
Connotation:
This poem is basically one big personification for what it means to die, making Death an actual character rather than something anybody experiences and making dying a journey that one must go on with him.
Attitude:
The attitude held throughout this poem is very blithe, she is speaking of death as a casual thing and while I wouldn’t really call her excited, she was definitely not too upset about it.
Shifts:
The only shift in the poem is the very end, when the reader learns that the events they’ve been reading aren’t happening in real time but rather happened centuries in the past.
Title:
The title Because I Could Not Stop For Death is not the actual title of the poem, but rather its the first line. The line makes Death feel like an old friend rather than something to be scared of. I believe she wants you to think of death as just another adventure when you start the poem as that’s how she treats it throughout.
Theme:
This poem is obviously about the subject of death and dying but it’s easier to take away the theme of not taking life and death too seriously. That dying is just the next chapter of your life and it’s not a fear that should control you.
Mini-Task 4
Title: I’m Nobody! Who Are You is a poem about identity and our role in society as a whole.
Paraphrase:
The first stanza –
I’m Nobody! Who are you?
Are you – Nobody – too?
Then there’s a pair of us!
Don’t tell! they’d advertise – you know!
This stanza is a one-sided conversation, one person asking the other who they are and insisting that they’re both “nobodies”. The exclamation marks and the dashes that pull you quickly to the next word make the poem feel very upbeat, as if the narrator is speaking very boldly and excited to be nobody. I’ve actually always seen the poem say “banish” instead of “advertise” and the difference gives the poem a whole new feeling. Banish sounds harsh, like society as a whole hates outsiders and they’re not allowed to exist but must leave, advertise hangs on to the idea that they can’t coexist but let’s the reader know the it’s not because they want the nobodies gone, it’s because they want to advertise and make them somebodies.
Second stanza-
How dreary – to be – Somebody!
How public – like a Frog –
To tell one’s name – the livelong June –
To an admiring Bog!
This second half of the poem is really where the meat of it comes in, you learn why the narrator may be calling themselves a nobody and how they feel about the somebodies, obviously not very fondly. The narrator is a nobody because she is not in the public eye all the time, something she is very happy with.
Connotation:
This poem is or all the nobodies in the world. Dickinson lets the know that she agrees with their life. Being too public is “dreary” and she prefers to keep her privacy. This helps explain why she was so private and withdrawn from the public during her life.
Attitude:
This poem’s attitude is actually pretty happy and light-hearted.
Shifts: While there aren’t any real shifts in the poem, the reader can feel a slight change from the first stanza to the second. This is when the poem goes from the narrator talking about themselves and the second person to just other people and how awful their lives must be.
Title: The title I’m Nobody! Who Are You represents a question for everyone to ask themself, and it addresses the reader and intrigues them in the theme of the poem.
Theme: The theme of this poem is of identity and what it means to call yourself a somebody and to be in the public eye, something Dickinson wasn’t too fond of herself.
Title: Much Madness is Divinest Sense reveals that Dickinson believes those who are mad have the most sense.
Paraphrase:
Line: “Much Madness is the Divinest Sense-”
Reveals that Dickinson believes people who are the maddest have the most sense
Line: “To a discerning Eye-
Much Sense- the starkest Madness-”
This is a flip from the previous statement, Dickinson is saying that to a clever person, they can see that people can be mad but in a mundane way.
Line: “‘Tis the Majority
In this, as all, prevail-”
Dickinson is saying that the majority will always win just because of sheer number, im not sure what she’s saying they’ll win against though.
Line: “Assent- you are sane-”
She is telling the reader to agree that they are sane because that is what the majority wants.
Line: “Demur- you’re straightway dangerous-”
“Demur” means to raise doubts and using this definition, she is saying that if you raise doubts then you will face consequences from the majority.
Line: “And handled with a chain”
Here Dickinson is really just elaborating the severity of what it means to disagree and be labeled dangerous by the majority.
Connotation: This poem revolves around the idea that those who are labeled as crazy by society are usually the ones that are the most sane.
Attitude: The attitude in this poem is very straightforward and blunt.
Shifts: There aren’t any shifts
Title: Much Madness is Divinest Sense works nicely as the title because it states the main topic of the poem, that those who are labeled as mad for any reason can be the most sane.
Theme: The theme is that society will always label certain things and people as crazy but that doesn’t really define the person and that sanity can be found in the most mad people.
Citations
“Angel Of Death Clipart.” Openclipart, openclipart.org/tags/Angel Of Death.
“Hello My Name Is Introduction Red Flat Label Stock Vector Art 494978188.” Royalty Free Water Drop Pictures, Images and Stock Photos – IStock, www.istockphoto.com/illustrations/identity.
“Love Clip Art Free Clipart | Clipart Panda – Free Clipart Images.” Vote Clip Art Free | Clipart Panda – Free Clipart Images, www.clipartpanda.com/clipart_images/love-clip-art-free-clipart-58906551.
“Music-Notes-Clip-Art-Png-MUSIC.” Pinterest, www.pinterest.com/pin/397442735847252738/.
“Nature Clipart.” Openclipart, openclipart.org/tags/nature.
“Religion Cliparts Image #10.” WorldArtsMe Cliparts Collections., worldartsme.com/image-post/112739-praying-hands-free-clipart-1.jpg.html#gal_post_112739_praying-hands-free-clipart-1.jpg.
Culminating Task