My Life Had Stood A Loaded Gun Figurative Language

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In Emily Dickinson’s dramatic monolog “My Life had stood – a Loaded Gun,” a journey of a spiritual awakening is expressed. Dickinson writes about how a child of God is found then goes out to find other lost souls. Literary Critic Gregory Palmerino indicates “‘My Life had stood – a Loaded Gun’ maybe Dickinson’s most expansive poem if not her magnum opus, yet I do believe there is a discernible meaning – a center – to be found there. That center is her struggle with God” (84). Dickinson develops her poem using sound, symbolism, and figurative language. Dickinson is known for her poems not only for their controversies but also their sound. The tone very serious yet calming because the narrator will receive internal life if she stays on the path of righteousness. Although this poem does not have a rhyming scheme, “there are quite a few words that do rhyme (also, e.g., “die” – “I” and “day” – “away”)” (Bauer 127). “My Life had stood – a Loaded Gun” is written in iambic tetrameter followed by iambic trimeter, also known as, common meter. The famous hymnal …show more content…

“My Life had stood – a Loaded Gun” (1). Dickinson does not mean that the narrator is actually a “Loaded Gun,” but possess a quality like one: full of power yet unused. When God finally finds the narrator/“Loaded Gun,” he knows he can use her/it to spread the Word of God. After the “hunt,” the narrator states, “And do I smile, such cordial light / Upon the Valley glow / It is as a Vesuvian face / Had let its pleasure through” (9-12). In biblical terms, volcanoes erupting are a sign of God’s anger, but according to the bible, “To the Israelites, the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.” (Ex 24:17). God can also show His approval through volcanoes. Dickinson’s words could be interpreted as meaning that God finds the work that the narrator is doing is

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