A Critical Analysis Of Emily Dickinson's Poem Appreciation

The poem dramatizes the gradual process of falling apart. Dickinson speaks abstractly of the crumbling of the soul as a dimension of time, rather than being instantaneous. Man falls as a result of a continuous and small-scale decay of the spirit by way of evil inclinations. The complex structure of the poem reflects the underlying figurative meaning. The poem consists of three quatrains in iambic meter, alternating between tetrameter and trimeter. The poet’s use of hyphens guides the reader to read the passage slowly and thoughtfully. The slow pace mirrors the theme of slow decay. The most obvious factor of the poem’s structure is the seemingly random capitalization of mid-sentence nouns. The stress and personification of certain nouns emphasize the small elements of crumbling. The figurative meaning of the poem is built upon by showing that all things can be broken down, slowly but surely.

The poem begins enigmatically describing “crumbling” (1). The speaker does not indicate what kind of crumbling she is referring to at this point, which allows for a literal interpretation of the stanza. In the first two lines, the speaker reminds the reader that crumbling is a long process that is a basic part of life.

“Dilapidation’s processes” (3) brings to mind the image of some building falling apart due to neglect. However, the enjambment continues by saying that the decay is organized, which opposes what would generally be the destruction of a structure because such crumbling happens less steadily constant. Rather, it introduces a more natural outlook on crumbling.
The second stanza offers examples of “organized Decays” (4).

Imagery is Dickinson’s main rhetorical device through which she describes crumbling as organic. The same theme of neglect is continued on: “‘Tis first a Cobweb on the Soul / A Cuticle of Dust.” (5-6). Cobwebs and dust are elements of a ruining house. However, the deeper meaning is revealed here because the speaker moves to the soul, which symbolizes spiritual deterioration. The image of dust covering skin portrays an outward decay as a result of this spiritual falling. “A Borer in the Axis / An Elemental Rust” (7-8) represents the idea that eats away at and corrodes the central structure of man, which is arguably the soul. Therefore, the speaker identifies the soul as that which is falling

apart.
The soul crumbles as a result of sin. The speaker believes that one should uphold certain principles. Here, she says that “Ruin is formal” (9), the formality of crumbling coming from the failure to comply to the rules of morality. Those who fail spiritually do the “Devil’s work” (9), otherwise known as sin. Sins add up at time goes on and make it easier to fall to the Devil with each wrongdoing. Therefore, one does not crumble from purity swiftly, but through a lifetime of unwholesome decisions. “Crash’s law” (12) of ruin comes down to the fact that man is naturally inclined to lean towards sin. Thus, “slipping” (12) into evil, though it may be accidental, is the root cause of spiritual and physical collapse.