Analysis of Dickinson's Poem, My Life had Stood a Loaded Gun"

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“My Life had stood – a Loaded Gun”

In the poem, “My Life had stood – a Loaded Gun,” published around 1863, Emily Dickinson effectively uses metaphorical language in making the speaker compare him/her self to a loaded gun. The speaker speaks as if he/she is a loaded gun waiting to expose their full potential. When reading this poem, one could definitely see religious connotations in that one cannot reach his/her full potential without The Master’s – God’s – help and direction.

In “My Life had stood – a Loaded Gun,” the speaker speaks as if he/she is a loaded gun sitting in a corner until “The Owner” comes along and carries it away. The speaker goes on to tell of the time spent with The Owner: they “roam in Sovreign Woods” and they hunt a doe. The speaker tells of great happiness: “And do I smile, such cordial light / Upon the Valley glow –“(9-10). Later, the speaker guards his/her master’s head as he sleeps and claims that, “’Tis better than the Eider-Duck’s / Deep Pillow to have shared –“(15-16). The speaker then claims that he/she is a deadly foe to the master’s enemies and “None ...

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