Emily Dickinson Parallelism

As one of the most famous introverts, Emily Dickinson internalized her volcanic emotions and turned them into literature. In this poem, she openly expressed her adoration towards Susan Huntington Gilbert Dickinson, her sister-in-law, close friend, and role model. Dickinson illustrated a compelling, goddess-like image of Susan and revealed her own lack of confidence by utilizing a combination of parallelism, imagery, diction, and other poetic devices.

The most prominent literary devices used in this poem are parallelism and imagery. In lines 1, 3, and 5, Dickinson wrote “Her breast is fit for pearls” (Dickinson 1), “Her brow is fit for thrones” (Dickinson 3), and “Her heart is fit for home” (Dickinson 5). The repetition added rhythm, divided the poem into three sections, as well as drew attention to the three imageries listed: breast, brow, and heart. Breast is often associated with maternal qualities, which hints at the comfort and protection Susan brought to her solitary life. Moreover, pearls are sought after for their exquisite beauty. Dickinson showed the breast’s allure by describing it as suitable for pearls. Besides being a

precious gemstone, pearl is adopted by Christians as a holy object and a symbol for purity. This suggests that, to the poet, Susan is not only strikingly beautiful, but also sacred enough to be decorated with holy objects. The combination of these two imageries, the breast and the pearls, shows Susan’s beauty, sacredness, and extraordinary ability to nourish. Secondly, the brow symbolizes intelligence and character. In Dickinson’s time, an ideal woman should be submissive and acquiescent. Susan’s independence and strong personality made her stand out as an anomaly among the common housewives.On top of the brow imagery, the poet described Susan’s brows as “fit for thrones” (Dickinson 4). This description adds a regal aura to Susan’s character and depicts the poet’s devotion to her as if Susan were a queen. Similar to Susan, the poet was also considered an oddity in her time, for that she never married and most likely died a virgin. The poet found a sense of community in her relationship with Susan due to their resemblance. Other than being a support for Emily, Susan also served as her role model and guided her through life. As a result, the poet’s loyalty grew stronger and their friendship became more intimate. Lastly, the heart represents love and warmth, which relates back to the first imagery of breast and displays Susan’s loving nature. Once again, the poet was in awe of Susan’s perfect balance of femininity and masculinity, which shows through her dual role as a mother and an intellectual.
Also, Dickinson discussed her own incompetency in comparison to Susan through the use of unusual punctuation and formatting. Dashes were added to the end of lines 2 and 5 instead of periods and commas. Since dashes are commonly used to connect ideas, the dashes at the end of these lines create a sense of elongation and incompleteness. By ending the line “But I was not a ‘Diver’-” (Dickinson 2) with a dash, she suggested that she not only lacks the courage and fitness of a diver, but also the unlisted wonderful traits of Susan, whom she looked up to. In line 5, the poet stated that “Her heart is fit for home-” (Dickinson 5). Interestingly, in addition to the use of a dash, she italicized the word “home”. The italicization highlights Susan’s ability to fulfill her wifely duties and achieve respectable motherhood, in spite of her intellect. The dash, on the other hand, reiterates Susan’s countless virtues. Other than dashes, the poet utilized period to build a staccato effect to an ongoing idea. Line 4, which states “But I had not a crest.” (Dickinson 4), ends with a period. The poet tried to convey that comparing to the regal and almost omnipotent Susan, she was like an inept peasant. Beyond the meaning of these words, the period shows that she did not have any special attribute to list, in contrast to line 5, where Susan’s never ending list of good qualities continues with the dash.
Furthermore, the double meaning of the word “perennial” combined with the use of a metaphor in the last line, “My perennial nest” (Dickinson 8), adds to the overflowing appraisal of Susan’s homely warmth and the recurring theme of nature. The OED defines “perennial” in two ways: “remaining green or leafy throughout the year” (“perennial” 1a) and “enduring, everlasting” (“perennial” 2b). On the surface, Dickinson used the first definition of this word to describe the plants that the sparrow uses for its nest. However, since the sparrow is a metaphor for the poet herself, this line could also be interpreted using the second definition. The poet compared herself to a sparrow, which is a fitting comparison for she views herself as plain as the common bird. She wished to build an eternal nest inside Susan’s motherly bosom so that she could be nurtured and pampered for the rest of her life.
Throughout the poem, nature is a recurring theme.

Words relating to the ocean, such as “pearls” and “diver”, were utilized in lines 1-2. In lines 3-4, “crest”, which also means a tuft of feathers upon an animal's head (“crest” 1a) was used. Additionally, the poet compares herself to a sparrow building a nest in lines 6-8. This motif not only connects to the poet’s rural upbringing and her love for nature, but also demonstrates Susan’s similarity to Mother nature. According to the Random House Dictionary, Mother Nature is “a personification of the forces of nature as a controlling and regulating maternal being, sometimes creative and caring”. Although Susan was not biologically related to Dickinson, they still cared for each other. To the poet, Susan served as a motherly figure, who could count on when she needs familial love and

healing.
Dickinson loaded a myriad of poetic devices in this little hymn for her sister-in-law Susan to show her devotion to their friendship. She praised Susan for her beautiful appearance, her intelligence, and her loving personality. She even compared herself to a bird building a nest and Susan to the goddess of nature who oversees and protects the little bird. Nonetheless, this poem is more than just an ode to a friend. Through this poem, the poet voiced her views on “the perfect woman”, who not only possesses the traits of a traditional homemaker, but is also well-rounded in academics. Susan, in fact, is almost the manifestation of the poet’s ideals. To conclude, this affectionate poem displays the intimate relationship between the sister-in-laws and Dickinson’s unwavering respect towards Susan.