My Life Had Stood A Loaded Gun Essay

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The Hidden Message behind the poem “My Life had stood – a Loaded Gun”

“My Life had stood – a Loaded Gun” is a poem that for years has been considered to have different meanings. Being one of them the relationship between a man and its gun. But to me, Emily Dickinson left some hints that you must deeply analyze to be able to understand and uncover the true meaning behind the poem, by picking up at her word combinations and punctuation that are left at each stanza making the message clear. The real meaning of this poem is about the strength and power of a woman’s inner spirit. Lets take a look at the first stanza:
My Life had stood - a Loaded Gun -
In Corners - till a Day
The Owner passed - identified -
And carried Me away – If you literally take the message of this stanza you might think that the gun has been waiting in a corner, until its owner recognized it and took it with him. But, if you carefully read each word as it is written what Emily was really referring to was her life as a woman. She deeply felt that she had power and a fierceness inside of her and that was the reason for remaining passive, unnoticed(corner) until the “owner”, her husband, identified her and took her with him(marriage). During those times most women remained at home and had to wait to get marry, while men were in …show more content…

That’s why she wrote, “None stir the second time.” The final clue that makes us ponder the real message of this work is in the sixth stanza (lines 23-24) when she says, “For I have but the power to kill without the power to die.” Since throughout the poem she expressed about the power and strength of women’s passionate selves, here in these last two lines she refers to as her words are vehement that they have the “ability to kill” for that’s the reason that “he” (husband) must live longer than

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