My Life Had Stood A Loaded Gun

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The poem “My Life had stood – a Loaded Gun-” written by Emily Dickinson is an extended metaphor in which the speaker perceives her life as a loaded gun. The poem is written in the first-person point of view, where the speaker’s voice is also the voice of the gun. The poem is structured from the past, present, and future of the speaker (Estes).
The first stanza is written in past tense, the speaker begins by describing her life as having potential energy yet unused “a Loaded Gun – In Corners” (My Life Had Stood - a Loaded Gun -) until she was noticed and carried away by the owner “The Owner passed- identified- And carried Me away” (My Life Had Stood - a Loaded Gun -) (Estes).
The second through fifth stanzas are all written in present tense, the speaker is free to wander anywhere and can use her power now that she is claimed “And now We roam in Sovereign Woods- And now We hunt the Doe” (My Life Had Stood - a Loaded Gun -) The speaker accentuates “we” at the beginning of the second stanza to emphasize her gratefulness to her owner for picking her up and giving her adventure. The last two lines of the second stanza “And every time I speak for Him- The …show more content…

The …show more content…

She has realized that she is dependent on her owner to pull the trigger and to release her pleasure, In the last line of the poem, the speaker takes a long pause to express her sadness that she will live forever and never die. She knows she will be a loaded gun in a corner again

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