As one of the most accomplished poets of her time, Emily Dickinson’s work is filled with images and concepts of nature, religion, femininity, and humanity. A religious person herself, her poems have a positive view of God and her relationship with religion. Poem 812 is a definitional poem that describes and attempts to capture a quick moment in nature that normally would be overlooked. Although poem 812 by Emily Dickinson primarily appears to be a poem capturing a moment in nature, it becomes an exploration of religion and humanities place in the natural world. The first two stanzas of Poem 812 use imagery and symbolism to explain the scene Dickinson is writing about and introduce concepts that go beyond the literal environment. The first …show more content…
While the whole poem is definitional, this stanza introduces ideas that go beyond the qualities of light and are later supported to be religious concepts. “A Color stands abroad on Solitary Fields” is referring to the light described in the previous stanza. Although here it is added that the fields are specifically “solitary,” implying that they are otherwise empty besides the march light. This wording is peculiar, as most would not describe fields as “solitary”, this wording almost suggests personification of the environment. She then writes of the solitary fields, “That Science cannot overtake / But human Nature feels”. These lines imply that the rest of the poem will handle the supposed dichotomy between science and human nature, as things that do not mean the same thing in relation to the March light. The word choice of “overtake” and “feels” are also a bit bizarre. “Overtake” implies that science, whatever that points to, would like to cover and hide the beautiful March light. Whereas “feels” is a less harsh word carrying a less harsh meaning, implying that human nature is the gentler or more pure of the two concepts. Although the reader is now aware that there is some larger abstract meaning relating to human nature in this poem, Dickinson has not yet given enough to comprehend the …show more content…
Literally, she is saying that the light shows “the furthest Tree” or “furthest Slope” in human sight, and that it “almost speaks to you”. She does not, however, say the furthest Slope there is, she says “the furthest Slope you know”, implying that there is more beyond what this light will show. Furthermore, she says “It almost speaks to you” opposed to it speaks to me. This difference enhances the meaning, as in this stanza Dickinson is implying that this light does not give the one viewing it complete satisfaction or complete knowledge, instead, it leaves them short. She also breaks the reader's expectations with her use of “you” instead of “me”. “Me” would have rhymed with “Tree” two lines earlier, so by doing this Dickinson forces the reader to recognize this difference and focus on how it affects them. The sentiment behind “almost speaks to you” also furthers the larger abstract and perhaps religious meaning because it implies that the light could contain something bigger than the human experience/actual sight and senses. The fourth stanza,
The structure of this poem is complex and it tied directly into the figurative meaning. This poem consists of three quatrains written in iamic meter but with no set number of feet per line. Also, the second and fourth lines of each quatrain thyme somewhat. Perhaps the most perplexing attribute of the structure is that Dickinson capitalizes words in mid-sentence that would not normally be capitalized. This could represent decaying objects; capitalized words represent things still standing and lowercase words represent things decayed. This poem is choppy at timed, but it flows smoothly at others. Long hyphens throughout the poem slow down reading speed. This could be compared to the rate of decay. Sometimes decay is rapid, sometimes it is slow. the last three parts of the poem’s structure help create its figurative meaning.
...e use of figurative language and many literary techniques, Dickinson makes clear her theme, adding on to the intensity of the poem.
In Emily Dickinson’s “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” she uses the structure of her poem and rhetoric as concrete representation of her abstract beliefs about death to comfort and encourage readers into accepting Death when He comes. The underlying theme that can be extracted from this poem is that death is just a new beginning. Dickinson deftly reassures her readers of this with innovative organization and management, life-like rhyme and rhythm, subtle but meaningful use of symbolism, and ironic metaphors. Dickinson organizes the lines into quatrains—stanzas containing four lines—which are frequently used in religious hymns.
The waxing and waning action of the text might symbolize the constant cycles of life. The fact that the text recedes then elongates in rhythm make the reader think the speaker of the poem is not sure what steps to take in their life. The speaker might not have convinced him or herself about the suicide attempt. Many suicidal thoughts are stopped short of action and then thought about later. Dickinson writes in this style to show the opposing forces of every situation. Suicide would likely be the most contemplated decision the narrator has ever had to make.
...eart would split, but because she is able to see nature through her imagination she is safe from those effects, shown when she says, “So safer-guess-with just my soul” (18) While Emerson uses only sight to form a connection with nature, Dickinson uses both sight and imagination to connect people’s souls to nature when she says, “…with just my soul open the window pane”(19); the eyes are said to be the windows that lead to one’s soul, so through this statement Dickinson shows that there is a correlation between imagination, sight, and soul because through all of them one is able to become one with nature. Through the very act of writing this poem Dickinson reveals that poetic writing is another form of reaching oneness with nature.
It's also worth keeping in mind that Dickinson was not always consistent in her views and they can change from poems, to poem, depending upon how she felt at a given moment. Dickinson was less interested in absolute answers to questions than she was in examining and exploring their "circumference."
In conclusion, Dickinson's form helps the reader begin to comprehend the poem. Figurative language is one of the literary elements that Dickinson uses. to help convey hidden messages to the reader.
Nature is what we hear -. / Nature is what we know -" (277 lines 1,59). Nature is everything to a person, it appeals to all senses. Dickinson also says in this poem, "So impotent Our Wisdom is / To her Simplicity" (277). The speaker is saying that nature has such great power that one can't even comprehend her simplest ways.
Although, Emily Dickinson physically isolated herself from the world she managed to maintain friendships by communicating through correspondence. Ironically, Dickinson’s poetry was collected and published after her death. Dickinson explores life and death in most of her poems by questioning the existence of God. Dickinson applies common human experiences as images to illustrate the connection from the personal level of the human being, to a universal level of faith and God. This can be seen in Dickinson’s Poem (I, 45).
Emily Dickinson was one of the greatest woman poets. She left us with numerous works that show us her secluded world. Like other major artists of nineteenth-century American introspection such as Emerson, Thoreau, and Melville, Dickinson makes poetic use of her vacillations between doubt and faith. The style of her first efforts was fairly conventional, but after years of practice she began to give room for experiments. Often written in the meter of hymns, her poems dealt not only with issues of death, faith and immortality, but with nature, domesticity, and the power and limits of language.
The tone in the first stanza is of joyousness and excitement, as people make their way to heaven. Dickinson uses the words “gayer,” “hallelujah,” and “singing” to emphasize the uplifting feeling here. It could be argued that this is the point in the humans’ lives (or deaths, or afterlives, depending on how one looks at it) when they reach the pinnacle of happiness, for they have finally entered heaven. The humans, now dead, would then acquire wings, immortality, and an angelic status that rises far above that of humans. Much like Dickinson’s other poems, this one uses metaphors to represent similar things, such as “home,” which represents “heaven,” “snow,” which represents the “clouds” on which heaven resides, and “vassals,” which represents the “angels” who serve God.
"Arguing with herself, Dickinson considers three major resolutions for the frustrations she is seeking to define and to resolve. Each of these resolutions is expressed in negative form: living wither her lover, dying with him, and discovering a world beyond nature. Building on this series of negations, Dickinson advances a catalogue of reasons for her covenant with despair, which are both final and insufficient. Throughout, she excoriates the social and religious authorities that impede her union, but she remains emotionally unconvinced that she has correctly identified her antagonists." (Pollack, 182)
The average reader cannot help but be affected by Dickinson’s style. The capitalized words draw the reader’s attention. They highlight important key words of the poem. The dashes set apart specific words and phrases, forcing the reader to slow down while reading. The dashes compel the reader to contemplate and ponder over the lines. Thus, whether or not Dickinson had a conscious purpose in her unconventional capitalization and punctuation, they have an undeniable effect on the rhythm of the poem and the perception of the reader.
On one hand, Dickinson's declarations at sincere but the hyperbole of the poem reminds us that, even in good things there should be moderation. In the first line, Dickinson jumps right in with both feet by
Many of her poems were a reaction to the rejection of many publishers and other literary critics. This particular poem’s character comes from Dickinson’s reaction to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s statement that “poets are thus liberating gods.” Here she is challenging the established literati by questioning popular Emersonian views. In particular, this poem is a reaction to Emerson’s belief that “the poet is the sayer, the namer, and represents beauty.” Basically, it is a reaction to the idea that the poet is the creator of beautiful words, liberating the common people by giving them words they would not have access to.