BaaERY IN THE POETRY OF EMILY DICKINSON TEIESIS

BaaERY IN THE POETRY OF EMILY DICKINSON

TEIESIS

Approved:

Approved:

IMAGERY IN THE POETRY OF El!ILY DICKINSON

TBESIS

Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate Division of the Texas Technological

College in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

^ For the Degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

by

Imogene F o r t e n b e r r y , B. A

Lubhock, Texas

Augus t , 1950

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE LUEBOCK, TEX.'.3 liBRARY

t3 \ ^ 5 0

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments are due Dr, W, B» Gates^

t o whom I am Indebted fo r guidance in the i n i

t i a t i o n and p repara t ion of t h i s t h e s i s , and to

Dr. E. A. G i l l i s and Dr, Oscar A. Kinohen fo r

t h e i r va luable suggest ion in wr i t i ng the s tudy .

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter Page

Introduction i

I. Images from Man and Euman Life 1

1. The Human Body 2

2. Human Relationships and Daily Life IE

3. Amusements, Roads, and Travel 19

4. Household Arts 22

5. Practical Arts and Occupations 31

6. Warfare 58

7. The Fine Arts, Learning, Literature, and Religion 40

II• Images from External Nature 54

1. Animals 54

2. Plants 58

3. The Sky, Earth and Elements 61

4. The Sea and Seafaring 66

III. Imaginative Images and Personifications 70

Conclusion 76

j wiuiLnx IN THE POETRY OF EMILY DICKINSON

INTRODtJCTION

Numerous biographical and fictional v/orks have

been written about Emily Dickinson and the story of

the publications of her letters and poetry, but few

investigations of the nature of her poems have been

made. Recognition of her poetic genius has been

retarded because not all of her manuscripts have

been made available to scholars for study. However,

that fact is not the only reason for her slow rise

to fame, for according to Henry W. Wells:

THe very boldness of Emily's poetry has discouraged the critics. . . • Her poetry has received the tribute of no volume of general appreciation or aesthetic criticism, and even the occasional essays on her work have as a rule wanted sharpness and originality of viewpoint. Highly flattering statements commonly serve to express Emily's unique contribution to literature.-^

One other difficulty v/hich has faced students of

Emily Dickinson* s poetry is the textual one. Some

of the difficulties which her editors have found are

explained to some extent by Mrs. Millicent Todd

Bingham, who inherited the task of editing many of

the poems from her mother, Mrs. Mabel Todd, the

friend of Emily Dickinson and the first editor of

1 H. W. Wells, Introduction to Emil^ Dickinson (Chicago: Packard and Co., 1947), p. n 'ST' TTere-8L?ter referred to as Wells* Introduction.

ii

her poem So The manuscripts were said to be

a Jumble of words on odds and ends of paper, some of it cmcipled and torn. They were not sorted alphabetically, or according to size, or subject matter, or date of composition. Most of them were smothered v/ith alternative words and phrases crowded together into every available space — around the edges, upside down, wedged between the lines. Some poems, filling the margins of drafts of letters to friends, are difficult to distinguish from the body of the letter, following without a break on the same sheet of paper. Many are written on the backs of brownr-paper bags or of discarded bills, programs, and invitations.*^

Fortunately, however, such textual problems

lie beyond the province of the present study, which

proposes to investigate Emily Dickinson*s published

poems in order to note and to analyze the images

which abound in her work, (in nearly every poem are

woven as many as three or four images. Her poetry

is so intrinsically a part of herself that an analysis

of it ultimately becomes a study of her rare person

ality. Imagery forms an integral part of her poetry,

ftrceerding to'~Uer~Tiiece, Madam:e Biancht, who saysi-

**Metaphor is her characteristic figure and paradox

her native tongue.j^ Since poetic imagery is one

of the most characteristic elements of her art, it

rarely appears for purely ornamental detail, but is

2 M. L. Todd end M. T. Bingham, Bolts of Melody (New York: Harper Brothers, ir-5), p. xii. Hereafter referred to as Bolts of relody.

3 M. D. Bianchi and A. L. Hampson, Further Poems of Emily Dickinson (Boston: Little, Brown andUo., Tf2'9), p. xiii. Hereafter referred to as Further

iii

used ep m integral means of expression by which she

could "tell all the truth but tell it slant.***

/The word **image** is used in this thesis as

inclusive of that figurative language usually clas

sified in the study of literature as simile, metaphor,

personification, or other types of figures of speech ])

An image, as used here, connotes an experience, mood,

or sensation kno\vn to the poet. The individuality,

the intensity of an image is one of the factors

making for richness and sensuousness in poetry. A

poet*s imagery can, in many instances, be used as one

criterion of his command of language and his artistry.

In this study of the images in the poems of

Emily Dickinson the primary consideration is that of

content or subject matter of the images and what that

content reveals. Such an investigation will reveal

the range of images used in the poetry, as well as

the tastes, interests, and background of the poet.

The analysis of the word pictures of a poet often

discloses something of the pattern of his thinking.

The content of the images is the objective; therefore

it is not necessary to distinguish among the dif

ferent literary types.

No attempt has been made to consider the poems

in chronological order. Such an endeavor would be

^ Bolts of Melody, p. 233.

i v

rewarding in an account of Miss Dickinson's develop

ment as a poet and as a person, but , except to a

l imi ted ex tent , i t i s not possible to place many of

her poems i n such order . When the manuscripts of

a l l of the poems are made ava i lab le , i t may be pos

s ib le to determine the chronological order of many

because a l l of the poems are in Emily Dickinson's

handwrit ing, and d i s t i n c t i v e changes are noted in

the wri t ing during d i f ferent periods of her l i f e .

The c l a s s i f i c a t i ons to be used in t h i s t hes i s

are based on those which Caroline Spurgeon employed

in her study of Shakespeare's imagery.^ CThe images

in Emily Dickinson's poetry present a wide range of

subject matter Just as Shakespeare's v/orks did^

She was an i n s t i n c t i v e a r t i s t , whose business i t

was **to find forms of expression that did not b lur

her sharp av/areness of fact nor f a i l to rouse a

l a t e n t beauty.*'^ She found those forms of expres

sion in whatever was famil iar or most conveniently

a t hand. Miss Dickinson's vzas a twofold vision of

l i f e — t h a t which she experienced personal ly and

tha t which I sy outside the realm of intimate know

ledge but which she knew from observation, reading,

and hear ing. Y/ells says that her

5 C. F . E, Spurgeon, ShakeSDeere*_s Imagery (Cambridge: Univers i ty P ress , iSS'ufZ

6 G. F, V/hicher, This \.&s a Poet (Charles Scrib-n e r ' s Sons, 1938), p . 159. Hereafter referred to as

self-appointed task as poet and as thinker was to examine personality with microscopic vision, to digest whatever the mind affords in knowledge of the external or the internal v;orld, but ultimately to fix attention only on the eternally hiiman qualities.'''

She became a recluse in her later years, but the fact

that she withdrew from society did not mean that she

ignored the world outside her own narrow sphere of

activities. She was indeed introspective and indi

vidualistic in thought, but other human beings, even

those outside her immediate family and friends,

interested her deeply. She observed life from a

distance and saw it clearly. This twofold outlook

toward life is revealed in her imagery. [A great

number of her images are subjective, but an even

greater number ere taken from man and his activities!

In this thesis are three chapters: one contains

images from man and human life; the second contains

images from nature; and the last contains imaginative

images and personifications. Miss Dickinson's

poetry is elusive and complex. Many poems contain

several images so intricately woven that difficulty

arises in separating them. However, the image which

predominates determines the category in v/hich the

lines are placed. References are then made to sub

sidiary images. So many of Miss Dickinson's poems

are imaginative to such a degree that selecting

7 Wells* Introduction, p. 48,

vi

the images from them is a difficult and an elusive

task, but as thorough an examination of the poems

has been made as possible.

The poems which have been investigated for this

study are found in the following volumes of her

poetry: The Complete Poems f Emily Dickingon,^

Poems by Emily Dickinson.^ Further Poems of Emily

Dickinson, and Bolts of Melody. -

8 M. D. Bianchi, The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson (Boston: Lit' Ie, Bro\m and Co.,"T925). Hereafter referred to as Complete Poems.

9 M. D. Bianchi and A. L. iiampson, Poems bj Emily Dickinson (Boston; Little, Brov.Ti and Co., 1945]• Hereaiter referred to as Poems.

10 M. D. Bianchi and A. L. Hampson, ©£. cit. 11 M. L. Todd and M. T. Bingham, 0£. cit.

CHAPTER I

MAN AND HUMAN LIFE

Many of Emily Dickinson's images reveal her

apparent interest in her fellow man and his acti

vities, relationships, and thought. She became a

recluse in later life, turning more and more to a

study of herself and her thought, but she never lost

interest in the affairs of other human beings, as

images dealing with ordinary human relationships

suggest. She looked upon humanity from her secluded

spot on the Dickinson estate and scrutinized it

closely. Wells says of her remote touch with society:

People in the mass and in their public relationships concerned her less, to be sure, than the intimate chambers of the soul. But the,former did concern her. Many romantic writers were actually far more advanced than she in their divorce from social consciousness. Free from the egotistic variety of sentimentality, and if one of the most elusive, at the same time one of the most evasive of mankind, v hat she saw she looked at honestly and clearly. If she was not an active member of society, neither was she taken in by it. . . » Although her thirst for the universal discouraged her from any persistent considerations of manners and public affairs, she v/as far from holding a closed mind to these subjects.-'-

In this chapter are included seven sections: the

human body, its parts and functions; human relation

ships and daily life; amusements, roads and travel;

household arts and clothing and fabrics; practical arts

1 Wells' Introduction^ pp. 187-188.

and occupations; warfare; and the fine arts, learning,

literature and religion.

1. The Human Body — Its Parts and J xmctions

Most poets find the parts of the body and bodily

action a reliable source of imagery, but Emily Dickin

son apparently found it an especially appealing source•

Approximately one hundred and ninety of her images

are of this class; no other single group is so large.

The images of this group further subdivide into the

following sections: the parts of the body, the actions

and characteristics of the body, nourishment, and

illness and medicine. Difficulty arises as to the

placing of a large number of the images; many are

personifications which could be placed in the group

discussed in the last chapter. In each instance, how

ever, the dominant image has been the basis of classi

fication.

The ordinary functions of the body and the parts

of the body are so well known to all people and have

been used so often that associations vdth other objects

or qualities must be presented in a new way to be effec

tive, ( iss Dickinson succeeds in finding original v/ays

in which to use body imageryJ

(she never uses as an image the human body as a

whole, but only the parts of the body.] (There are, for

instance, several images from the parts of the head.

In one figure the moon is described asj

but a chin of gold.

And now she turns her perfect face Upon the world below.

Her forehead is of amplest blond; Her cheek like beryl stone; Her eye unto the summer dew The likeSt I have known,

Hei* lips of amber never part; (Complete Poems, p. 137)

Occasionallj'-, says the poet, she awakens to see upon

the "angle of a landscape," the "forehead of a hill, /

Sometimes a vane's forefinger—" (Bolts of Melody,

p. 85). In some images the eye and its functions are

used for figures such as: at dawn "a mighty look runs

round the world / and settles in the hills," (Further

Poems, p. 55). Then, when the "willing lid" leans

over the "weary eye" of day (Bolts of Melody, p. 25),

the purple figures of the mountains rise, and

In their eternal faces The sun with broad delight Looks long — and last. And golden. For fellowship at night.

(Further Poems, p. 78)

Miss Dickinson's ov/n sight perception was vivid and

keen. She saw life about her in sharp detail and re

membered everjrbhing that she sav/ — her hazel eyes

had "periods of shutting," but as she stated, "No lid

4

has memory" (Bolts of Melody, p. 159). Color was to

her especially pleasing. The pictures which she

paints by words reveal the greatness of her sense

perception. For example, to her vision the distant

mountain "In amber lies," but when it is approached,

"the amber flits a little, — /And that's the skies'."

(Complete Poems, p. 26), Two images portraying a

whole day in the various colors v/hich it produces are:

The color of a queen is this — The color of a sun At setting, this and amber; Beryl and this at noon;

And when at night auroran widths Fling suddenly on men, 'Tis this and witchcraft — nature has An awe of iodine.

(Bolts of Melody, p. 24)

and:

The red blaze is the morning. The violet is noon. The yellow, day is falling. And after that is none


An image describing the rising of the sun is:

On the world you colored Morning painted rose. Idle lies vermilion. Aimless crept the glows

Over realms of orchards. (Bolts of Melody, p. 70)

and one picturing the colors of sunset as the result

of love's tinting

. . .

5

the transit in < The West With harrowing iodine.


Some of the remaining color images are quite unusual.

For example, some ere: "It can't be dying, — its too

rouge, — / The dead shall go in white," (Complete

Poems, p. 104); "Fame is the tint that scholars leave /

Upon their setting names — (Bolts of Melody, p. 237);

and

A moth the hue of this Haunts candles in Brazil. Nature's experience would make Our reddest second pale. (Bolts of Melody, n. 72)

Other images from the ejres are used, but it will be

more profitable to omit them in favor of images from

other parts of the head and their functions.

Of six images from the tongue, the one most

original and memorable is: "It was not night, for

all the bells / Put out their tongues, for noon"

(Complete Poems, p. 221). Two images are from the

teeth. One is the tooth "That nibbles at the soul"

(Bolts of Melody, p. 290), and the other is the

"teeth of frost" which in October disclose "A homelier

maturing, / The process in the burr—" (Further Poems,

p. 200). One other image from the mouth is that of

the volcano of life with

6

The lips that never lie,, Whose kissing corals part and shut And cities slip away.

(Further Posns, p. 36)

In one image the spirit is said to be the "con

scious ear, / We actually hear" (Bolts of Melody,

p. 229). Four images are taken from the hair of the

head. In two of them the image is definitive of two

intangible states: "Crisis is a hair / Toward which

forces creep" (Bolts of Melody, p. 190), and "Risk is

' the hair that holds the tun / Seductive in the air"

(Bolts of Melody, p. 285). The other two are even

more imaginative: the clematis presents the poet with

"a single curl / Of her electric hair" (Bolts of

Melody, p. 78), and "flagons" of the bee are "Dainty

as the tress on her / Deft head" (Further Poems,

p. 61).

References to kinetic movement form tv/enty-five

images. Twice images of "yellow feet" appear — one

pertains to the Sun and the other to the lightning,

which passes "Upon the ropes above our head" (Bolts

of Melody, p. 18). In another image it is claimed

that "To v/alk on tides requires cedar feet" (Bolts of

Melody, p. 242). One of the more striking images of

the kind is that of man' s belief in his progress tov;ard

eternity:

My wheel is in the dark, — I cannot see a spoke,

Yet know its dripping fe'et Go round and round.

(Complete Poems, p. 262)

Some other images from kinetic movement are: "It

sounded as if the streets were running, / And then

the streets stood still" (Bolts of Melody, p. 297);

the "strolling hue" of an "accidental red" which

strayed from the setting sun (Bolts of Melody, p. 17);

the picture, **my future climbs the stair" (Further

Poems, p. 190), and the "Republic of delight" where

"The mom vms up, the meadows out / The fences all

but ran" (Bolts of Melody, p. 14). A few other kinetic

images are: the soul which in "moments of escape"

dances and "swings upon the hours" and in "retaken

moments" is led along "With shackles on the plumed

feet," (Bolts of Melody, p. 245); then, the snow flakes

which "danced so / Their slipDers leaped the town"

(Bolts of Melody, p. 95); and last, "Slow tramp the

centuries." (Bolts of Melody, p. 47)

Among the more interesting images referring to

the fingers are those concerned with the "wind with

fingers" (Complete Poems, p. 206) that "comb the sky /

Then quiver down" (Complete Poems, p. 122), and which

make creases **in the meadow" when he "Runs his fingers

thro* it" (Further Poems, p. 57). Other examples of

the use of fingers to convey a picture, or to express

a thought are: "The fingers of the light / Tapped

8

soft upon the town" (Bolts _of Melody, p. 11), and "a

suspicion like a finger / Touches my forehead now

and then," (Bolts of Melody, p. 102). Other interesting

images of the fingers in action are: "My prayer away

I threw; / The quiet ages picked it up" (Complete Poems,

p. 24); "I felt my life v;ith both my hands / To see if

it were there," (Bolts of Melody, p. 145); Gibraltar

has his "shoe / Poised lightly on his hand" (Bolts of

Melody, p. 218); the leaves "unhooked themselves from

trees" (Complete Poems, p. 99); and finally, "An awful

tempest mashed the air. / The clouds were gaunt and

few" (Complete Poems, p. 90).

(Among the activities of the body which furnish

images are sv imming and grooming the body and undressing.

Two images employ swimming as a means of expressing Joy.

In one butterflies "off banks of noon, / Leap, plash-

less as they swim" (Complete Poems, p. 91). In an

unusual image, the sounds made by walking on a prison

floor become, after a long period of time, as sweet

as those of "plashing in the pools / When memory was

a bojr" (Further Poems, p. 21),

One representative image from grooming the body is:

When night is almost done. And sunrise grows so near That we can touch the spaces. It's time to smooth the hair

And get the dimples ready. (Complete Poems, p. 98)

9

The characteristic behavior of man is noted in

some images. Typical are images like those in v/hich

there are

The eager look on landscapes As if they Just repressed Some secret.


and in a mixed image are several characteristics:

There's a certain slant of light. On winter afternoons,

When it comes, the landscape listens, Shadows hold their breath; When it goes, 'tis like the distance On the look of death.

(Complete Poems, pp. 125-126)

or the picture of faith as a young girl who "slips end

laughs and rallies / Blushes if any see" (Bolts of

Melody, p. 290). Other images from laughter are:

"Light laughs the breeze in her castle of sunshine"

(Complete Poems, p. 183); autumn is "The lower metres

of the year" which come when "nature's laugh is done"

(Complete Poems, p. 142); and, the only phrase known

to Miss Dickinson is that of nature's phrase: "Low

as the laughter of the cricket, / Low as the thunder's

tongue" (Poems, p. 422).

(Another trait of human nature is pictured in an

image in which heaven is addressed as "Bashful Heaven,

thy lovers small / Hide too, from thee' (Further Poems,

10

p . 6 6 ) . Then t h e r e i s a d i sag reeab le s ide of human

n a t u r e :

The sky i s low, the clouds are mean,

A narrow wind complains a l l day; How some one t r e a t e d him: Na tu re , l i k e u s , i s sowetimes caught Without he r diadem.

(Complete Poems, p . 124-125)

Among o the r images from the t r a i t s of human

be ings , the most i n t e r e s t i n g and o r i g i n a l a r e : the

moon who " s l i d e s dovm the s t a i r / To see who's the re"

(Complete Poems, p . 11) ; t h e morning which " f l u t t e r e d ,

s taggered , / F e l t feebly for her crown, —" (Complete

Poems, p . 78) ; and t h a t in which

A sparrow took a s l i c e of twig And thought i t very n i c e .

Inv igora ted f u l l y , Turned easy in the sky As a f a m i l i a r saddle And rode immensity.

(Bol t s of Melody, p . 64)

Eleven images a r i s e from the nourishment of the body.

From e a t i n g come the images: "He a t e and drank the

p rec ious words" (Complete Poems, p . 14) and "nature

r e l i s h e s the p inks / W h i c h she was taught t o ea t" (Bol ts

of Melody, p . 327) . Of the f ive images from d r i r k i n g ,

only one cannot d e f i n i t e l y be ca l led an image from the

d r ink ing of wine or l i q u i d : "sustenance i s of the

s p i r i t , / The s t a r s but dregs" (Bol t s of Melody, p . 156) .

11

Three of them note the e f fec t s of drink on the body:

"How powerful the stimulus" of the"Strong draughts of

t h e i r refreshing minds" (Further Poems, p . 13); "Im

p o s s i b i l i t y exh i l a ra tes the man / Who t a s t e s i t "

(Bolts of Melody, p . 277); and the stimulus "Supports

me l i k e imperial drams / Afforded royally^* (Complete

Poems, p . 228). Another image i s a p ic ture of the

grave where a body r e t i r e s "In a r t i f i c i a l cups of

drowse / To sleep i t s shape away" (Complete Poems,

p . 237). A f i n a l f igure i s tha t in which nectar i s

"a l i qu id never brewed / From tankards scooped in

pear l " (Complete Poems, p . 14) .

The one other kind of image from man and h i s a c t i

v i t i e s i s t ha t of i l l n e s s and treatment for i t . For

ins tance , for the bobolink "music be / H i s only ano

dyne'." (Bolts of Melody, p . 62); "Alternative to d i e , "

i s the "only pharmacy / For being* s maladjr" (Bolts of

Melody, p . 156); but a remedy which f a i l s . Just as

memory f a i l s a t death, i s "iodine /Upon the cataract"

(Bolts of Melody, p . 178)• In two images, be l i e f s and

secre ts are "bandaged" (Bolts of Kelody, p . 293 and

p . 150). Images drawn from maladies are these: the

" p r i c k l i e r pain" i n f l i c t e d by a "furlong" (Further Poems,

p . 14) and the pa ra ly s i s of the veins " tha t used to run"

(Bolts of Melody, p . 164)*

Miss Dickinson's images from the human body are

not commonplace because they have a s t a r t l i n g use of

12

ordinary things. For instance, snowflakes fill, not

the ruts of the road but the "wrinkles" of the road

(Bolts of Melody, p. 41). Some of her best images

are found in this group. Many have not been mentioned

here because, although most of them are significant,

there are too many to note.

2. Human Relationships and Daily Life

/Many of Miss Dickinson's images are taken from

the relationships of people, and from their daily acti

vities, their customs, habits and behavior. The images

discussed in this section are from many tjrpes of people,

such as children, friends, criminals; from hospitality;

from association of people in everyday life; and from

the commonwealth or governments of people.

Miss Dickinson was fond of children. According to

Madame Bianchi, she v/as to her niece and nephev; "Just

another child like them," and they looked upon her as

a magical creature. There are fifteen images from

childhood. In several the toys of children furnish the

image. In one metaphor the soul is a child about whom

it is said by someone who loves him:

It is easy to work v/hen the soul is at play, But when the soul is in pain,

2 M. D. Bianchi, The Life end Letters of Sniily Dickinson (Boston: HougEtonTiIf?IIn''Go., 1924), p. 53. Hereafter referred to as Life and Letters.

3 Ibid.

13

The hearing him put his* plajrthings up Makes work difficult then.


In two images the figure concerns the leading of a

child by the hand:

There, gathered from the gales, Do the blue heavens by the hand Lead the wandering sails.


and the moon with her "amber hands" leads the sea

"Along appointed sands." (Complete Poems, p. 164).

Miss Dickinson's close observance of children is

evident in the following descriptions of nature in

the image of children* s activities:

As children bid the guest good-night. And then reluctant turn. My flov;ers raise their pretty lips. Then put their nightgowns on.

As children caper when they wake. Merry that it is morn. My flov/ers from a hundred cribs Will peep, and prance again,


The seasons are said to pray around the "knees" of a

mountain "Like children around a sire" (Complete Poems,

p. 120). Again an image from child life reveals her

rebellion against the universal awe of God:

While God's adroiter will

On Moses seemed to fasten In tantalizing play—

14

As Boy should deal ^ With lesser Boy To show supremacy.


The final figure from childhood to be noted is that

of the

Faded boy in sallow clothes Who drove a lonesome cow To pastures of oblivion--(Bolts of Melody, p. 132)

Some other relationships of human beings which

are found among the images are friendship and hospi

tality. Images which employ friendship are those in

which the soul is an "imperial friend" (Complete Poems.

p. 25), even a prison "gets to be a friend" (Further

Poems, p. 21), God is "a curious Friend" (Further

Poems, p. 47), **Prospective is the friend" whom we

know when "constancy is clarified / Of curiosity"

(Bolts of Melody, p. 267), and the exalting note of a

bluebird is "like a friend" (Bolts of Melody, p. 61).

Twenty-six images are taken from the sphere of hospi

tality and strangers and guests. Miss Dickinson's

preference for privacy was certainly'- not conducive to

enJo3n3ient in the entertaining of guests, yet her images

from hospitality reveal no resentment of visitors.

In the figures the feelings of people in their roles

of guests and as hosts eve revealed quite graphically.

Social behavior is indicated by the figure: "A courteous.

15

yet harrowing grace, /As guest who would be gone"

(Complete Poems, p. 103). The hesitation of a person

as he is greeted at the door of a strange house

becomes an image describing sunset:

The twilight stood as strangers do With hat in hand, polite and new. To stay as if, or gol


Another image of the kind in a whimsical portrayal of

death as a Journey is this: "Because I could not

stop for Death, / He kindly stopped for me" (Complete

Poems, J). 194). An odd comparison is that of "A

coming as of hosts was heard— / That v;as indeed the

rain'." (Bolts of Melody, p. 18). Choice of companion

ship and rejection of those who do not please is

indicated in this image:

The soul selects her own society, Then shuts the door; On her divine majority Obtrude no more.


Four images are taken from man' s tendency to

gossip: "The leaves, like women, interchange / Saga

cious confidence" (Complete Poems, p. 96); "time

went out to tell the news / And met eternity" (Bolts

of Melody, p. 124); "A bird sat careless on the fence; /

One gossiped in the lane" (Poems, -D. 402); and

Dust is the only secret. Death the only one

16

You cannot find out all, about In his native town.


There are no specific images from death; three,

however, are taken from burial. In one she writes,

"Put up, my heart, thy hoary work / And take a rosy

chair" because "Our salary the longest day / Is

nothing but a bier" (Bolts of Melody, p. 33). A

formal feeling is said to come to one after pain has

passed, and then is v/hen "The nerves sit ceremonious

like tombs" (Further Poems, p. 175). The one other

image of this class is:

I felt a funeral in my brain. And mourners, to and fro. Kept treading, treading, till it seemed That sense was breaking through.


Crimes and punishment furnish a number of striking

images. "Grief is a thief" (Bolts of Melody, p. 25)

in one image, and in another, the poet "like a thief /

Fled gasping from the house" (Complete Poems, p. 44).

Assassins provide the basis of the image in two

instances: "the blond assassin," frost (Complete

Poems, p. 123) and the "assassin" of hope, "Pros-

perity" (Bolts of Melody, p. 243), The marauder.

Silence, is a "sorer robber" of Time than is Death

(Bolts of Melody, p. 24). In one image the grave

"yields back her robberies / The years are pilfered

17

things" (Further Poems, p. 1P4). A method of reading

a letter is first to open it, and "softly pick its

°< ** (Coniplete Poems, p. 160). Then there are three

figures based on crime and punishment: a "harm of

years upon him, / The infamy of time" (Bolts of Melody.

p, 188) and the "larceny of time and mind, / The

marrow of the day" (Bolts of Melody, p. 103).

Some images are taken from v/eapons and their uses

for punishment or for criminal action. The moon is

compared to "a head a guillotine / Slid carelessly

away" (Bolts of Melody, p. 28); a man is reminded of

"The axe / That clamors for his head" (Further Poems.

p. 95). In other figures the sun "took down his

yellow whip / And drove the fog away" (Bolts of Melody,

p, 14), and love *'Deals one imperial thunderbolt /

That scalps your naked soul" (Complete Poems, p. 172).

The largest group of images d a 'm from human

society is from classes and types of people. Only a

few of the most typical can be quoted. One type of

person is a Juggler: nature is **Unto a Juggler turned'."

(Bolts of Melody, p. 50); "Grief is a Juggler" (Bolts

£f Melody, p. 252); the sun is "the Juggler of the day"

(Corplete Poems, p. 102). Other images are those

portraying Death as "the supple suitor / That wins at

last" (Bolts of Melody, p. 199) and the bee as a

traitor "of silken speech and soecious shoe" (Bolts

of Melody, p. 69).

18

A fev/ f i g u r e s are drawn *from commonwealths and

governments, such as

and

The V7ind unto his chambers went, And nature ventured out. Her subjects scattered into place. Her systems ranged about.


The Heart is the capital Of the Mind, The Mind.is a single State The Heart and Mind Together make A single continent,

(Further Poems, p, 138)

All of the activities and relationships of human

beings alluded to in this section of images came under

Miss Dickinson's own close observation. The images

lend a worldly, human touch to her poetry. Her readers

have a closer contact with her through her simple,

precise imagery involving human relationships. The

lengthy list of images from every day life reveals her

artist's ability to paint, in a skillful way, a some

what glorified picture of ordinary life. They prove

to some extent that she noted carefully the behavior

of mrnkind — even if from a distance — and that her

solitary v/ay of life was not brought about by dis

illusionment with human society.

19

3. Amusements and Roa^s and Travel

Although, as Miss Dickinson v;rote to Colonel

Higginson in 1868, she did not cross her "father's

ground to any house of town,"* she would often "make

a Journey of the mind / And still abide" (Bolts of

Melody, p. 269). In her mind she traveled over many

roads: "lighting's pointed road" (Complete Poegis,

p, 35), "A route of evanescence / Vvith a revolving

, wheel" (Complete Poems, p. 86), "a dappled road,"

preferred to the plain "road to paradise" (Bolts of

Melody, p, 212), the "lonesome way," when men and

boys and June with its lark go to the fields to hay,

(Further Poems, p. 196), the "unfrequented" road

through pain "That stops at Heaven" (Further Poems,

p. 102), the "angled road" of Experience (Further

Poems, p. 18), a "little road not made of man,"

which is "accessible to thill of' bee / Or cart of

butterfly*' (Complete Poems, p. 113), and a "goalless"

road which cannot be "compassed" (Poems, p. 450).

In her Journeys of the mind, the roads over which

she traveled were mapped and charted over a "pierless

bridge" (Further Poems, p, 124) and through "the

straight pass of suffering" (Complote Poems, p, 23).

The conveyances which she used to make the Journeys

4 Life and Letters, p. 270.

20

were: the "burnished carriage" of the bee which drives

"boldly to a rose" (Bolts of Melody, p. 70), the

pinions which are the "Seraph's wagon" (Complete Poems,

p. 291), the arms of Christ which are "sufficient

Phaeton" (Further Poems, p. 49), and the "frugal"

chariot "That bears a human soul'." (Complete Poems,

p. 54). That Miss Dickinson moved swiftly along many

roads in her mind is revealed in her images from roads

and travel. She Joins the sun in his travels "along

the crag" with his "caravan of red" (Complete Poems,

p. 115). She hears the "fleshless chant /Rise solemn

in the tree," and is reminded of "Some caravan of

sound" which

On deserts, in the sky, Had broken rank. Then knit, and passed In seamless company,

(Complete Poems, p, 122)

Since Miss Dickinson seldom left her home to take

part in the activities of the world outside, her images

from amusements outside her home can be placed in the

group with images from roads and travel. Both are

classed as images from outside the normal sphere of

the activities of her later years.

[The only image from sports which can be classi

fied as such is this: "Three times the billows tossed /

Then caught me like a ball" (Further Poems, p. 98) ,\

The pleasures of feasting and reveling constitute

21

several images. In a poem describing the beauties

of nature, one scene is so "wondrous" that it is

As if the stars some summer night Should swing their cups of chrysolite And revel till the day.

(Bolts of Melody, p, 223)

In another the bee is the "debauchee of dews'."

(Complete Poems, p. 100), who, along with the poet,

lives

In the quaffing, , 'Tisn't all hock with us. Life has its ale, , .


(Some images are taken from places of amusement which

deal with nature. There are the Forests and Hills

which are the "tents to Nature's Show" (Complete Poems,

p. 55), some "carnivals of clouds" (Further Poems,

p. 55), and "Nature's caravan" (Complete Poems, p. 273),

Three images describing nature in terms of the activi

ties of people at a theatre are:

Departed to the Judgment, A mighty afternoon; Great clouds like ushers leaning.

Two worlds, like audiences, disperse And leave the soul alone.


then, that in vrhich

Like mighty footlights burned the red At bases of the trees, —

* 22

The far theatricals of day Exhibiting to these

'Twas universe that did applaud. (Complete Poems, p. 101)

and, the human heart as the "Only theater recorded /

Owner cannot shut" (Further Poems, p, 28).

Miss Dickinson's imagery from amusements and

travel make apparent her love for solitude. Those

few that are used are mere means of expression,

although they are presented in her typically precise,

fresh manner.

4. Household Arts and Clothing and Sewing

/Miss Dickinson's later life was concerned mostly

with the house and garden in Amherst, and her intimate

knowledge of the household arts resulted in a great

many images from domesticity.^ Professor Whicher says:

She was not by inclination a domestic spirit, but she learned to do her part. The neighborly custom of the village demanded that fruit and flowers be exchanged in season, and that Jellies, desserts and other dainties should be sent about at all times as "attentions" to friends. Emily became an adept at such exquisite cookery — she was a past mistress of bread-making as well — but other housewifely duties irked her. Sev/ing was an exasperation, and as for cleaning the house her j. attitude v;as sximraed up in saying, "I prefer pestilence."^

Her domestic images are drawn from the house itself,

housekeeping, house lighting, the kitchen and the

5 This Wasa_Poet, p. 55.

/ 25

activities connected with it, clothing, sewing, the

appearance and texture of fabrics. Jewels and orna

ments. Miss Dickinson's images from housekeeping are

effective and ingenious. The epitome of them, provid

ing a beautiful description of sunset, appears in the

following poem:

She svTeeps with many-colored brooms. And leaves the shreds behind; Oh, housevfife in the evening west. Come back, and dust the pond*.

You dropped a purple ravelling in, You dropped an amber thread; And now you've littered all the East With clouds of emerald*.

And still she plies her spotted brooms. And still the aprons fly, Till brooms fade softly into stars--And then I come av/ay,


Another figure from house cleaning is this: "The

world feels dusty / When we stop to die" (Further

Poems, p. 109). Hence there is a need for a

. , . bustle in a house The morning after death

The sweeping up the heart. And putting love av/ay We shall not want to use again Until eternity.


In one image life is said to be behind the shelf that

The sexton keeps the key to, Putting up

24

Our life, his porcelain. Like a cup Discarded of the housewife.


Life is not, however, the only thing that is put away;

sometimes a "dull comfort" is found for those who put

away a head "They knew the hair to, and forget / The

color of the day" (Bolts of Melody, p. 156); and some

times the months are wound in balls and put away "in

separate drawers / Until their time befalls" (Complete

Poems, p. 147); but, "you cannot fold a flood /And

put it in a drav/er,—" (Complete Poems, p. 70). In

one image the grave is said to be a cottage where the

parlor is made orderly and the "marble tea" is laid

(Complete Poems, p. 235). In a figure comparing the

brain to the sea, it is said that the brain is deeper,

For, hold them, blue to blue The one the other v;ill absorb, As sponges, buckets do.


One of the most memorable of the images from

kitchen activities is this: "Nature was in her beryl

apron / Mixing fresher air." (Complete Poems, p. 97).

Images connected with cooking and table service are:

"The lightning is a yellow fork -- The awful cutlery"

(Bolts of Melody, p. 41); and the "floods are served

to us in bowls,—" iOoj^^ljete Z'^SJIZ' ?• - Q'• ' beauti.

ful image v/hich fits well into this classification is

that of the leaves in autumn making

25

— showers of stain ' When winds upset the basin And spill the scarlet rain'.


A figure v/hich reminds one of the familiar sight of

moisture forming on the outside of a glass is that of

the chill of death creeping "like frost upon a glass"

(Further Poems, p. 100).

Emily Dickinson must have loved light. Her images

from light contain no sombre element; they picture the

gayer side of life. Her images from fires and arti

ficial illumination are usually indicative of the close

of day, or the end of life or love. Sunset, she says,

is "all of evening softly lit / As an astral hall—"

(Complete Poems, p. 279); or "The largest fire ever

known" which "Occurs each afternoon" (Complete Poems,

p. 274) whose

—miles of sparks at evening Reveal the width that burned— The territory argent That never yet consumed.

(Bolts £f ITelody, p. 27)

The night has not a great fire to light the way, but

is "furnished scant /With but a single star" so fear

ful that whenever it meets a cloud it blov/s itself

out (Complete Poems, p. 161).

One figure dealing with light concerns an "odd

old man," v/ho on "such an evening bright and stiff /

His faded lamp went out" (Bolts of Melody, p. 213).

26

An image illustrating the lov6 of God is that from the

traditional light left burning in a window to guide

someone through the dark: "The Lord a candle enter

tains / Entirely for thee'." (Bolts £f Melody, p. 26).

/Many of the images are taken from clothing. In

her later years Miss Dickinson invariably wore white

clothing, of a style which was fashionable in her youth,

but she had a greater diversity in style and color of

clothing in her poetry. / The animals of her poems wear

a variety of apparel: a little stone wears a coat of

"elemental brov/n" which "A passing universe put on"

(Complete Poems, p. 97); the leopard has a "spotted

dun gown" (Bolts of Melody, p, 273); the butterfly has

a "Numidian go-ym / With spots of burnish roasted on"

(Bolts of Melody, p. 72), or it has an "Assumption-

gown / In chrysoprase apartments hung" (Complete Poems,

p. 121). In one imaginative figure, "Shame is the

shawl of pink / In which we vn?ap the soul" (Bolts of

Melody, p, 251); and in another "the everlasting hill"

is v/rapped by a shawl of a deeper color when "Autumn

begins to be inferred" (Complete Poems, p. 282).

Some of the clothing images refer to coverings

for ohe head. For example, the dandelion's "little

ether hood" (Bolts of Melody, p, 75), "hooded thinking'

(Complete Poems, p. 7), "turbaned seas" (Complete

Poems, p. 112), "the bonnet of the moon," the firma

ment (Complete Poems, p. 137), and a cloud, "A cap of

27

lead across the sky" / -^- "tight and surly drawn"

(Complete Poems, p, 277). Three strikingly original

images from clothing are: "doom's electric moccasin"

(Comnlete Poems, p. 93), the man who is "Dainty

adorned with veins and tissues" (Bolts £f Melody,

p. 104), and a dead bird's claws "like lifeless gloves /

Indifferent hanging now" (Bolts of Melody, p. 66).

Emily Dickinson was familiar v/ith the household

art of sewing. She was well aware that fashions in

dress were often replaced like the "Ribbons of the year"

and "Multitude brocade" which are

Worn to nature's party once. Then flung aside

As faded bead Or wrinkled pearl.

(Bolts £f Melody, p, 94)

The poet may have been exasperated by sewing^ but,

nevertheless, she knew the procedure to follow in

making a garment. By studying her images from sewing

it is possible to create an imaginary garment. The

first step is the placing of "Midnight's awful pattern /

In the goods of day" (Bolts of ITelody, p. 170); then

the "perturbless plan" proceeds "inserting here / A Sun—/

Thera leaving out a Man" (Further Poems, p. 41). After

the cutting of the garment is done, then comes the

threading of a needle v/ith the "mellov/ murmuring thread"

^ This Was a Poet, p. 159

28 t

which the ages use t o spin t h e i r "emerald nes t"

(Fur the r Poems, p . 4 1 ) . Next the s t i t c h i n g of the

garment i s done. Jus t a s did the spider who

— sewed a t n igh t Without a l i g h t Upon an a rc of w h i t e .

(Complete Poems, p , 94)

or l i k e the f i lm over the eyes a t death "had s t i t c h e d

your eyes" (Bol t s of Melody, p . 183) . One must then

t r y to match the p a r t s of t h e garment, "seam by seam,"

Jus t as one does who t r i e s to match the "cleavage" of

h i s mind (Complete Poems, p . 5 7 ) . V/hen the f i n i s h i n g

touches t o the garment have been made, the "agony" of

l i f e i s seen toy ing coo l ly with " the f i n a l inch" of

t he " d e l i r i o u s hem" (Bol t s of Melody, p , 183). Some

o the r images from sewing which are of i n t e r e s t because

of t h e i r s imple, f a m i l i a r q u a l i t y are : "sequences

r a v e l l e d out of reach / Like b a l l s upon a f loor"

(Complete Poems, p . 57 ) ,

The rainbow* s v/ay A skein Flung colored a f t e r r a i n .

(Fur ther Poems, p . 77)

and

How fits his umber coat The tailor of the nut. Combined without a seam That raiment of a dream?


29

An effect ive type of iiaage v/hich i s frequently

used in Miss Dickinson's poetry i s that taken from

the qua l i ty , the t ex tu re , or the appearance of f abr ics .

Her favor i te f ab r i c s v/ere apparently plush and velvet ;

a t any r a t e , she used them more frequently than other

f a b r i c s . Four f igures are taken from plush: sunset

i s a " n a i l of plush" upon which November hangs h i s

g ran i t e hat (Bolts of Melody, p , 316); a bee sounds

l i k e " t r a i n s of cars — on t racks of plush" (Complete

Poems, p . 116) and

A dog*s belated feet Like intermittent plush were heard Adown the empty street,


Of images taken from velvet there are two — a cater

pillar whose "countenance" is of "velvet" (Further

Poems, t>. 62). and a tree which has a "velvet limb"

(Bolts of Melody, p. 64) — but velvet and plush are

used almost interchangeably in this image:

How soft a caterpillp-r steps*.

From such a velvet world it came. Such plushes at command,

(Bolts £f Melody, p. 302)

and in the image from a poem v/hich the poet sent with

flowers to an acquaintance, the flowers are

Syllables of velvet. Sentences of plush,

30

Depths of ruby, undrained, (Further Poems, p, 80)

Velvet and plush, as well as other fabrics suggest a

definite touch sensation: "The calm is but a wall of

unattempted gauze" (Bolts of Melody, p, 247); "Globe

roses break their / Satin flake" upon a garden floor

(Further Poems, p. 141), and "in so dense a fuzz / You,

too, take cobweb attitudes" (Complete Poems, p. 66).

Jewelry and ornaments provide several images in

Miss Dickinson* s poetry. For example, "The beads upon

the forehead / By homely anguish strung" (Complete

Poems, p. 187) and "his life" is "an ornament too grand /

For forehead lov/ as mine to wear" (Further Poems, p. 160).

One figure from Jewelry, brief and somewhat caustic,

is: "Jehovah's watch is wrong" (Further Poems, p. 75).

Among the best of Miss Dickinson's images are those

drawn from domestic life. Professor Wells aptly sums

up this aspect of her art:

. . . her poetry memorializes v/ith . . . specificity her life indoors . . . (.shej writes simply and directly of the woman in the house. She is as much the laureate of housekeepers as Homer was the laureate of warriors. V\?ithout perhaps fully grasping its significance, many of her critics note her tireless liking for domestic imagery. Like Shakespeare, she is fond of depicting costume, especially feminine costume. Her allusions carry us to every part of the house , . . even the most remote , , . The various household activities receive her attention . . . . Emily Dickinson is in fact the only person in America who really made transcendentalism practical."

7 Wells* Introduction, pp. 45-46.

31

Images from the househpld arts reveal that Miss

Dickinson's life was largely concerned v/ith the monoto

nous routine of keeping house and sewing, but that in

humdrum domesticity she found the activities and the

objects with which to illustrate her thoughts of more

intangible things.

5. Practical Arts and Occupations

Many of Emily Dickinson's images are drawn from

the busy world v/hich lay all around her but in which

she did not participate.

Images from trades and crafts are frequent in her

poems. She shows a knov/ledge of the process of con-

st.ruction and repair of buildings and machines, and

she names the tools with which the work is done. The'

soul as a symbol for Deity is said to be "pinned" to

her by "a single screw of flesh" (Poems, p. 431). A

perfect life has "a past of plank and nail" (Complete

Poems, p. 265). A woodpecker's bill is an auger with

which "He laboreth at every tree— / A worm his utmost

goal" (Complete Poems, p, 135). In a poem in which

she rebels against orthodoxy in religion, she pictures

God as a telescope who **perennial upholds us, — "

(Further Poems, p. 43).

Other images which are formed from tools and their

uses are: Death comes to "nail the eyes" (Complete

Poems, p. 62); loss of hope in life is a closing of its

32

"lid" until death — "Until th^ sovereign Carpenter /

Perpetual nail it down" (Bolts of Melody, p. 115); man

is able to endure the bleaker parts of life because

"Salubrious hours" are given which "Drill silently for

heaven" (Complete Poems, p. 68). Five images are taken

from measurement: the measure of "every grief" is made

with "analytic eyes" (Complete Poems, p. 61); "a goblin

v/ith a gauge / Kept measuring the hours" (Bolts f

Melody, p. 183); the measuring off of "another day /

' For an approving God" (Complete Poems, p. 123); man

"measuring unconsciousness" believes that "Each second

is the last" (Bolts of Melody, p. 185); and when a

death occurs, "the milliner and the man / Of the appal

ling trade" come to "Take the measure of a house"

(Complete Poems, p, 247). An unusual love poem is one

which is formed by an image from tools

We met as sparks — diverging flints Sent various scattered ways; We pr rted as the central flint Were cloven with an adze,


Other images taken from labor with implements and

other mechanical devices are these: "the v/oods were

painted" (Complete Poems, p, 55); after time passes,

the letters of a lover can be read without their "forcing

in my breath /As staples driven through" (Further Poems,

p, 183); "Annihalation plated fresh / V.'ith Immortality"

(Further Poems, p. 127); settling "Systems" in their

33

sockets (Further Poems, p. 89); and soldering, "You

cannot solder an abyss / With air" (Further Poems,

p. 91).

Miss Dickinson was apparently fascinated by wheels

wheels of machines and of vehicles. The more unusual

images from these are: "I worried nature with my

wheels / When hers had ceased to run" (Bolts of Melody,

p. 155); autumn "eddies like a rose away /Upon ver-

milion v/heels" (Boltj of Melody, p. 38); a bird rides

on a wheel "Whose spokes a dizzy music make / As 'twere

a traveling mill" (Further Poems, p. 50); then

'Twas like a maelstrom, with a notch That nearer every day Kept narrowing its boiling wheel.


and

Ideals are the fairy oil With v'hich vie help the v/heel, But v/hen the vital exle turns The eve ejects the oil.


Miss Dickinson had an ordinary, general knowledge of

business, but it would be safe to surmise that the

intrusion of business on her solitude was Just as if

"trade has suddenly encroached / Upon a sacrament"

(Complete Poems, p. 128). Only vague references to

business are found in her images, indicative i erhaps

of her dislike for trade. Among these images are:

34

the requisite for obtaining the good \ ill of a flov/er

is "certificate / Of minted holiness," (Bolts £f

Melody, p. 51); magnitude is a height which involves

"Alpine requirements" (Further Poems, p, 144); and,

sxrnset's "purple traffic / Strews the landing with

opal bales" (Complete Poems, p. 116).

Images from the ordinary business of the every

day world, such as the prices of objects, buying and

selling, are also to be fo\Hid in the poems. Since

Miss Dickinson never v/ent shopping or tended to business,

her images of this type were probably gathered from

small talk around the house v/ith her sister, Lavinia,

and from her general knov/ledge of such things. There

are two images in v/hich she speaks of a merchant selling

something over a counter. In one she says,

I came to buy a smile to-day

I'm pleading at the counter. Sir, Could you afford to sell?


and in the other she denotes the behavior of an eccen

tric, but gentle storekeeper:

The merchant of the picturesque A counter has and sales, But is within or negative Precisely as the calls.

To children he is small in price And large in courtesy; It suits him better than a check, Their artless currency,


35

V^imsical images from s e t t i n g a p r i ce and from paying

for something a re a l so found among her poems. "Reckon

the morning ' s f lagons up, / And say how many devr,"

(Complete Poems, p . 100), and

I took one draught of l i f e , I ' l l t e l l you what I pa id . P r e c i s e l y an e x i s t e n c e - -The market p r i c e , t hey s a id .

They weighed me, dust by dus t , They balanced f i lm with f i lm. Then handed me my b e i n g ' s woarbh— A s ing le dram of Heaven,


A s t r i k i n g l y d i f f e r e n t f igure which dea l s v/ith another

phase of merchandising i s t h a t in which she claims:

I f "God i s love" as He admits .

I f " a l l i s poss ib l e " with Him As he bes ides conceded, He w i l l refund us f i n a l l y Our conf isca ted goods.

(Bo l t s of Melody, p . 155)

Of the tv/elve o ther images taken from earning money

and from buying and s e l l i n g and s e t t l i n g accounts,

only two need be noted:

. . . b l i s s i s sold Just once The p a t e n t l o s t None buy i t any more

(Poems, p . 60)

and " I s Heaven an exchequer? / They speak of what we

owe" (CoriT^lete Poeras, p . 27) ; and the p rove rb ia l inage,

36

"Seventy years is spent as quick as an only dollar"

(Bolts of Melody, p. 267).

Miss Dickinson uses a few general images taken

from farming. There are tv/o figures from harvesting,

one of which is winnowing "what would fade from what

would last" of life (Further Poems, p, 19). Tilling

the "abyss" of the mind (Bolts of Melody, p, 293)

and "sowing" frosts (Bolts of Melody, p. 109) and

wastes of lives (Further Poems, p. 293) are other

images used. An image v/hich reveals Miss Dickinson's

awareness of the great pioneering spirit of America

is that of the "Wide prairies of the air / Unbroken

by a settler" (Further Poems, p. 47).

A few conventional, unimpressive images are formed

from structures of several kinds. The ones which are

most memorable are those in v/hich a schoolhouse is

likened to a "Jail" from which the boys and girls

"Ecstatically leap," each afternoon (Complete Poems,

p. 56), and in which a tent imagined to be heaven is

seen

To wrap its shining yards. Pluck up its stakes and disappear Y/ithout the sound of boards Of rip of nail, or carpenter, (Further Poems, p. 4]

The images from a house and its parts are mostly

of a general nature. In one figure Possibility is a

37

fairer house than Prose becsuse it is "More numerous

of window, / Superior of doors" and for a roof it has

the "gables of the sky" (Further Poems, p, 30); in

another, "Remembrance has a rear and front,— / 'Tis

something like a house" (Complete Poems, p, 66).

Once the sky is called "inns of molten blue" (Complete

Poems, p. 14), and the air is called "life's faint

wailing inn" (Bolts of Melody, p. 281). The floors

of a house are employed as figures three times: the

print made by a phebe on the "floors of fame" (Bolts

of Melody), the boggy acre— "A floor too cool for

corn" (Complete Poems, p. 92), and "The pile of years -•

rising every day / From recollection's floor" (Bolts

of Melody, p, 171). Finally, day is thus curiously

described in terms of parts of a building:

Noon is the hinge of day. Evening the folding door. Morning, the east comnelling sill Till all the world is ajar.

(Bolts _of Melody, p. 15)

It is interesting to discover in a study of Emily

Dickinson's imagery that such a large number of figures

are taken from the activities of the world outside the

realm of her experience. Such a discovery reveals the

fact that her retirement and her concentration on the

inner world of her mind and on her household living did

not cause her to ignore the outer world or to lose

interest in its activities.

38

6. Warfate

Thirty-two images can definitely be called

figures from v/arfare. Miss Dickinson lived in re

tirement during the Civil War, but she had the interest

in warfare that is found in most men. Whether or not

she had a knowledge of it did not keep her from using

it as material for images — and her images reveal

that she could present amazingly adept pictures of

war. Many of the figures probably came from her

reading experience of literature rather than of news-

papers, for her figures are largely from medieval

warfare rather than the Civil War. From a study of

her figures of speech one would deduce that she was

too much interested in the aspects of war itself to

present conclusions either approving or condemning

it. Terms of war were for her an expressive means

of describing nature. In one image she indicated

that sunset is a "solemn war" — the Battle of Bur-

goyne.

Over every day By the time that man and beast Put their work away.


Another image v/hich probably describes sunset is found

in a two-line fragment of a poem: "Soft as the massacre

of suns / 3y evening's sabres slain" (Bolts of Melody

p. 297). Autumn is the season when

39

Their barricade against the sky The martial trees withdraw. And with a flag at every turn Their armies are no more.

Recurrent to the after mind That massacre of air. The wound that was not wound nor scar. But holidays of wa.r,

(Bolts of; Melody, p, 20)

In one image roses are "crimson scouts" sent "To

sound the enemy" (Bolts of Melody, p. 332). Other

images from warfare are those concerning the weapons

of war: "the lightning's poignards gleamed" (Complete

Poems, p. 297); "The dandelion's shield /is valid as

a star" (Bolts of Melody, p. 51); and the arrow of

the soul, "what issues / Upon thine arrow hang'."

(Bolts of Melody, p, 12).

A more definite conception of obscure qualities

or things is conve37 ed by describing them in terms of

warfare. Among these images are, for example: "Time's

sublimest target / Is a soul 'forgot'*," (Complete

Poems, p. 171), "Mirth is the mail of anguish / In

v/hich it caution arm," (Complete Poems, p. 7), and

"The past is such a curious creature," that

Unarmed if any meet her I charge him fly'. Her rusty ammunition Might yet replyi

(Complete Poenis, P. 68) • in - " - I I r !• • J ' •*-

40

Two other images from war reveal something of

Miss Dickinson's attitude toward religion. In one

of the images God is blessed because

. , , he went as soldiers. His musket on his breast; Grant God, he charge the bravest Of all the martial blest,


The other image from war is one of the most striking

to be found in her poetry — a brief, graphic de scrip,

tion of the Heart as a battle:

The popular Heart is a Cannon first. Subsequent a drum; Bells for an auxiliary And an afterward of rum.


Miss Dickinson's v/ar imagery is skillfully created, but

it is of no especial significance except in her use of

it to describe nature or her thought. The figures

derived from warfare are not from its unusual aspects,

but their application is original,

7. The Fine Arts, Learning, Literature, and

Religion

Emily Dickinson's imagery from the fine arts,

learning, literature, and religion are few in number.

Although very little is knov/n about her interests in

the fine arts other than music, sufficient evidence is

41

found in her letters and poems to indicate that she

had an interest in learning and a love for literature.

Religion, too, from her unorthodox point of view,

was important to her.

More im' ges are to be found from music than from

any other of the fine arts. Miss Dickinson played

the piano when she was a girl and she loved to hear

her friend, Mrs. Todd, play; therefore it is only

natural that she should draw some of her images from

music. Six out of her eight music images are asso

ciated with nature. Two figures indicate the seasons

of the year: the arrival of spring is certain when

"Lethargic pools resume the whir / Of last year's

sundered tune" (Complete Poems, p. 112), and, v/hen

"The Jay his Castanet has struck /Put on your muff

for winter," because he indicates the end "of sv/arthy

days" (Bolts of Melody, p. 76). .Tv/o other figures

denote sounds of nature: "There came a wind like a

bugle;" (Complete Poeras, p. 93), and

Of all the sounds despatched abroad. There' s not a charge to me Like that old measure in the boughs, That phraseless melody.


Other music images dealing v/ith nature are "Touch

lightly nature's sweet guitar /Unless thou know'st

the tune" (Bolts of Melody, p. 61), and one in v/hich

all of nature is a song:

42 t

The e a r t h has many keys V/here melody i s not * I s t h e unlaiov/n pen insu la ,

(Bol t s of Melody, p , 75)

A music image t h a t i s a l so one of Emily Dick inson ' s

many p o e t i c express ions on immortal i ty i s the following:

This v/orld i s not conclusion; A sequel s tands beyond. I n v i s i b l e , as music. But p o s i t i v e , as sound.


The l a s t f i gu re from music i s : "Over and over, l i k e

a tune / The r e c o l l e c t i o n p l ays" (Further Poems, p , 112),

Images from the a r t of p a i n t i n g rank next i n

number t o t h e music images. Night i s ca l led " the

morning 's canvas ," (Complete Poems, p , 291), and her

i n a b i l i t y t o phrase a c e r t a i n thought i s compared to

t h e f u t i l e e f f o r t of a hand t h a t "Did t r y to chalk the

^^^^ (Complete Poems, p . 1 9 ) . Her usual de sc r ip t i on

of na tu re by imagery i s found in the th ree remaining

f i g u r e s from p a i n t i n g . Heaven i s said t o "Beaut i ful

as p i c t u r e s / No man drew" (Complete Poems, p , 209).

Miss Dickinson be l i eve s t h a t **Without the snow's

t a b l e a u / Winter v/ere l i e t o me" because she says,

" I see New Englandly" (Fur ther Poems, p . 60) . The l a s t

image from t h i s a r t i s a p o r t r a y a l of the s t ruggle of

na tu re t o p a i n t a ro se :

43 t

Artists wrestled here*. Lo, a tint cashmere'. Lo, a rose*. Student of the year. For the easel here Say repose'. (Bolts of Melody, p. 49)

Four images are drawn from the art of sculpture.

For example frost is said to be

A visitor in March — Who influences flov/ers Till they are orderly as busts.


and a suspended state of mind is

. . .smooth, no motion-Contented as the eje Upon the forehead of a Bust, That knows it cannot see, (Complete Poems, p. 264)

The remaining images from sculpture describe conditions

of the body: "Vitality is carved and cool, / My nerve

in marble lies" (Bolts Melody, p. 164); and the

other is a somewhat subtle metaphor: "Whole pools" of

grief can be v/aded because one is accustomed to it —

But the least push of Joy Breaks up my feet, And I tip —


Two images are from drar.e: "So soft upon the scene /

The act of evening fell" (Bolts of Melody, p. 25) and

44

••appointed c rea tu re s , " the red rays of the set t ing

sun, find t h e i r places '

In authorized arrays Due, promptly as a drama That bows and disappears.

(Bolts of Melody, p , 24)

The one other image from the fine a r t s i s from the

b a l l e t :

A glee possesseth me That had a b a l l e t knov/ledge Would put i t s e l f abroad In p i roue t t e to blanch a t roupe. Or lay a Prima mad*.

(Further Poems, p , 8)

Miss Dickinson read widely and eagerly from many

books, but she did not draw many images from them.

She expresses her love for reading in one figure:

There i s no f r iga te l i ke a book To take us lands av/ay. Nor any coursers l ike a page Of prancing poetry .


Miss Dickinson apparently found that f igures from nature

and l i f e v/ere ea s i l y applied to books and learning

because she makes many of such f igures . Physical l i f e

i s p ic tured as " the primer to a l i f e / Unopened, r a r e ,

upon the shelf" (Complete Poems, p , 191). The song of

the robin in one figure i s a " s i l v e r chronicle" (Bolts

of Melody, p . 65). Another per t of nature described

45

in terms of a book is "The hnis in purple syllables /

The day's adventures tell," (BoTts of Melody, p. 92),

Her love for both nature and poetry, and a revelation

of what poetry meant to her, is revealed in the image:

To see the summer sky Is poetry Though never in a book it lie,

(Bolts of; Melody, p, 230)

Miss Dickinson, in another image states the causes of

_ the lack of interest in the Bible:

The Bible is an antique volume Written by faded men.

Had but the tale a warbling Teller All the boys would come,


Other images dravm from learning are: "The hollows

round his eager eyes / More pages where to read" (Bolts

of Melody, p, 129); "Saints with vanished slate and

pencil / Solve our April da/' (Complete Poems, p, 271);

and the n ;ed of the dying is for "a flov/er's unobtru

sive face / To punctuate the wall," (Complete Poemr,

p. 241). An image drawn from language is that of the

"reportless subjects" which are "foreign as the dialect /

Of Denes unto the rest" (Bolts of Melody, p, 276).

Miss Dickinson evidently had little interest in

science because she uses only three images concerning it.

In one she indicated her attitude toward science:

until i*-.HMi*flmi«i»*aM

46

. . . we should deem superfluous Many Sciences Not pursued by learned angels In scholastic skies*.


In one science image a snov/flake "curls itself in

Capricorn / Denying that it was" (Bolts of Melody,

p. 41). The other image is:

Faith is a fine invention For gentlemen who see; But microscopes are prudent In an emergency*.


Emily Dickinson's father was a lav/yer, and it is safe

to conjecture that the poet knev; something about legal

procedure. Hov/ever, her images from law involve only

a few legal terms which are familiar to everyone. In

one she says that she will wear a rich ornament v/hen

she dies in order to prove her v/ealth "Lest skies

impeach a v/ealth so v/onderful / And banish me" (Bolts

of Melody, p. 111). The other image is from a whole

poem describing a legal process. Emily Dickinson has

a dispute with God about the ownership of a garden:

I had some things that I called mine. And God, that He called His, Till recently a rival claim Disturbed these amities;

The property, my garden Which having scvm v/ith care. He claims the pretty acre.

47

And sends a bailiff there.

I'll institute an action I'll vindicate the law*,

(Bolts of Melody! p.*53)

Miss Dickinson's reading v/as not a major source

of images. Only eight images from literature, history

and mythology are found in her poems. She read and

studied the plays of Shakespeare eagerly — "If there

was one author that she knew thoroughly it was Shake-Q

s p e a r e , " but only one image r e f e r s e i t h e r t o him

or h i s works:

Hamlet t o himself were Hamlet Had not Shakespeare wro te . Though the Romeo l eave , no second Of h i s J u l i e t ,


S t r ange ly enough, t h i s image and one from Longfellow

are the only f i g u r e s drawn from the works of an au thor .

The image from Longfellow i s a dar ing comparison of

God's love for the v/orld as a " v i c a r i o u s cour tship" of

which v/as "Mi les ' and P r i s c i l l a ' s such a one" (Further

Poems, p . 198 ) . P ro fes so r Whicher speaks of t h i s

f i gu re i n d i s c u s s i n g Emily Dickinson*s humor:

Her genuine reverence could not r ep re s s her de l igh t when she de tec ted an apt metaphor for "God so loved the v/orld t h a t he <??ave h i s only begot ten Son" in The Cour tship of Mi les S t and i sh . ^

® 3 M ^ ' ' ^ £ ^ o e t . pp, 209-210 ^ "^^^^ E H £ ^ o e t , p'. 183.

48

The other images are drawn fr®m historical characters

and from mythology. One figure referring to a well-

knov/n historical character who may well have been

known to Miss Dickinson through Shakespeare's plays is:

The fine impalpable array That swaggers on the eye Like Cleopatra's company Repeated in the sky—


Another historical character is William Tell. In a

poem relating the legendary story of his shooting the

apple from his son's head, she says

Tell this day endures Ruddy as that coeval apple The tradition bears.


Images from the classics and mythology reveal a general

knowledge v/hich she could have gained from everyday

life or education as e?sily as from her reading. Two

images refer to the classics. In one, the Athenian

orator, Demosthenes, is a frog who "has vanished / In

forums green" (Bolts of Melody, p. 60). The other

image is that in v/hich Miss Dickinson's flowers

, . . eloquent declare What Cato couldn't prove to me Except the birds v/ere he re I


From mythology cone tv/o images:

• r i M ^ i t III u^.1

49 t

But des t iny i s old And economical of b l i s s As Midas i s of gold,

(Bolts of Melody, p . 157)

and, in an image which also contains one of her most

s t r ik ing of f igures — her paradoxical manner of

expression:

. • . the stillness is volcanic In the human face When upon a pain titanic Features keep their place,

(Bolts oif Melody, p. 253)

That Miss Dickinson knev/ the Bible thoroughly

is evident even from a cursory glance through her

poems, which contain countless references to and ideas

from the Bible. Therefore, it is quite astonishing to

find that only eleven images are taken from the Bible

or from religious practices and ceremonies. Books of

the Bible are referred to in a figure calling winter

time "The Revelations of the book / Whose Genesis is

June" (Complete Poems, p, 142). Other images are from

characters of the Bible. In two figures, the angel

Gabriel, is involved. The first is that in which the

actions of birds remind the poet of Abraham* s unknov/-

ingly entertainment of the three angels in his tent^2-

10 Genesis 18,

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE LUBBOCK, TEXAS LIBRARY

50

and which is also figurative bf daily life in that

there is breakfasting and entertainment:

Enticed to breakfast from the sky Two Gabriels yestermorn; They registered in Nature's book As Robin — Sire and Son, But angels have that modest way To screen them from renov/n,


The second image is that in v/hich the poet's face will

be inspected by an angel when she reaches heaven. The

• angel will give her "such a crown /As Gabriel never

capered at" (Bolts of Melody, p. 177), The image in

which the poet says that she

, . . took my power in my hand And went against the world; 'Twas not so much as David had.


recalls the Bible story of David's killing Goliath

with his sling. In another image, the ceasing of rain

fall is compared to Elijah's riding away "Upon a

wheel of cloud" (Bolts of Melody, p. 19). Judas Iscariot

is aptly used for bad mushrooms: "Had nature an Iscariot /

That mushroom — it is him" (Complete Poems, p, 93). A

locomotive is said to "neigh like Boanerges"^^ (Complete

Poems, p, 25), and "grand old Moses" is seen in "penta-

teuchal robes" (Further Poems, p, 46), One other Biblical

11 Boanerges is the appellation given by Christ to James and John (Mark, 4:17),^

51

image i s t h a t in which the ^oet prays t h a t "you" w i l l

" cons ide r me / The sparrow of your care" (Complete

Poems, p . 224) . The f igure i s undoubtedly a reference

t o the B i b l i c a l ve r s e s which say t h a t God knows when

even a sparrow fa l l s , "^^ In one poem Miss Dickinson

warns aga ins t the "Embarrassment of one another / And

God" because , she c la ims , everything of importance i s

" s t i l l " and sec re t — even "Div in i ty dwells under

sea l " (Bo l t s of Melody, p , 249). In another she advo

c a t e s one ' s d i sappear ing because

The man v/ho runs av/ay I s t i n c t u r e d for an i n s t a n t ?/ith Immor ta l i t y .


However, those who remain sometimes th ink of the absent

"Without misery , " but sometimes an " i n s t a n t ' s wanting"

them seems to be " E t e r n i t y " (Further Poems, p , 163) .

The l a s t t h ree images of t h i s group are from

churches: "Conform my soul as ' tv/ere a church / Upon

her sacrament" (Complete Poems, p , 167) and, v/ords

come to express thoughts "Like s igna l e s o t e r i c s ips /

Of sacramental wine" (Bol t s £f Melody, p . 228), and l a s t :

The P r e s b y t e r i a n b i r d s Can nov/ resume the meeting He g a i l y i n t e r r u p t e d the bobolink That overflowing day When opening the Sabbath In t h e i r a f f l i c t i v e way,

12 Matthew 10 :29 -31 ,

52

He svmng upon the decal*ogue And shouted, "Let us prayl"

(Bolts £f Melody, p^ 63)

Emily Dickinson's re l ig ion was a curious one.

She knew the Bible thoroughly, but her application of

i t s teachings was not what was usually expected of a

person in Pur i tan New England. For example, only one

who had a boldness and a somewhat i r reverent a t t i tude

toward r e l i g ion would have wri t ten that "God i s a

d i s t a n t , s t a t e l y Tower / Woos, so He t e l l s us , by h is

Son" (Further Poems, p . 198). Professor Whicher says

t h a t

her lump of reverence was small. Even as a schoolgirl she loved to make impish applicat ions of familiar phrases , and more often than not a passage from the Bible lay read ies t to hand. . . . The sayings of Holy Writ were not sacred to her unless, they proved true when tes ted by her own experience.

Her images from re l ig ion are the most in te res t ing

f igures of t h i s group because she dares to say whatever

p leases her about r e l i g ion , and because she uses Bibl ica l

f igures so ap t ly to express her thought.

Miss Dickinson's images from the fine a r t s and

learn ing and l i t e r a t u r e are not impressive and have

l i t t l 3 s igni f icance . They indicate that she had no more

than a general knowledge of them; in t h i s case the images

would lead to a misconception concerring her i n t e r e s t s .

13 This Was a Poet , p . 154.

53

for it is knov/n that one of* her chief pastimes was

reading. Her images from the Bible reveal her thorough

knowledge of it and its teachings, and these figures

are the most impressive images of the section.

Emily Dickinson's withdrawal from society may have

been prompted by her desire to think and to study life

without disturbance or interruptions from life, itself.

She kept a watchful eye on the activities of the world

about her while she concentrated on immortality and

on self-analysis. Her images from the body are those

ordinarily used by poets, but in her case her poetic

genius gives an original touch to nearly every one.

Her domestic images are the most outstanding group of

figures in the chapter. Her portrayal of the simple

tasks that are usually associated with household duties

seem to erase from one's mind the thoughts of its

drudgery. She could take any object or activity about

the house to create a figure; even the sweeping of a

room becomes an effective image in her poems. She

used many images from the busy world outside her own

experience, but she pictured the many phases of that

life truthfully from her observations and from her

sharp insight into life.

CHAPTER II

BIAGES FROM EXTERNAL NATURE

No account of Smily Dickinson's life leaves any

doubt that she loved nature, and evidence of that

love is found in her imagery. Figures from nature

comprise approximately one hundred and ninety of her

images. She was apparently fascinated by it, and she

was sensitive to its various features, even those that

are disagreeable. In general, gardening seems to have

been her favorite pastime. Her nature imagery often

contains allusions to flowers and plants as v/ell as

figurative language from gardening. The weather,

celestial bodies, the other elements of nature during

the cycles of the seasons find an important place in

her nature imagery. The sea and seafaring comprise a

surprisingly large number of figures, but the majority

of her images from nature are those taken from animals

and their actions and behavior. Miss Dickinson's

figures of speech from nature impress one as being

written by a careful, interested observer of nature.

Her inspiration for nature imagery was from aspects

of nature which are familiar to all of us,

1. Animals

The l a rges t group of Miss Dickinson's f igures of

speech from nature i s tha t from four-footed beasts ,

55

birds, insects, reptiles, and images from the charac

teristics and parts of the bodies of animals which do

not fall into any one of these <r^^gories. Twenty-

three bird images make up the largest and most important

group of images in this classification. Not so much

interest is placed in birds themselves as in their

activities. One means of expression is fo\md in her

images from the wings and feathers of birds, which set

forth concretely the abstract qualities of disdain

(Bolts of Melody, p, 200), anguish (Bolts of Melody,

p, 660), and time (Complete Poems, p. 147), Twice it

is asked whether dav/n has "feathers like a bird?"

(Complete Poems, p, 76 and Complete Poems, p, 130).

Once a book is called a "bequest of wings" (Complete

Poems, p. 14). In many of her bird images are to be

found the bold, baffling figures so characteristic of

her verbal art: "The eggs fly off in music from their

maple keep" (Bolts of Melody, p. 162) and birds

"tremble from the clouds" and "fumble at the strain /

The blessed ether taught them" (Further Poems, p. 1^0).

Her full metaphorical power is seen in the image:

We are the birds that stay

The shiverers 'round farmers' doors. For whose reluctant crumb We stipulate, till parting snows Persuade our feathers home.


*2i.Jk..>.>-..^ -Ai^U

56

Images from four-footed animals are used sixty-

nine times. There are no terrifying pictures of wild

animals, although images from wild animals are striking

in originality. Typical is the portrayal of the day

leaping like

. • . leopards to the sky. Then at the feet of the old horizon Laying her spotted face to die.


Equally strange, and more striking, is the figure of

pain called "gimlets among the nerve" which "Mangle

daintier, terribler / Like a panther in the glove"

(Bolts of Melody, p. 246). Some other animal images

found in the poems are the "whimpering hound" within

the heart (Bolts of Melody, p. 324); the soul, "Attended

by a Single Hound—" (Complete Poems, p. 257); the

lightning that "skipped like mice" (Complete Poems,

p. 188); "Grief is a mouse" (Bolts of Melody, p. 251);

the "Winds drew off / Like hungry dogs" (Complete Poems,

p, 276); and the clouds are like "listless elephants /

Horizons straggled dovm" (Complete Poems, p, 183).

Emily Dickinson maintains her originality in her figures

drawn from the characteristics of horses. Only the

actions of horses are used,never the appearance. Twice

analogies are drawn betv/een a horse's activities and a

clock's ticking: "".Ve v/ere listenipg to the seconds'

race / And the hoofs of the clock" (Bolts £f Melody,

57

p. 146), and "the old clock kfept neighing 'day"."

(Complete Poems, p. 160). One of the best known of

her poems is that which pictures a locomotive as a

horse; the v/hole poem is figurative, beginning, "I

like to see it lap the miles? And lap the valleys

up" and ending with its stopping, "docile and omni

potent — / At its ovm stable door" (Complete Poems.

p. 26).

Images from the realm of insects and reptiles

are few, and they are mostly ordinary figures. Among

them are such symbols of Death as an "insect / Menacing

the tree" (Complete Poems, p. 230) and as a "narrov/

snake" who "forked his way along" (Bolts of Melody.

p. 54). Others are: when the Lord "Do concentrate

His countenance," the North and the South "Like glow

worms flee away" (Bolts of Melody, p, 26); time goads

one like "the goblin bee, /That will not state its

sting" (Complete Poems, p. 147); and the mind which

"lives on the heart / Like any parasite" (Bolts jof

Melody, p. 227).

Many of the poet's images v/hich fall into the

animal group are those which give the characteristics

of aL.imals and name the p^rts of their bodies. There

are five images in which the v/ord "crawl" is indicative

of slow movement. These are: a sail "crav/led leagues

off" (Further Poems, p. 98); a snail dusk "cravrls on

58

the village" (Complete Poems , p, 141); and a reef

"crawled easy from the sea" (Poems, p. 414), The

slinking movement of an animal is used tv/ice: secrets

"slink away / Beside God's 'will not to tell'" (Bolts

of Melody, p. 265), and nameless fathoms "slink away /

Beside infinity (Bolts of Melody, p. 28). The claw

of a beast or bird is employed four times: lightning's

"livid claw" (Complete Poems, p. 99); "food's necessity"

upon one "like a claw" (Bolts £f Melody, p. 100);

"Propitiation's claw" (Complete Poems, p, 284); and an

"Instant's claw" (Bolts of Melody, p. 189). One

strange creature found among the images is a balloon

who

Trips frantic in a tree. Tears open her imperial veins And tumbles in the sea.


In her animal imagery Miss .Dickinson reveals that

she had only a remote interest and only a general know

ledge of them, and that she apparently employed such

figures chiefly because they lent themselves readily

to her purpose.

2. Plants and Gardening

For one v/ho loved so well to tend the flowers in

her garden, Emily Dickinson uses relatively fe-/ firnres

from this sphere of activity. From grov/ing plants.

59

there are fourteen images, and from gardening, nine;

yet the majority of them reveal her in te res t in her

garden end her observation of the process of growth.

Evidence tha t her study of p lants tended to be

r a the r s c i e n t i f i c a t times i s found in the terms which

she u s e s . In one poem she uses sc i en t i f i c terms of

p lan t l i f e to describe a sunset:

The sun subsiding on h i s course Bequeathes t h i s f ina l plant To contemplation — not to touch The flower of Occident. One corol la i s the west, The calyx i s the ear th . The capsule ' s burnished seed, the s t a r s .


Miss Dickinson v/as apparently impressed, as most

gardeners a r e , by the grovrbh of a plant from a seed

sown in the ground. For example, "The seeds of smiles

are planted / Which blossom in the dark" (Bolts of

Melody, p , 326), and

Longing i s l ike the seed That wres t les in the ground. Believing i f i t intercede I t shal l a t length, be found,

(Further Poems, p . 171)

Another very s t r ik ing image i s tha t in v/hich revolution

i s l ikened to a pod. from which the winds of passion

s c a t t e r the seeds of systems:

Revolution i s the pod Systems r a t t l e from:

60 When the winds of * Will are stirred. Excellent is bloom.


One of the most effective images from gardening is

this: "Her face was in a bed of hair" (Bolts of

Melody, p. 1?^4). The development of the fruit of

plants or trees apparently fascinated her. Tv/ice

she speaks of the "ripeness" of a rose (Bolts of

Melody, p.'162 and Further Poems, p. 59); she mentions

"The hopes so Juicy ripening" (Bolts of Melody, p. 66)

and, perhaps the best example of all:

A solemn thing within the soul To feel itself get ripe And golden hang, v/hile farther up The Maker's ladders stop. And in the orchard far below You hear a being drop;


Miss Dickinson often names different plants in

her poetry, but in her imagery she is more apt to use

their characteristics than their names. Among the

very few v/hich she designates by names are: a woman's

dying is like "a reed / Bent to the water" (Complete

Poems, p. 191), and the "Gay little Heart" is told

"Like the morning glory / Thou* 11 wilted be" (Cor- plete

Poems, p. 170). Even in these two it is evident that

the characteristics of the plants are her chief concern.

61

3 . Ea r th , Sky^ Elements

The elements of n a t u r e , the sky, and the ear th

f ind an important p l ace in Miss Dickinson 's imagery.

In t h e s e images, a s in most of h e r s , the re i s an

i n t r i g u i n g use of f i g u r a t i v e language. Weather seems

t o have been of e s p e c i a l concern to h e r . She i s av/are

of the e f f e c t s of weather on p l a n t s and f lowers .

Three i ' igures involve the dew: flov/ers "heard the

t a l e of dews" (Complete Poems, p . 115) ; a person

"went a s qu ie t as the dew / From a fami l ia r flower"

(Complete Poems, p . 195); and a flower i s "unnoticed

as a s i n g l e dew / That on the acre l i e s " (Complete

Poems, p , 196) . The f igure of f r o s t k i l l i n g flowers

i s used once t o shov/ t h a t a broken hear t i s as "use

l e s s as next morning* s sun /Where midnight f r o s t s

had l a in ' . " (Complete Poems, p . 223), Not only does

she observe the des t roy ing e f f ec t s of v/eather on

growing p l a n t s , and f inds use for i t in her imagery,

but she a l so sees en analogy betv/een bad weather and

death or e t e r n i t y . In one ins t ance she imagines death

as f r o s t , "The f r o s t of death i s on the pane" (Bol ts

of Melody, p . 54 ) . Another time she sees the eye of

a dying person " c l o u d i e r become / And then , obscure

wi th fog" (Complete Poems, p . 1 8 8 ) . Twice f igures of

a flood convey a b e l i e f i n the e t e r n a l e - i s t ence of

the soul of man (Complete Poems, p . 305 and Bol t s of

62

Melody, p. 266). An unusual image of the weather

is that the stillness v/hich surrounds a dying person

is "like the stillness of the air / Between the heaves

of storm" (Complete Poems, p, 245). Other poets

frequently use images from the v/eather, but in Emily

Dickinson* s poems, v/eather images have the invariably

bold, startling impression characteristic of her. For

example, in speaking of a thought, she calls it "quiet

as a flake, -- / A crash without a sound" (Complete

Poems, p. 59). Even her least astonishing figures

of the v/eather contain elements typical of her rare

poetic touch: laughter is like "the breeze / That

dies away in dimples" (Complete Poems, p. 206) and

a gentian is said to be "As casual as rain, / And as

benign" (Bolts of Melody, p. 79).

Among the loveliest of her images are those drawn

from davm. It is not surprising to find that, with

her love for the sunrise and her belief in death as

the beginning of beauty and life, she wrote that Death

was but "the drift of Eastern gray / Dissolving into

dawn away" (Further Poems, p. 191). In another image

she compares dawn v/ith something else that she loves:

A bird is of all things The likest to the dawn, An easy breeze does put afloat The general Heavens upon.

(Furxher Poems, p. 20)

63

Another analogy of dawn and^a b i rd i s t h a t of the

whippoorwil l "That e v e r l a s t i n g sings / Whose g a l l e r i e s

a r e sunr i se" (Fur the r Poems, p . 199). One of the most

impress ive images, al though i t i s simple, i s t ha t in

which a child* s f a i t h i s said to be "Wide - - l i k e the

sunr i se / On f resh eyes" (Fur ther Poems, p , 24) ,

An examination of the images from day and night

r e v e a l s t h a t Miss Dickinson, l i k e most o ther people,

found the daytime more cheering and more i n sp i r i ng

than the n i g h t . The image, "For p a r t i n g — tha t i s

n igh t / And presence simply dawn" (Fur ther Poems,

p . 157) , i s a good i l l u s t r a t i o n of her love for the

day. Another example of t h a t love i s "Dramas* s

v i t a l e s t express ion / I s the Common Day" (Further

Poems, p , 28) . Only tv/o images of night appear in

he r poems — a man*s hea r t i s "darker than the s t a r

l e s s n igh t " (Bol t s of Melody, p . 132), and death i s

" l i k e midnight , some, / Y/hen everything t ha t t icked

has stopped" (Complete Poems, p . 222).

Images from the c e l e s t i a l bodies are few in her

p o e t r y . Twice she uses the f igure of a s t a r dropping

from the sky: " t h e y , " (perhaps leaves] "dropped l i ke

s t a r s " (Complete Poems, p . 206) and a f r iend who died

"dropped as s o f t l y as a s t a r / From out my summer's

eve" (Complete Poems, p . 195) . The one other image

from s t a r s i s t h a t of the soul being "As gra -h ic as

64

a s t a r " (Bo l t s of Melody, p^ 114) . In one f igure from

a poem in v/hich she ph i losophizes on human l i f e , she

u s e s the in f luence on the t i d e s of the moon:

Each t h a t we lose t akes p a r t of u s ; A c rescen t s t i l l ab ides , Y/hich, l i k e the moon, some turb id n i g h t . I s suTfirioned by the t i d e s ,


The only image taken from the sun i s qu i te i n s i g n i f i c a n t :

" I made slow my r i c h e s but my gain / Was steady as the

s^^'' (Bo l t s of Melody, p , 106) , The one other image

from the heavenly bodies i s t h a t of a company of martyrs

"p lay ing around," "Harmless as s t r e aks of meteor /

Upon a p l a n e t ' s bound" (Complete Poems, p , 25) . •

Miss Dickinson uses only s ix images from the ear th

and eleven from t h e substances or elements of the e a r t h .

One of t h e most b e a u t i f u l i s t h a t v/hich i s found in

t h e l i n e s :

When t h a t which i s and t h a t v/hich was Apar t , i n t r i n s i c , s tand, And t h i s b r i e f t ragedy of f l e sh I s sh i f t ed l i k e a sand;

Behold the atom I p re fe r r ed To a l l the l i s t s of clay'.


Each of t he s ix images from the ear th or i t s component

p a r t s has fo r i t s subject the l i f e of man and h i s

d e s t i n y , Tv/o are tal 'en from unnatura l occurrences in

t h e e a r t h : l i f e i s "a s t i l l volcano. . . / That

65

flickered in the night" (Further Poems, p. ?6), r-ni

life has a "quiet, earthquake style" (Further rr.^.^

p. 36). The other images from the earth or rrrtr, of

the earth are: "Dropped my fate, a timid pebblp"

(Further Poems, p, 149); "Beware, lest this little

brook of life / Some burning noon go dry'," (Co-.->>tQ

Poems, p, 149); and

Such are the inlets of the mind; His outlets would you see, Ascend with me the table-land Of immortality.

(Bolts 2f Melody, p, 228)

Of the eleven images taken from the mineral

elements of the earth, four are from adamant, the

imaginary stone of impenetrable hardness: death is

"Dropped like adamant" (Further Poems, p. 100);

eternity is the "only adamant estate / In all identity*,"

(Bolts of Melody, p, 215); the universe is "A cobv/eb

wove in adamant," (Further Poems, p. 166); and, in en

image which also makes use of another mineral, the

south wind

. . . pours soft refrains

Into the lap of adamant. And spices, and the dev/. That stiffens quietly to quartz, Upon her amber shoe.


Other images from miner^^ls ^re these: "This is the

hour of lead / Remembered if outlived" (Further Poems,

66

p. 175), and "Soil of flint,if steadfast tilled /

Will rev/ard the hand" (Complete Poems, p. 59); "an

honest tear /is durabler than bronze" (Bolts of

Melody, p. 262); "drifted deep in Parian / The village

lies to-day" (Further Poems, p, 195); "November hung

his granite hat" (Bolts o^ Melody, p. 40); "as cool

to speech as stone" (Complete Poems, p, 232); and

Safe in their alabaster chambers, Untouched by morning and untouched by noon, Sleep the meek members of the resurrection. Rafter of satin, and roof of stone,


4. The Sea and Seafaring

Forty of Emily Dickinson's images are from the

sea and from seafaring, yet most of these images reveal

only a landsman' s general knowledge of the sea and

hence were derived, no doubt, from Miss Dickinson's

reading or general knowledge.

The sea images are used most often for effective

illustration or description. The ebb of the tide and

sunset appear to be her favorite analogies. Several

of the sea images are of this sort: "Sundovm crept,

a steady tide" (Complete Poems, p. 79); "the ebbing

day / Flowed silver to the v/est" (Complete Poems, p, 28):

"Oozed so in crimson bubbles /Day's departing tide"

(Bolts of Melodv, P. 195); and "hov; the fire ebbs like I II - , - *• ' ' '

billows" (Complete Poeris, p. 141), The only other

67

image from t i d e s i s "above obl ivion 's t ide there i s

a p ie r" (Bolts of Melody, p,' 307). Sunset i s the

subject of other comparisons. I t i s portrayed beaut i

f u l l y in such images as "gulfs of red and f l ee t s of

red / And crews of solid blood" (Bolts of Melody, p , 23).

Charac te r i s t i c s of the sea are employed to i l l u s

t r a t e obscure thoughts; for example, the human heart

i s portrayed as having narrow banks in which

I t measures l ike the sea In mighty, unremitting bass And blue monotonv.


and "you l e f t me boundaries of pain/Capacious as the

sea" (Complete Poems, p , 145).

An effect ive figure which appeals to the sense of

hearing i s t h i s : "The silence l ike an ocean ro l l ed , /

And broke against my ear" (Complete Poems, p . 44).

Shipvrreck and the fear of i t appear often, nearly

always in connection v/ith man's morta l i ty and h is

thoughts of the he rea f te r . For example, " l ike sa i lors

f ight ing with a leak / We fought mortality" (Bolts of

Melody, p . 54). In another figure there i s no struggle,

but mere acceptance of death:

I f my bark sink 'T i s to another sea. Mortality* s ground f loor I s icimortali ty.

(BoltF of "^elody, p

68

One image of death i s t h a t ^hich p e r t a i n s t o l i f e as

a sea or r i v e r : " thy sweet face has s p i l l e d / Beyond

my boundary" (Bol t s £f Melody, p . 151) . - Wil l ing

acceptance of death i s the impression l e f t by a f igure

remin i scen t of C h r i s t ' s suffer ing before h i s c ruc i

f i x i o n : "The r e e f s in old Gethsemane / Endear the

shore beyond" (Complete Poems, p , 30) . Once the poet

p o r t r a y s man's thought in the symbol of a shipwreck —

" I f wrecked upon the shoals of thought / How i s i t

with t he sea?" (Bol ts of Melody, p . 271).

Two of her sea images are from the ac t of drown

i n g . They a re s t r i c t l y imaginative:

This p a t t e r n of the way Whose memory drawns me l i k e the dip Of a c e l e s t i a l sea .

(Bo l t s of Melody, p . 152)

and:

A s ing le clover plank Was a l l t h a t saved a bee—

From sinking in the sky;

The b i l lows of circumference Were sweeping him away,

(Bol t s of Melody, p . 68)

Images from sh ip s , s a i l s and oars are used co lo r fu l ly .

Typical a r e " s h i p s of purple gent ly t o s s / On seas of

d a f f o d i l " (Complete Poems, p . 102) and

• •-^ -^^ . ^11 I III! immMttti. I ^ -tf'^t^ -

69

A sloop of ember s l i p s away Upon another sea And vn^ecks in peace a purple t a r . The son of e c s t a s y .

(Complete Poems, p . 140)

As he r imagery sugges ts , nature in i t s many

a spec t s was dear to Emily Dickinson. I t was her

companion even in i t s tyranny of storm and cold

wea ther . P rofessor Whicher says of her love for i t :

To an e x t r a o r d i n a r y degree she absorbed in to herse l f the atmosphere of the countryside where she was born and where she noted the contours of i t s h i l l s , the muta t ions of i t s c l imate , the v/ays of i t s flowers and b i r d s and f o l k . Her f a v o r i t e companions were the bee, the b reeze , and the b u t t e r f l y of the Dickinson meadow,^

Not s u r p r i s i n g i s i t then t ha t her nature images are

among Miss Dick inson ' s b e s t .

1 This Was a Poe t , p . 2 1 ,

CHAPTER I I I

riAGINATIVE IMAGES Am PSRSONIF^^A—'-

Emily Dick inson had no t on ly the irr M i

power t o draw v i v i d images from everyday l i f o ,•: *.

from n a t u r e , b u t she a l s o had t he pov.er ^c cr*'••'>

h i g h l y i m a g i n a t i v e f i g u r e s v/hich def ine ccncr^.-t^ly

s t a t e s , q u a l i t i e s , and emot ions . She recorr.irr>i

and s t u d i e d t h e i n t a n g i b l e q u a l i t i e s , the a b s t r a c t i o n s

which come t o man 's t h o u g h t , and by personi f icRt i - )n

and o t h e r images, she succeeded i n d e l i n e r t i r r >.or

o b s e r v a t i o n s . On t h e o t h e r hand she a l s o found 'V s t r i c t

images a means of d e f i n i n g concre te t h i n g s . A perFon^.I

e lement c r e e p s i n t o h e r imag ina t ive d e s c r i p t i o n s of

q u a l i t i e s , s t a t e s , and emot ions , making i t more

d i f f i c u l t f o r t h e r e a d e r of he r poems t o in te r i^ re t

h e r i m p l i c a t i o n s .

Some images a r e so h i g h l y imaginat ive or e l s e

such a m i x t u r e of images t h a t t h e y defy c l a s s i f i c a t i o n

o r even g r o u p i n g , a s f o r example:

V;e l i k e a h a i r b r e a d t h ' s c a p e , I t t i n g l e s i n t he mind Fa r a f t e r a c t or a c c i d e n t , L ike p a r a g r a p h s of wind.

( B o l t s of Melody, p . 121)

o r

"Escape" -- it is the basket In which the heart is caught

71

^Ihen dov/n some awful l?attlement The rest of life is dropped.

(Bolts £f Melody, p. 120)

The force of her originality, and her short but graphic

style is seen in abstract images. In her opinion, for

example, "Pain has an element of blank;" (Connl^te

Poems, p, 13), and "Ruin is formal, devil's v/ork /

Consecutive and slow --" (Bolts ££ Melody, p. 258).

Her v/ay of describing a storm was "the thunder crumbled

like a stuff — " (Complete Poems, p. 188), She calls

the absence of a dear friend "a scanty number, /

'Twould scarcely fill a two," (Further Poems, p, 163),

Some other abstract images seem to be a mere collection

of words rather than a figure meant to have any great

significance. The best examples of these figures are:

Not of detention is fruition. Shudder to attain Transport's decomposition follows — He is prism born.


and

The fascinating chill that music leaves Is earth's corroboration Of esctasy's impediment; 'Tis rapture's germination. (Bolts of Melody, p. 234)

In some of her images abstract qualities are defined

by abstractions. Some exaraples of these are: "beauty

is infinity" \£olts of Melody, p. 232); "constancy

72

became — A something l i k e a shame" (Complete Poems,

p . 311); and defea t i s "an outgrown anguish" (Com

p l e t e Poems, p . 224),

Some images become more concrete - - tha t i s

a b s t r a c t q u a l i t i e s and concepts assume more d e f i n i t e

o u t l i n e s . For example, the rainbow i s a "bent s t r i p e "

which s t r i k e s up "my ch i l d i sh / Firmament," (Fur ther —

Poems, p . 77); and the bat has "v/rinkled wings / L i k e

fa l low a r t i c l e " (Complete Poems, p . 137); i f the l a r k

i s s p l i t " y o u ' l l find the music, / Bulb a f t e r bulb,

in s i l v e r r o l l e d , " (Complete Poems, p . 169); the cheek

was "Al l crumpled" (Bol ts of Melody, p . 90); and,

"My husband" Women say S t rok ing the melody^

(Complete Poems, p . 177)

P e r s o n i f i c a t i o n s abound in Miss Dickinson*s poet ry .

Most of them have found t h e i r v/ay in to o ther chapters

of t h i s t h e s i s , but some are too abs t r ac t and f a n t a s t i c

t o be placed an3nArhere o ther than v/ith the imaginative

g r o u p . They can be divided i n t o two main groups —

na tu re p e r s o n i f i c a t i o n and p e r s o n i f i c a t i o n s of the

human body. The fev/ p e r s o n i f i c a t i o n s of the human

body are i n t e r e s t i n g . In one for example, the film

which comes over a dying p e r s o n ' s eyes i s " M o r t a l i t y ' s

o ld custom / J u s t locking up to d ie" (Further Poe-ns,

p . 32 ) . In another f igure Be l shazza r ' s l e t t e r i s said

73

to be an immortal "copy" which

The conscience of us all Can read without its glasses On revelation's wall.


Then there is the sunrise which is to the day "The

blindness that beheld and blest / And cound not find

its eye." (Bolts of Melody, p. 13). One of the other

personifications involving mankind is

The rose did caper on her check Her bodice rose and fell. Her pretty speech, like drunken men Did stagger pitiful,


Personifications of nature are definitely a

product of Miss Dickinson's originality. Some of the

figures are not outstanding, but most of them have a

strikingly new quality.

One personification of a flower is that which

begins with "some little arctic flower" that

Went v/andering down the latitudes. Until it puzzled came To continents of summer.

and concludes unexpectedly:

I say, as if this little flov/er To Eden wandered in — What then? V/hy nothircr, only Your inference therefrom'.


74

In one image Night is said to' keep "fetching stars /

To our familiar eyes" (Further Poems, p. 68). Some

other imaginative images which are of interest are

these:

How the old mountains drip with sunset. And brakes of dunl Hov/ the hemlocks are tipped in tinsel By the wizard sun*.


and, in an image which also deals with education is:

Through the dark sod As education The Lily passes sure Feels her white foot no Trepidation, Her faith no fear.


In a personification of time several activities are

mentioned:

Grand go the years in the crescent above them; vVorlds scoop their arcs, and firmaments row, Diadems drop and Doges surrender, Soundless as dots on a disk of snow.


In this image as well as many others throughout her

poems, M5ss Dickinson combines figures. However,

instead of the usual resulting confusion of thought

in mixing figures, her images are usually deftly woven

into the content of the poem. One examnle of the

pleasing effecu of her mixed imagery is that in which

Sunset t h a t sc reens , r evea l s Enchancing what we sê ' By menaces of amethyst And moats of mystery.

( M J t s of Melody, p , 22)

The e f f e c t i v e n e s s of mixed Images in the p oe.-.s u

c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of Emily Dickinson, However, . - . . ! .

l e s s fo r tuna t e in some of her mixed imagery, Cne

example of an i n a r t i s t i c mixed image i s tha t of a

dying^ man's eye — " l i k e a s k a t e r ' s brook / The busy

eye congeâled" (.Further Poems, p , 100). other r.ixed

images a r e q u i t e s t r i k i n g : there i s an e ternal pipce

fo r man but kingdoms "Like the orchard / F l i t r a s s e t l y

away" (Complete Poems, p , 229), and of sorae unknown

persons i t i s said:

Banish a i r from a i r . Divide l i g h t i f you dare . They'll meet. While cubes in a drop Or pellets of shape Fit.

(Bol t s 2 f Melody, p . 280)

Miss Dick inson ' s imaginative images — the pêneral,

a b s t r a c t , and concrete and her pe r son i f i c a t i ons are

r i c h and v a r i e d . Most of them are e f fec t ive because

the unusual cor n o t a t i o n s bring a reader sharply to

a t t e n t i o n . Many of them r e f l e c t the deep study of the

poe t on those i n t a n g i b l e , obscure q u a l i t i e s and s t a t e s

i n l i f e ; o the r s a re l i k e l y to s t r i k e out the vhiii or

f anc i fu l no t i ons of a moment's thought .

fciliMrin m* t

CONCLUSION

This analysis of the imagery in Emily Dickinson's

poetry has revealed several interesting conclusions

about her and about her art. The study of her images,

approximately twelve hundred of them, has revealed

the range of subject matter of her images. Always her

highly developed imagination is seen in the images, if

not in the content of the image, then in the way the

image is presented in the poem. In general, her images

are taken from two aspects of her life — from the

things which she knew intimately and those which she

knew from observation or reading. The fact that she

remained in seclusion a great part of her life makes

plausible the personal viewpoint of life which is drawn

in the poems, but, on the other hand, her individual

views approach universality in that they touch on those

themes of most interest to mankind.

Miss Dickinson's images seem to flow from her

imaginative mind v/ith ease and naturalness, perhaps

because she found most of her images in whatever was

most familiar to her — her garden, her fellow man and

his activities, her household. A large group are those

drawn from animals and the sea and seafaring, not from

plants and gardening as would be expected of one who

found Great pleasure in her garden. It is interesting

to note that many of her nature images deal with man

and his fate; nearly all of the images from ship\ rreck

77

are concerned with man's mortality and his belief in

a life hereafter. A remarkable aspect of her nature

imagery is that, although there are no images which

use sunset as a means of expression or illustration,

the prevalent subject of the figures v/hich describe

the sea and seafaring is that of sunset. Her full

creative power is evident in her nature images — the

pictures she draws are remarkable for their beauty

and for their faithfulness to truth of expression.

Images from mankind and his activities and rela

tionships comprise the main part of the images. The

chief deduction to be made from these figures is that

she was not a recluse from human society even if she

did not mingle v/ith it. Aspects of the h\iman body

furnish more than one hundred and ninety figures, almost

half of which are used chiefly as an effective means

for her descriptions of nature. Human relationships

pictured by Miss Dickinson are true to life. She has

a great number of images from this sphere of activity,

including some from people of all classes and ty^es.

But as a whole her images from human life and its acti

vities are derived from ordinary living — from the

trading, selling and labor of the business world, social

behavior, crimes, amusements and travel. These come

out of her general knowledge, from her keen observatior^,

or from her reading. The subjects of most of the images

from human life are those which she loved dearly, nature;

78

and those which she thought! much about, life and

eternity. The number of images from human relation

ships and from the practical arts and occupations is

almost the same; in both groups are approximately one

hundred and twenty-five images. From amusements and

roads and travel come forty-six images. From the

household arts come one hundred and forty-one images.

Miss Dickinson's simple, precise domestic images are

among the most effective of her figures. The figures

were taken from the realm of life most familiar to her,

and t^e majority of them depict some part or aspect

of nature — often the appeprance or quality of some

thing in nature. The remainder of her household

figures are, for the most part, portrayals of the

intangible elements of life, usually death. Images

from warfare are generally effective; those from the

fine arts are her poorest. Figures from learning and

literature were taken from her reading and her general

education in a cultural center, but her religion,

although knowledge of the Bible came as a result of

study and cultural environment, was strictly her own.

She knew the Bible thoroughly but chose to use that

knowledge as it best pleased her. Throughout her

poetry her startling imagery from the Bible and her

unorthodox attitudes toward religion stand out becrure

of their originality. According to conventional

78

and those which she thought* much about, life and

eternity. The number of images from human relation

ships and from the practical arts and occupations is

almost the same; in both groups are approximately one

hundred and twenty-five images. From amusements and

roads and travel come forty-six images. From the

household arts come one hundred and forty-one images.

Miss Dickinson's simnle, precise domestic images are

among the most effective of her figures. The figures

were taken from the realm of life most familiar to her,

and tl e majority of them depict some part or aspect

of nature — often the appearance or quality of some

thing in nature. The remainder of her household

figures are, for the most part, portrayals of the

intangible elements of life, usually death. Images

from warfare are generally effective; those from the

fine arts are her poorest. Figures from learning and

literature were taken from her reading and her general

education in a cultural center, but her religion,

although knowledge of the Bible came as a result of

study and cultural environment, v/as strictly her own.

She knew the Bible thoroughly but chose to use that

know:iedge as it best pleased her. Throughout her

poetry her startling imagery from the Bible and her

unorthodox attitudes toward religion stand out becpuse

of their originality. According to conventional

standards, she is usually* capricious in her rr-i...

tion of religion.

Among her images of the imaginative eroup rro

some of the most beautifully expressive, some of •h*,

most whimsical, and some of the least artistic of

her imagination. In general these images end thoro

from other groups all have as their objectives t).o

definition of indefinable spiritual qualities and

states, and the descriptions of the various asrects

of nature, physical states, emotions, and actions.

The scope of Miss Dickinson's imagery was fror.

the homeliest of figures of the everyday v/orld to V.e

most fanciful of the imaginative world. They range

from the momentary expression of a whim to the deepest

of philosophical thoughts. She created much out of

the narrow bounds of her experience. Her philosophical

thought and her concentration on the spiritual side of

man's life are clearly reflected in her imagery.

Throughout her poems are to be found images involving

her attitudes, opinions, or whimsical interpretations

of life, death, and eternity. Nature has a predorainant

place in her imagery, either as her subject or as the

vehicle of her expression. Her interests are clerrly

revealed in her imagery. Out of the midst of ordinary

life and thinking, Emily Dickinson emerged v/ith her

rich, imaginative mind that . v, . ' comprehended man and h^ physical world cle«.>i ^^^

s

e

BIBLIOGRAPHY t

Bianchi, Martha D. The Life and Letters of Emily Dickinson. Boston: Houghton MiffliiTCo., 1924.

Dickinson, Emily, Bolts of Melody, ed. Mabel L. Todd and M. R, BingKam. ~ w York: Harper Bros., 1945.

. Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson, ed. Martha Bianchi, ' BoTiton: Little, i rov/n, and Co., 1925.

. Further Poems of gmily Dickinson, ed. Martha Bianchi. Boston: "Little, jbrown, and Co., 1929.

, Poems by Emily Dickinson, ed, Martha Bianchi. Boston: Little, Brov/n, and Co., 1945.

Spurgeon, Caroline F, E. Shakespeare' s Imagery and What It Tells Us. Cambridge: University Press, 1935.

Wells, Henry W. Introduction to Emily Dickinson. Chicago: Packard and Co,, 1947,

Whicher, George F, This Was a Poet, New York: Charles Scribner* s Sons, 193*5

BaaERY IN THE POETRY OF EMILY DICKINSON TEIESIS

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