Emily Dickinson - David-Glen Smithdavidglensmith.com/lonestar/2327/slides/2010SUM2-slides... ·...

08.11.10 || English 2327: American Literature I || D. Glen Smith, instructor

Emily Dickinson

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Emily Dickinson


#216 (“Safe in Their Alabaster Chambers”)

• TheconstructionofthispoemisunusualforDickinson

becausesheisnotresortingtoherusualquatrainformulawith

ABABrhymescheme.

• Themeterisnothertypicalpatternof4/3/4/3—

heresheusesaseeminglyhaphazardselectionofmeter:

4.5/2.5/2.5/5.5/4.5

5.5/4/2.5/5/4

• Alsothetwostanzasarefivelineseach,calledacinquain.

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Emily Dickinson


• Therhymingwordsarelessobvious.

>Inthelinesexist“internalized”rhymes,andaninternalizedduplicate

wordtoimplyarhymepatternorto offer a senseofanunusualrhyme

pattern;untouchedappearsinbothlines2and3.

>throughoutthepoemsheusesrepeating‘er’sounds:

their

Alabaster

Chambers

members

Resurrection

Rafter

Firmaments

surrender

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Emily Dickinson


Theme:

• ThefirststanzaopenswithdescriptionsoftheChristiandead

meeklyawaitingtheirresurrectionfromthegrave.

• TheimagesDickinsonusessuggestpeaceandfinality;criticshavesuggested

thelinesevokeasenseofsecurity,andprotectionfromfurtherharm

thatlifeoffers—despitethemannerthewordingutilizessuggestiveness

ofcoldanddarkness,withthegravesremovedfromthesun,andthe

variousdead“UntouchedbyMorninganduntouchedbyNoon”—

• Thesecondstanzaconsistsofmultipleimagesofcircularpaths,

orelementsmadeofcurvesandarcs:

>Crescent,Worlds,scoop,Arcs,Firmaments,dots,Disc

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Emily Dickinson


Thethemeshiftsitsfocusatthisstagetoestablishasenseoftimeasitpasses

slowlyoverhead.Justasshedoesin“BecauseIcouldnotStopforDeath”—she

wantstocreateasensationoftimelessness,ofeternity,usingimagesofthe

knownsolarsystemanditsvariousplanetsspiralinginorbits.Liketheinner

workingsofawind-upclock,gearsshiftingaroundincircles.

Yearstravelincrescentsorarcsoverthehorizon,likeadiagramofthe

constellations.Thevariousplanets,orworlds,followsuit.Eventheskyisshown

inthisfashionthroughthewordchoiceof“firmament,”whichisthevaultor

expanseoftheheavens;theskyoverhead.

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Emily Dickinson


Whereasinthefirststanzathebodiesarestaticandsilent,nonmovingintheir

meekstateofbeing,theUniverseisspinningasalways,aconstantclockworkin

motion.

• Together,thetwoversesshowdifferentaspectsofthestateofeternity,

deathitself,andthecontinualuniversalclock.

• Duringthistimeperiod,asfarasastronomywasconcerned,peoplebelieved

theUniversewasaninfinite,permanentlandscape.Italwaysexistedinan

infinite,immeasurableboundaryofthematerialplane.Withoutchange.

Itwasnotuntilthe1930’sthatthetheoryofanexpandinguniversecame

intobeing;withthisnewconcept,astronomersshowtheuniverseasarealm

ofchaoticexplosions,collisionsofmassesofenergy,auniverseofcontinual

transformationandmetamorphosis.

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Emily Dickinson


• Lineninereferstotheideathatallthingsaremortal:

fromroyaltyandpoliticalcelebrities,alldieeventually,theircrownsfall,

politicalpartiesshift.Nooneisimmunetothenaturalprocess.

• Theconcludinglinereturnstothesensationofcold,returningfullcircle

totheopeninglinesofthepoem—andironicallyfollowingthecirclemotif

ofthesecondstanza.Here,theimageutilizedissnow,representedas

soundlessdots,snowflakesfallingonalandscapeofsnow—orevenperhaps

theatomswhichmakeupthesnowitself.

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Emily Dickinson


#754 (“My Life Had Stood — A Loaded Gun”)

• Itisdocumentedshelivedunderherfather’sdominanceinhishouse.

• Inherwriting,whensheusesmasculinetitleslikeFatherorSirorMaster,

itisoftendiscussedwhethertheyshouldbetranslatedtotheconceptofan

>ImmortalFather

>toaphysicalmortalfather

>ortotheaveragemalefigure.

• Whensheusesmalefiguresinherworkitisoftenspeculatedwhoshemay

havehadinmindwhentheworkwascreated.

• Inaninterestingtwistofgender-bending,thereareknowncaseswhereshe

usesamasculinepronountorefertoherself.

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Emily Dickinson


Theme:

• Inthecaseofpoem#754,thesubjecthereisanundefined“average”hunter.

• Despitethefactthepronoun“Him”isshowninuppercase,

sheisnotreferringtoGod,ortoamalerelative.

• Interestingly,herethepoet-speakerisapersonificationofagun.

• Shedepictedtheinstrumentwithmurderousenergyandintent.

• Itisonlythroughtheactionsand“feelings”ofaninanimateobjectshegives

a“voice’tothesilentMaster.

• Thelaststanzaestablisheshismortalityin the natural world

andherseeminglyimmortalityasanobject.Somecriticsusethisverseto

showareligiousleaning.

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Emily Dickinson


• Theopeningstanzaleadsthereadertoassumeatfirstthepoetishumanand

sheutilizesthegunasametaphorforherlife,andGodasthe“Owner”who

claimsher.

• Bytheendofthesecondstanzaitisapparentthevoiceisthepersonaof

anactualweaponitself.

There are two immediate interpretations of this technique:

1.Thiscouldbeanironicuseofafemalepersonaeforamasculineequipment

inamannertotwistthenotionofthegunawayfromtheexpected

Freudianconceptoftheweaponactingasaphallus.

• Alsoimportanttoconsider,inWesternexpansiondays,mennamedtheir

gunsafterfemalenames:BettyLou,Lucy.

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Emily Dickinson


• Inmoderntimes,musiciansnametheirinstrumentswithfemininetitles:

B.B.Kingcallshisguitar“Lucille”forinstance.

2.Dickinsonmayseeherselfinamalemask.

Orevenseethevoiceintermsofanon-gender,aneuter“it.”

• Thekillingofthefemininedoeappearsasjustamatteroffactevent,

afunctionoftheweaponitself,andshouldnotbetakenasasymbolicact.

• Whatismoreinteresting,ifthepersonificationisafemalevoice,

thentheGuntakesontheroleofabeloved.

• Sheisidentifiedandcarriedawayasaloveinterestintheopeningstanza.

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Emily Dickinson


• Likewise,althoughsheplaceshervoiceintowhatcanbeseenasatraditional

subservientrole,Dickinsonuniquelycontradictsthearrangementby

showingshehaspowerintherelationship.

• Noticethegunisanactivespeaking,reactingimagehere.

• Themanontheotherhandactsmerelyasathumb,asmallcatalysttothe

potencyofherselfasaweapon.Asenseofempowermentisallowedtothe

inanimateobject—thegunapparentlyfiresitselfinstanzatwo.

Theownerisnevershownintheactofpullingbackthetrigger—thegun

“speaks”forhim,showingtheMaster’sintentionswhileoutdoors.

• Apparentlyshehasshotatahumanbefore,judgingfromthelanguagein

stanzafive.Anyfoecannot“stirthesecondtime”—onceisenough.

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Emily Dickinson


• Stanzathreepresentsanironicwordchoice.Thelightofhersmileiscordial.

Thewordhasmanydifferentpossibledenotations:

1.courteousandgracious;friendly;warm

2.invigoratingtheheart;stimulating

3.sincere;heartfelt

4.Archaic.oforpertainingtotheheart

Possibly#2and#3arelikelymeaningsforherspeaker.

• Regardless,Dickinsonislikewisetwistingthemeaningofthetypical

arrangementofthesituation:whichofthetwoareincontrol?Withherself

asthevoiceofaprotagonistitwouldappearsheisthecontrollingdominant

forceinthepoem.Themaleissubjectedtothebackgroundalmostas

anafterthought—forcedintotheroleofapassivesecondarycharacter.

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Emily Dickinson


• Inthebeginningtwostanzasitappearsheisincontrol—

hepicksherupandcarriesherawayinanactofpossessionandaggression.

Bythethirdstanzahowever,shehasreversedthesituation.

• Attheclosingofthepoem,sherealizeshewilldieeventuallysinceheisa

mortal-livingbeing.Sheunderstandsthatheismortalonearth.Plus,sheis

cognisantofthedivineworld,sincehemustbeallowedtobeimmortalin

heaven,whereasshecannotdie.Althoughsheisnotalive,asanobjectshe

willoutlivehisphysicalbody,becauseshecannotphysicallydie.

Eventuallythemetalwillrustanddecompose—butshedoesnothaveasoul.

• Inanunusualmanner,Dickinsonshowstheendingnotasamoralistic

commentary,butarealisticmatter-of-factconclusion.

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Emily Dickinson


#997 (“Crumbling is not an instant’s Act”)

Crumblingisnotaninstant’sAct

Afundamentalpause

Dilapidation’sprocesses

AreorganizedDecays.

‘TisfirstaCobwebontheSoul

ACuticleofDust

ABorerintheAxis

AnElementalRust—

Ruinisformal—Devil’swork

Consecutiveandslow—

Failinaninstant,nomandid

Slipping—isCrash’slaw.

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Emily Dickinson


Word Choice

• Thispoemisagoodexampleofhowherchoiceofwordsattimescanseem

peculiar,sometimesitisimportantjusttofollowalongwiththeimageand

seewherethelinestakeyou.Oftentimesheruseofspecificmeterchoice

rulesoveranylogicalsenseornaturalspeakingpatterns.Inthiscasethe

choiceoftheword“crumbling”wouldatfirstreadingsuggestbreadorcake,

atleastanedibleproduct.However,bythethirdlineandthewordchoiceof

“dilapidation,”thereaderisawareshemeansthewordinginanothersense.

• Thecentralideaofthispoemisinitsopeningline.Crumbling,

orinotherwords,decaydoesnothappenquickly.Itisagradualprocess,

slowlydevelopingovertime.

• Anothermanneroflookingatthis:thepoemrelatesaprocessofruin,

whichistheconsequenceofdilapidation.

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Emily Dickinson


• dilapidationmeans:tofallintoastateofdisrepair;sosheisstating

deteriorationisastateofprogressivedecay:organizedsystematic.

Onestageofdecayleadstothenextwhichleadstoanotherlevelofruin,

whichthenleadstoultimatedestruction.

Theme

• Wecanreadthepoemasastatementabouttheprocessofofruin,

nomatterthetype.

• Jumptothefourthstanzaforasecond,sheconfirmsthethreadofthe

themeherewith“Failinaninstant—nomandid”meaningfailure

isnotaninstantaneousresult;oneisnotcorruptedinafewseconds,

moraldecaybeginsasaslowprocess.

• Tobeafailureinlifeapersonhastogothroughextremestagesoftragedies.

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Emily Dickinson


• Theentirepoemtakesinallformsoffailureanddecay:

personal

financial

emotional

spiritual

orjustabuildingbyitself

• Inthesecondstanza,itcontainsfourimagesofnaturaldecay:

Cobweb

Dust

theBoreroftheAxis

Rust

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Emily Dickinson


• Eachimageinturngainsaspecifyingdetail,astepintoanewdirection

offtheoriginalimage.Lookingatthefirstelement,theCobwebisshown

onaSoul,whichimpliesspiritualneglect.

• TheimageoftheCuticleimpliestheshapeofthehumanfingernail,

anedged,thinarchofDustinotherwords.

• MostcriticsstatethattheboreristhepointonwhichtheEarth—oraglobe—

turns;byappearances,theelementsseemstobediggingintotheglobe.

• orifweturntobotanyterminologies:anaxisisthelongitudinalsupport

onwhichorgansorpartsarearranged;thestemandroot;thecentralline

ofanybody.

• Combinedtogether,thesearemetaphysicalsymbols,whichmeanthey

representmorethanjustobjects—theyallcanbeimplyingaperson’smoral

decayorcorruption.

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Emily Dickinson


• Dustsurroundingthesoul,acobwebestablishesnettingaroundit,

theborerdrillingintoit,rustcorruptingit.

• ThethirdstanzaconfirmsthisreadingwiththeuseoftheimageoftheDevil;

• LikewisethewordRuinbalancesbetweentwodefinitions:

ruinofthesoul

ruinsofabuilding.

Thisimpliesfurthersuggestionofaspiritualcollapse.

• Thefinalelement,Crash’slaw,wouldberepresentedbygravity,howitpulls

remainsdowntodust.

• Intheend,shehassuccessfullyestablishesarunningmotifofabuilding

inruinsandappliedittothespiritualandandphysicalhumanbody.

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Emily Dickinson


Format

• TherhymehereisintendedtobeABAB—althoughthefirststanzadoesnot

followthisinatypicalfashion.Heresheisplacingrhymesinahaphazard

manner;noticelines1and3:

act/dilapidation <subtlerhyme;endwordmatcheswithopeningword

Thennoticelines2and4:

pause/decays <subtleslantrhyme

• Thesecondstanzashowsthesameerraticrhyming:

Soul/Borer <asbefore;endwordmatcheswithopeningword

dust/rust <overtandobvious

• Againinthethirdstanza:

devil/fail<subtleandhidden;endwordmatcheswithopeningword

slow/law<sightrhyme;moreobvious

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Emily Dickinson


#465 (“I Heard a Fly”)

• Thedeathinthispoemcontradictoryinafashion—Dickinsondescribesthe

eventasamomentofcalmbetweenmomentsofextremeupheavalsfrom

astorm.Inonesensetheprocessitselfispainless,butitfactorsintoaseries

ofchainreactions:storm,calm,storm.

• Shealsopresentstheroomwithanatmosphereofstillnessandsilence—

exceptforthefly.Theimpactoftheimageoftheinsectbeatingagainstthe

windowinterruptsthereader’snotionofatypicalleave-taking,plusthefly

interruptsthespeaker’smomentofreligiouspassion.

• Noticethespeaker’stoneappearscalm;hernarrativeliesextremelydetailed

yetunemotional.

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Emily Dickinson


• Thepoemwantstopromoteagradualtransitionfromonephaseoflifeto

another—theprocessofmovingfromonelevelofrealitytothenext;

however,theflyintervenes,takesawaythereader’sconcentrationandthe

narrator’saswell.

• Thesceneispresentedisinitselfpsychologicallyhorrifying.

Heruseofatypical,insignificantflyattheheightenedmomentof

suchatransitiondisturbsthereaderandleavesasenseofa

disconcertingreality.

• Bytheendofthepoem,however,theflytransformsinscope,becoming

astronger,evenmenacingsymbol.Inalmosteverystanzaitmakes

itspresenceknown;itbecomesthefocalimageforthenarrator,ratherthan

heranticipatedleave-taking.

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Emily Dickinson


• Thesecondstanzaspecificallylacksasymboloftheinsect.Thisisarelevant

pointduetothecontentsofthisportionofthepoem.TheEyesrepresent

peopleintheroomwitnessingherdeath.Theirgriefhaswrungtheirtears

dry.Thenarrator’sbreathisgrowingmoreshallow.ShewaitsfortheKing,

asymbolforGodorChrist,orevenDeathtoentertheroom.

• Asecondparadoxliesherewiththephrase“thatlastonset.”

Thephraseisanoxymoron;afigureofspeechwhichcontradictsitself.

Forexamplewhensomeonesays“samedifference”—Inthiscase,

theword“onset”meansabeginning,and“last”meansanend.

• Asinthepoem“BecauseICouldNotStopforDeath”thespeakercuts

herattachmentstothisworld,givesaway“mykeepsakes”andanticipates

thefinalrevelation.

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Emily Dickinson


• However,justathermomentofexpectationheightens,theflyreassertsitself

inthepoem,nottheKingassheexpects.Byreinsertingtheinsectattheend

ofthethirdstanza,thetoneofthepoemshiftsfromanacceptanceofdeath,

toanirritationoftheNaturalWorldinterveninginherprocess.

• Thefirststanzashowstheflyasanuisance.Herehowever,heseemsmore

ofanadversary,preventingherfinalmomentsfrombeingpeaceful.

• AswithmanyofDickinson’spoetry,asituationdevelopshereforthereader

toconsiderpossiblechoicesofmeaning:

>IstheflyarepresentationoftheKinghimself?

>Doestheflyrepresentanassociationwiththenaturaldeathprocess?

>FliesarepresentatthesmellofdecayandrotintheNaturalWorld.

>OrisDickinsonshowingtheobservationsofthepeoplewithintheroom?

>Isthisanindicationofanatheisticstatementoramoralisticnarrative?

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Emily Dickinson


• Inthefinalstanzamorerelevantissueexist.Noticetheflyisspecifically

andeffectivelyisblockingthenarratorfromthelight.

• Anotherparallelstrategybetweenthispoemand“BecauseICouldNotStop

forDeath,”theclosinglinedoesnotcontainaperiod,butratheradash.

Thiswouldindicatethenarrator’sstoryisyettobefinalized,thatherdying

actisstillongoing.

• Bothpoemslikewisepresentnarratorsdiscussingabouttheirdemise,which

presentsaproblem.Howcanthedeadspeaktoareader?Onepossibility

remainsthatsincethe“dead”womanstillspeaks,thiscanmeanthat

herdyingison-goingandperpetual.Withthemind-setofthePuritanbeliefs,

thispersonacouldbeoneofthedamnedinacontinuouscycleofrejection

fromtheDivineWorld,presentedasamoralitypoem.

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