"Conscious am I in my Chamber," By Emily Dickinson [Analysis]

Conscious am I in my Chamber,[1] Of a shapeless friend --[2] He doth not attest by Posture --[3] Nor Confirm -- by Word --[4] Neither Place -- need I present Him --[5] Fitter Courtesy[6] Hospitable intuition[7] Of His Company --[8] Presence -- is His furthest license --[9] Neither He to Me[10] Nor Myself to Him -- by Accent --[11] Forfeit Probity --[12] Weariness of Him, were quainter[13] Than Monotony[14] Knew a Particle -- of Space's[15] Vast Society[16] Neither if He visit Other --[17] Do He dwell -- or Nay -- know I --[18] But Instinct esteem Him[19] Immortality --[20]
Poem 679 [F773] "Conscious am I in my Chamber" Analysis by David Preest [Poem]

Emily is alone in her Chamber with a presence. He has no shape, neither does he speak, so she does not know his identity through sight or hearing. The intuition that he is there is more courteous than offering him a seat. All he allows her is the sense of his presence. If either were to speak to the other, the genuineness of the encounter would somehow be invalidated, but to weary of his presence would be odder than a particle of space with his 'Vast Society' knowing Monotony. Whether he visits and stays with others or not, she does not know. But her instinct is that her visitor is 'Immortality,' or God.
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