"Fortitude incarnate" By Emily Dickinson [Analysis]

Fortitude incarnate [1] Here is laid away [2] In the swift Partitions [3] Of the awful Sea -- [4] Babble of the Happy [5] Cavil of the Bold [6] Hoary the Fruition [7] But the Sea is old [8] Edifice of Ocean [9] Thy tumultuous Rooms [10] Suit me at a venture [11] Better than the Tombs [12]
Poem 1217 [F1255] "Fortitude incarnate" Analysis by David Preest [Poem]

True fortitude is only shown when we sail on the 'awful Sea' of one of the challenges of life. Survivors babble happily about their success. The bold treat the challenge as a cavil or frivolous objection to be overcome. This sea is old and has grown grey in its enjoyment of the wrecks that have happened upon it. Even so, Emily prefers the dangers of the sea to the 'Tombs' of a dead life on land. Ruth Miller suggests that for Emily herself the sea, upon which she has embarked, is the challenge of writing poetry. She has chosen this rather than the 'Tombs' of a normal social life.
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