A Day

Written by Emily Dickinson

Day symbolizes life
Sunrise symbolizes birth
Sunset symbolizes death
Metaphor : direct comparison
Simile : Indirect comparison ( as,like)

Summary
This poem ‘A Day’ composed by Emily Dickinson is about a beautiful day which is
followed with sunrise and sunset that leads the children from innocence to
experience.It also reflects the beauty of birth,tough journey of life and
uncertanity of death.
The poem is told in perspective of a young child who form his/her own conclusion
about how the sun rises and sets. In first stanza the speaker describes the sun
rays as series of a ribbon in the sky, with the sunlight bathing the tops of the
churches in a deep violet colour like amethyst. Nature awakens as soon as
the news of the sunrise travels throughout the Earth like an squirrel runs so
quickly.
In second stanza as sun rises it reveals the beauty of the hills removing their
bonnets from dark.An American bird bobolink starts singing and it makes
everyone and everything happy and comfortable after the sun rises and
natural events starts occuring.
In third stanza its time for sun set and child lacks his/ her confidence about
how the sun sets down.There Were yellow girls and boys are like as rays of
sunshine going back home climbing through a purple stile (ladder).
In last stanza the yellow children reached another side of the world led by
the dominie ( messenger of god) to rest for the night. It reveals that god
leads human being where ever they go after a death. In another ways it
welcomes the evening after the sun sets and a day finishes on a sad note.
There is use of various literacy devices in this poem and different symbols,
simile, metaphors, alliteration and personification had added beauty
regarding the day in the poem.
Like ‘ribbons ‘ as sun rays and ‘Flock’ as human beings as metaphors.
Squirrel runs as news of sunrise spreads as use of simile.
Life birth and death as symbols of day,sunrise and sunset.
Answer the following questions.

a. How does the poet describe the morning sun

in the first stanza?

→ In the first stanza of this poem, the speaker describes the rising sun in
the early morning. The first beautiful golden rays of the sun extend like
ribbons around it. It makes everything bright and visible. It changes the
colour of the steeple into amethyst.

b. What does the line 'The news like squirrels ran' mean?

→ The line "The news like Squirrels ran" in the first stanza means that the
news of the rising of the sun spreads as fast as squirrels run. The news of
the arrival of the sun on the earth is compared with the quick running of
the squirrel which is a simile use of ‘like’.

c. What do you understand by the line "The hills untied their bonnets"?

→ Before the sun rises, the hills are hidden in the bonnet of darkness. After
the sun rises all the hills look beautiful in fine green colour after removing
the bonnets The hills are personified in this line as they untie their bonnets
like women.
d. Is the speaker watching the morning sun? Why? Why not?

Answer :Yes, the speaker is watching the rising sun. The speaker is
observing the change in colour of the steeple into amethyst, untied bonnets
of the hills. He is also listening to the singing of the beautiful bobolinks and
all these events confirm that the speaker is watching the morning sun.

e. How does the sun set?

→ Actually, the speaker is unknown to the setting sun. According to her the
purple and yellow colours indicate the setting of the sun. The sun takes all
the happiness and joy of daytime and leaves the unhappiness and darkness.
She doesn’t have idea after this what happens.

Reference to the context

a. What, according to the speaker, is a day?

= Emily Dickinson's 'A Day' is a lyrical poem that describes dawn and sunset,
where day is symbolised as life. A day is life, where sun rise is the birth, and
setting of the sun is compared with death.  It also depicts the beauty of life and the
uncertainty of death in a philosophical sense. Sunrise and sunset are literally
described in 'A Day.' It further describes the journey from life to death in a
metaphorical way.

b. What purpose does the hyphen in the first line serve in the poem?

= Hyphen(--) is used in poetry to indicate a break. In this poem, Emily Dickenson

innovatively utilizes this punctuation mark. She is using hyphens if she does not
find the words for profound feelings, to give readers the power of silence in some
circumstances, to imagine, to fill the missing word, or she is allowing the readers
to take some time ponder on the context by themselves.

c. What makes this poem lyrical and sonorous? Discuss.

= Emily has used her magic tricks to make this poem lyrical, sonorous and lovely.
Written in the first-person narrative, the poem is a lyrical poetry in the sense that it
conveys personal feelings or emotions that the author has. The poetic persona is
indicated by the use of the initial pronoun "I" in lyrical poetry. This poem is quite
brief, and the author is conveying her own personal experience of seeing the dawn
in this piece of writing. Sonorous refers to being full of sound and densely packed
with rhymes or phrases. There are a variety of factors that contribute to the musical
and melodic quality of a poem. This poem's musicality is enhanced by the use of
sound techniques such as alliteration, assonance, rhyme, and rhythm.

d. Who are the target audience of the speaker? Why?

= In this poem, Children and Adults both are the target audience of the speaker.
The readers are shown the world as viewed by an innocent kid. Speaker is telling
his friends, "I will tell you how the sun rose". So, We may argue that the intended
audience consists of kids who have lost the opportunity to see the sun rising when
they wake up late at morning. 

When we look at the poem from a philosophical point of view, the whole human
race is also the intended audience. Sunrise is the beginning of life, daytime
activities are a trip through life, and sundown is the end of life. However, the final
result is a little mysterious.
e. The poem seems to describe a day for children. How would the adult
people respond to this poem? Discuss this poem with your parents/guardians
and write the answer based on their responses.

= The poem seems to describe a day for children. But, this poem is also
suitable for the adult people. This poem is a literal description of the dawn, as
well as the events that occur between sunrise and sundown. For children, direct
meaning of poem is applicable but for adults, metaphysical meaning of this
poem makes more sense. To be more precise, the poem speaks about the passage
from life to death in a metaphysical sense. There is enthusiasm at the beginning of
life, a squirrel racing like a life and a strange conclusion to a life in this poem.