Study Sync Digital Platform

Grade 11
Classes of 2021/2022
Ms. Gehan Amer

I NEVER HEAR THE WORD ESCAPE

POEM, BY EMILY DICKINSON
 INTRODUCTION
 Emily Dickinson (1830–1886), one of the most
influential voices of American poetry, was
quieter in real life than she was on the page.
She is known for keeping mostly to herself in
her adult years, in which she rarely left her
room and never stepped foot off of her family‟s
Amherst, Massachusetts estate. Her
unconventional poetry, in many ways, mirrored
her unconventional life. In this poem, Dickinson
uses the meter of church hymns to create a
work that goes beyond the personal “I” of the
narrator and expands into the communal
experience.
ENTRY POINT
The following information provides context or background information
that can help you engage with the text.
 During the late nineteenth century, a Cult of Domesticity prevailed in
the middle and upper-class social strata to which Dickinson
belonged. Women were judged by their skills in domestic arts and
the four “feminine” values of purity, piety, obedience, and
domesticity.
 While Dickinson was skilled in several domestic arts, she did not
conform to the norms of this era. She was considered eccentric by
her contemporaries. She was known to wear all white clothing and
preferred solitude, often refusing to greet guests or even leave her
room.
 Dickinson used her poetry to defy the limitations that this entrenched
value system placed on her as a woman.
POEM
VOCABULARY
 Escape: to break free or to get away from something or
somebody
 Expectation: a belief that something will happen
 Attitude: a state involving beliefs or feelings that causes a
person to think or act in a certain way.
 Broad [adj.] large or wide
 Battered: Beaten up; in rough shape
 STANZA 1
-The poet describes the idea of
I never hear the word the fight or flight response
“Escape” kicking in, stating:
Without a quicker blood,
A sudden expectation –
For example, a bird will quickly
A flying attitude!
fly away when it senses a cat or
other threat nearby. The word
“Escape” triggers this response
in the poet: if she just hears the
word she imagines herself
taking flight.
-The speaker wants to flee, she
feels anxious and excited at the
mention of the word “ESCAPE”
STANZA 2
I never hear of prisons broad
By soldiers battered down,
But I tug childish at my bars,
Only to fail again!
 In the second stanza, the
speaker explains that she
has never known prisons to
be torn down by soldiers.
She explains further, that
she tried to pull out the
bars of her prison, trying
unsuccessfully to break
free. But despite her
constant failures, she still
tries in a childish hope.
THEMES
 Two similar themes that are present in “I never hear the word
„Escape‟” and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are the challenge of
gaining true freedom and how life‟s complexities can make a person
feel trapped.
 The speaker in “I never hear the word „Escape‟” loves the idea of
freedom saying, at first, that just hearing the word “Escape” gives her
“a sudden expectation” and “a flying attitude.”
 The speaker then introduces a second theme that contrasts with the
first when she implies that her life is really like a prison.
 Huck Finn also wants to be free, and unlike the speaker in the poem,
he does escape. But his freedom is cut short, and he has to return to
live a “sivilized” life with the Widow Douglas. He feels trapped by the
clothes she makes him wear, which make him “sweat and sweat,”
and “feel all cramped up.”
POET’S WORD CHOICE
 The poem, 'I Never Hear the Word “Escape”,'
shows failure.
 Words like 'Prison,' 'Battered down,' and 'Fail'
show only failure.
 The poet might be telling her readers that she
has tried very hard to be free and independent
but she always fails. The thought of having
freedom excites her but she fails again and
again.
QUESTIONS
1.Identify one example of symbolism from the poem
2. 1.Identify one example of imagery from the poem
3. Emily Dickinson uses figurative language in “a quicker
blood, a flying attitude, battered down, I tug childish”.
Surf the internet to get their meanings.
4. Analyze the poet words' choice and how does
contribute to the tone.
5. Write a free verse poem following Dickinson‟s form.
 Why do you think the author chose to describe prisoners as “battered
down”?
 How does this phrase affect the tone of the poem?
 What effect does this tone have on the reader‟s understanding of the
poem?
 After watching the video- I 'am a poet- how did discussing women‟s
roles in nineteenth century America influence your understanding of
the text?
 Prompt
 What inferences can you make about the author‟s day-to-day life,
interests, and/or personality based on the text? Use specific
examples from the passage to support each inference.
 List the visual images that come to mind while you are reading the
poem. Cite the actual phrases from the text that correspond to each
image. Compare the first stanza to the last. In what ways are they
similar (think about form, repetition, and meaning) and in what ways
are they different?