EMILY DICKINSON

SELECTED POEMS
EMILY DICKINSON—CONCERNS
• Relationship between Humans & • Self-knowledge
Natural World • Doubt
• Afterlife / Life after death • Death
• Loss • Longing
• Grief • Isolation / Loneliness
• Fear • The mind
• Power of Nature • Transitions / Renewal
• Despair • Power of God / Relationship
• Use of Symbolism between God and Nature
• Presentation of Animals • Journeys
• Use of Personfication
 EMILY DICKINSON—CONCERNS
• Relationship between Humans & Natural World
COMPARISON
•
POEMS
Death
(There came a…bugle/ The Wind—tapped…/ I dreaded…first robin…) (Because...stop for Death /I did not reach thee / I heard a fly buzz…)
• Afterlife / Life after death • Longing
(Because...stop for Death / Twas the old road../ I heard a fly buzz..) (I cautious scanned…/ I did not reach thee…/
• Loss / Grief • Isolation / Loneliness
(After great pains…/ I can wade grief…/ I dreaded…first robin…) (One need not be a Chamber/ The Wind—tapped…)
• Fear • Doubt
(One need not be a Chamber / What mystery pervades a well / I dreaded…first (I have a bird in spring /
robin... ) • Moving on / Transitions / Fresh starts
• Power of Nature (I dreaded…first robin…/ I have a bird in spring / I have …..Volcanoes..)
(An awful Tempest / There came a…bugle / I have….Volanoes) • Strength
• Despair (I can wade in Grief …/ Hope is the thing…/
(There’s a….slant of light/ After great pains…/One need….a Chamber) • Power of God / Relationship between Natural World & God
• Use of Symbolism (There’s a …slant of light / The brain is wider…./ What mystery pervades)
(There came ….bugle/ I have …..Volcanoes../ I have a bird in spring..) • The mind
• Presentation of Animals (One need …..a Chamber / The brain is wider…./ What mystery pervades)
(Hope is a thing…./ I have a bird in spring../ I heard a fly buzz..) • The power of emotions
• Use of Personfication (Hope is the thing…/ I have …..Volcanoes /
(The Wind—tapped…/ I dreaded…first robin.../ Because...stop for Death) • Journeys
• Self-knowledge—searching for truth/knowledge (I did not reach thee../ Because...stop for Death / Twas the old road..)
“BECAUSE I COULD NOT STOP FOR DEATH”
• What is the visual picture or story presented in Stanza 1?
• How is “Death” personified in Stanzas 1-2? Does this characterization of Death stay the same for the
speaker throughout the whole poem?
• What is the significance of Stanza 3? What symbolism can you identify here?
• How would you describe the tone in Stanzas 1-3? How about Stanzas 4-6? What evidence do you have for
your opinions?
• How does the speaker feel after the “Setting Sun” in Stanza 4? Give evidence!
• How does the speaker feel about her new “House” in Stanza 5? What does the House described look like to
you?
• From what perspective is the speaker telling this poem? How does she feel about death at the end of the
poem in your opinion?
• Does this “story” remind you of any other classical stories you might have read about before?
• Do you think “Immortality” at the beginning of the poem and “Eternity” at the end of the poem carry the
same connotations, or is there a different feeling attached to them?
• How could we connect this poem to context of Emily Dickinson’s life in 1863? How about to her religious
 KEY EVIDENCE + FACTS TO ANALYSE
• Speaker’s feelings about Death throughout the poem (especially compare beginning to end)
• Personification of “Death” in S1-3 vs. S4-6
• Structure & Pacing = 6 quatrains with measured iambic meter and characteristic “Dickinson Dash” keeps poem at a
steady pace. S2 is faster than others with enjambment. “Dickinson Dash” and use of caesurae emphasize and cause pause
at some significant moments to add emphasis.
• Rhyme Scheme = “off / partial / slant rhyme” ….very “elusive”. ….generally follows ABCB pattern
• Symbolism of “Carriage” ride, “Children strove / At Recess”, “Gazing Grain”, “Setting Sun”
• Repetition of “passed” in S3
• Juxtaposition of speaker saying “Ourselves” in S1 compared to “He passed Us—” in S4
• Description of speaker’s clothes as “Gossamer, my Gown-- / My Tippet—only Tulle”
• Description of “House” of dead as a small grave
• How speaker describes time in the last stanza
• Juxtaposition of “Immortality” at beginning of poem to “Eternity” at end of poem and how this might reflect a change
in speaker’s feelings
• Feelings of being tricked or seduced by Death + connection to story of Hades and Persephone
• Context—Emily Dickinson lived across the street from a cemetery and watched ‘carriages’ (hearses) bring bodies to bury
and family funerals. Many of her close family and friends died at this time--during the Civil War. She was very familiar
with death. Emily Dickinson was raised Christian and wanted to believe in a beautiful paradise afterlife, but really she was
NARRATIVE POEM

DEATH IS INEVITABLE

MARRIAGE TO DEATH

AFTERLIFE = NOTHING

STRUGGLING WITH FAITH

MIDDLE OF CIVIL WAR

VARYING VIEW:
• While some critics might argue……, it seems evident that
……..
• On the one hand, some may argue……., but on the other
hand it seems……. The former/latter seems to be most
likely due to…..
“’HOPE’ IS THE THING WITH FEATHERS”
• How is ”Hope” described throughout the poem? Use adjectives to describe hope and then
support your ideas with quotes?
• Do you think the tone is consistent throughout the poem? How would you describe the tone?
• Where do you think the Volta is? What is the significance of changing from omniscient to first
person POV between Stanzas 2 & 3?
• What do you think Dickinson means when she says Hope “sings the tune without the words
—”?
• Look at the sibilance in line 6 and the plosive /b/ in line 7. What is the effect of this sound
imagery?
• What do you think is significant about the only enjambment in the poem between lines 7 -8?
• How does the rhyme scheme support your interpretation of the poem?
• What do you think is the ultimate message/intention of this poem?
• What historical or biographical context could’ve influenced the writing of this poem? How so?
 KEY EVIDENCE + FACTS TO ANALYSE
• Extended Metaphor of Hope = “little Bird”, “thing with feathers”, “perches in the soul”, “sings the tune”
• Depths of Despair Metaphors = “Gale”, “the chilliest land”, “the strangest Sea”
• Heroic imagery of Hope = Hope is described as “never stops”(perseverant, unstoppable), “kept so many warm”
(comforting), never “asked a crumb-–of Me”(selfless), “thing with feathers”(guardian angel imagery)—the poem
also describes Hope as brave/valiant fighting storms (“sore must be the storm—/ That could abash”) and saving
you everywhere (“the chilliest land”, “strangest Sea”)
• Strength/Power of Hope gets stronger the more in need you are = Anaphora of “And” and “never stops” and it’s
song is “sweetest—in the Gale” meaning that is it more powerful and necessary in a Gale (hurricane). The only
enjambment from lines 7 to 8, emphasise how a storm cannot “abash” Hope….thus strengthening it. Also the
rhyme scheme gets more perfect and stronger from S1-3 ABCB DEDE FGGG going from slant rhyme to
perfect rhyme.
• Juxtaposition of delicate feathered Hope Vs. Powerful Extremities (‘chilliest’, ‘strangest,’ ‘Gale’, ‘storms’) =
Sibilance of line 6 “sore/storm” and Plosive /b/ of line 7 “abash/Bird”
• Volta after S2, before S3 = change from omniscient to 1 st person POV (Hope becomes personal)….maybe this
poem isn’t a persona, but actually personal for Dickinson.
• Double meaning of lines 6-7 = ‘sore’ = angry OR feels pain…… ‘abash’ = embarrassed OR beaten up. Therefore,
these lines could be saying “The storm will feel pain that tries to beat up Hope” OR “The storm will feel angry
 PRAISING HOPE

POWER OF HOPE

HEROIC HOPE

GUARDIAN ANGEL = HOPE

BEGINNING OF CIVIL WAR

PERSONAL CRISIS
VARYING VIEW:
• While some critics might argue……, it seems evident that
……..
• On the one hand, some may argue……., but on the other
hand it seems……. The former/latter seems to be most
likely due to…..
“AFTER GREAT PAIN, A FORMAL FEELING COMES”
• Why do you think “After great pain” is the only part not in iambic rhythm?
• What do you think the rhyme scheme of AABB CDEFF GGHH signifies in the
poem?
• What images convey a sense of lifelessness of the speaker in the poem? What
feeling does that convey?
• What imagery is created in the first stanza?
• What does the speaker mean in lines 3-4?
• What is the meaning of line 9?
• What does “Hour of Lead” convey?
• What effect is achieved by the “Freezing persons” analogy?
• What do you think this poem is about? Use context to support your answer.
 KEY EVIDENCE + FACTS TO ANALYSE
• Attending a funeral imagery Stanza 1, “a formal feeling”, “sit ceremonious, like Tombs / The stiff Heart questions….”—This seems
to paint the picture of the speaker attending the funeral after the loss of someone they cared about very much, and now the speaker feels
numb, stiff, in shock as they witness the funeral ceremony and watch the body entombed.
• Lifelessness & Stiffness & Stone imagery  “formal feeling” “sit ceremonious, like Tombs”, “stiff Heart”, walking in a “wooden way”
“a quartz contentment, like a stone”, “Freezing persons”—all reflect how the speaker is feeling numb and unfeeling like stone after
suffering a great loss. Synecdoche of “Heart” and “Nerves” reflect how feelings and understanding of speaker have given up and
become hardened.
• ‘was it He that bore,’ / And Yesterday or Centuries before?’—”He” could refer to Christ on the cross and show speaker questioning
religion and if we can go to heave because Christ died for our sins and allowed us this….OR…..speaker is simple in so much pain that
they are in disbelief about to whom the tragedy happened to and when.
• Speaker becomes more rigid as the poem goes on (see stiff imagery)and not in control anymore “Feet, mechanical” “Wooden way”
gives the idea of the speaker walking aimlessly and as a puppet with no control over their actions…speaker seems to feel
disembodied….becoming more stone or wooden like (more numb to the pain).
• “Hour of Lead” gives effect that grief is a heavy burden that makes time move slowly.
• Analogy of “Freezing persons” feeling cold in the snow  “First –Chill—then Stupor—then the letting go—”—seems to equate
numbness and lack of feeling after suffering to freezing to death: First, you feel the sharp pain, then the numbness (as described in this
poem), then the release (Do you think this means release to giving up and release to death or giving up and release to accepting the
pain?)
• Iambic rhythm, except for beginning “After great pain”—
• Rhyme Scheme = AABB CDEFF GGHH…..2nd stanza really stands out and lacks reason (lost in grief maybe?)…every stanza ends in
couplets signifying the pain is always with the speaker maybe?
 GRIEF

SUFFERING LOSS

NUMBNESS

LACKING THE ABILITY TO FEEL

MIDDLE OF CIVIL WAR

VARYING VIEW:
• While some critics might argue……, it seems evident that
……..
• On the one hand, some may argue……., but on the other
hand it seems……. The former/latter seems to be most
likely due to…..
“AN AWFUL TEMPEST MASHED THE AIR”
• What is the storm compared to in the poem? What feelings does that convey?
• Is the speaker the focus of this poem? Why or why not?
• What is the significance of the /k/ & /ch/ sound imagery in lines 3 &5?
• What is the significance of the sibilance in Stanza 2?
• What is the effect of the anaphora and polysyndeton in lines 6-9?
• How are Stanzas 1&2 juxtaposed to Stanza 3?
• Where does the rhythm and rhyme scheme of the poem break up? What is the
significance of that?
• What could the plosive /p/ sound in line 13 be signifying?
• What words would you use to describe the storm Emily Dickinson has created?
• What context could we use in this poem’s analysis?
 KEY EVIDENCE + FACTS TO ANALYSE
• Personification & Metaphors of “Tempest” Personified as “mashed” “shook their fists” ”gnashed their teeth”
“swung their frenzied hair” & the storm is compared to “A Black” ”Spectre’s Cloak” ”creatures” “Monster”= depict
the storm/tempest as very menacing/ threatening—more powerful and maybe harmful to humans.
• “A Black—as of a Spectre’s Cloak”  Overwhelming the surrounds and creates a frightening effect of the storm that
is all powerful. Also, seems to separate storm from human world. This is supported later when calling the storm
“creatures” and “Monster” that returned to “his native coast”. This suggests the storm is independent of our world and
can choose to come back any time he wishes.
• /k/ sound in lines 3 & 5, and /ch/ sound imagery in lines 5  mimic cracks of thunder heard in a storm and
personified as “chuckled”.
• Anaphora & Polysyndeton of lines 6-9 illustrate the momentum and energy of the storm
• Sibilance of lines 6-9  reflecting the ‘whistled’ sound of the wind in a storm
• Plosive /p/ sound in line 13  shows peace breaking through the storm…..the plosive sound oddly juxtaposes the
peace though
• Volta between S2 & S3  Juxtaposes the peace at dawn to terror at night. Darkness in S1 & S2 = terror and Dawn in
S3 = renewal and new beginnings. Perhaps, suffering the storm allowed the speaker to appreciate the calm felt
afterwards and have a new perspective and appreciation.
• Classic ballad meter and ABCB rhyme except for S2 The rhythm is iambic tetrameter alternated with iambic
trimeter except for lines 7-8. Rhyme scheme = ABCB DEFGE HIJI. The broken rhyme and rhythm seems to intensify
POWER OF NATURE

SMALLNESS OF MAN

APPRECIATION OF SUBLIME

DARK VS. LIGHT

ROMANTIC POETRY
VARYING VIEW:
• While some critics might argue……, it seems evident that
……..
• On the one hand, some may argue……., but on the other
hand it seems……. The former/latter seems to be most
likely due to…..
“I CAN WADE GRIEF—”
• What is Stanza 1 about?
• What do the metaphors of “Grief” compared to “Pools” of water “New Liquor” compared
to “push of Joy” indicate?
• What do you think ”drunken” means in the poem?
• What is Stanza 2 about?
• What do lines 13-16 mean? Who is “Him” in your opinion?
• What do you think is the significance of the repetition of /w/ and /ee/ sounds in the poem?
• What do you think is the significance of the repetition of the /b/ /p/ /d/ sounds in the
poem?
• Is the rhyme and rhythm regular or irregular in the poem? What does this indicate or
signify for the poem’s meanings?
• How could you use context of 1862 and Emily Dickinson’s life to add to your
interpretation of this poem?
 KEY EVIDENCE + FACTS TO ANALYSE
• Metaphors Grief = pools of water / New Liquor = happiness / Drunken = weak and not in control
• “Let no Pebble—smile” warning to not let yourself be happy even for a moment when grieving
• POV change with Volta after line 9 from first-person to omniscient (3rd person)
• Irony = grief seems easier than joy for speaker to deal with
• Rhyme Scheme = irregular, uncertain
• Plosive /p/ /b/ /d/ sounds = very powerful
• Soft /w/ sounds and sharp /ee/ sounds = woeful, grieving
• ”Give Balm—to Giants— /And they’ll wilt, like Men— / Give Himmaleh— / They’ll carry—Him”
= take away the relief of burden from a Giant and he’ll become weak like a simple man, give a
Giant the burden as heavy as the Himalayan mountains and he’ll become stronger
• Varying view of “Him”  could refer to God or could refer to the death of the person lost that
causes the speaker to grieve in the poem
STRENGTH VS. WEAKNESS

PAIN/GRIEF MAKES US STRONGER

BE STRONG IN GRIEF

BE CAREFUL TO FEEL JOY BECAUSE IT

CAN WEAKEN YOU WHEN IN PAIN

SORROW IS IMPOSSIBLE TO ENDURE

NO MATTER HOW STRONG YOU ARE
VARYING VIEW:
• While some critics might argue……, it seems evident that
……..
• On the one hand, some may argue……., but on the other
hand it seems……. The former/latter seems to be most
likely due to…..
“I CAUTIOUS, SCANNED MY LITTLE LIFE—”
• What is the extended metaphor used in the poem? What story is being told in this
poem?
• What do you think the “priceless hay” , “Barn”, and “Thief” could
metaphorically mean in your interpretation of the poem?
• What connotation does ‘winter morning’ convey?
• What is the effect of the repetition with anaphora and parallelism in the poem?
• What do you think is the significance of the repetition of the /w/ sounds in
Stanzas 1 & 2?
• Is the rhyme and rhythm regular or irregular in the poem? What does this
indicate or signify for the poem’s meanings?
• How could you use context of 1860 and Emily Dickinson’s life to add to your
interpretation of this poem?
 KEY EVIDENCE + FACTS TO ANALYSE
• Structure = Lyrical with Ballad Meter (alternating iambic tetrameter / trimeter rhythm). Rhyme Scheme is typical ABCB
pattern. There are 5 uniformed and consistent quatrains. The simple regularity of structure seems to contrast with her complex,
abstract observations in the poem.
• Farming / Harvesting Extended Metaphor = leads to multiple interpretations (Varying Views)
– Emily Dickinson’s struggle with her faith—(Hay= speaker’s faith in God)(winnowed=sorting what she believes and what she doesn’t)
(Barn=safe place to keep faith….heart/soul) (‘from a thriving Farmer/ A Cynic, I became.’ = Dickinson went from being a strong
believer to skeptical about her religion) (theft of hay = losing her faith)
– Emily Dickinson’s poetic writing process—(Hay/crops=ideas and words in poem) (Barn=poem to preserve ideas, so revisiting the barn is
rereading poems) (winnowed = editing ideas) (theft of hay = writing loses its power over time OR perhaps memory loss of writing the
poem)
• Symbolism of Winter = difficult time in speaker’s life / sense of emptiness
• Line 2 and use of “winnowed” = possible Biblical allusion to Matthew 3:12 in the Bible. It describes winnowing believers from
non-believers…..just like winnowing hay from chaff.
• Speaker’s sense of searching and longing to find something taken from her in the poem
• Use of Anaphora (Whether…) and parallelism (Was not upon…)
• Use of exclamation in lines 16-17
• Use of rhetorical questions in lines 18-20
• Context: 1860 (pre-Civil War)—Dickinson rejected organized religion, yet her poems are often concerned with theology and
faith. As an American Romantic poet, she believed in the importance of self, nature, and one’s individual relationship with God.
A SENSE OF SEEKING/SEARCHING

REFLECTIVE POEM

SEARCHING FOR MEANING IN HER

OLD POEMS WHEN RE-READING

SEARCHING FOR A WAY TO

RECONCILE HER FAITH

FARMING/HARVESTING METAPHOR

VARYING VIEW:
• While some critics might argue……, it seems evident that
……..
• On the one hand, some may argue……., but on the other
hand it seems……. The former/latter seems to be most
likely due to…..
“I DID NOT REACH THEE”
• What is the speaker describing in each stanza?
• What is the significance of switching from “I” to “We” in Stanza 3 of the poem and on?
• Where do you think the volta is?
• What do you think the enjambments and dashes convey in the poem?
• Is the rhyme scheme, stanza length, line length, rhythm regular or irregular? What could that signify in
the poem?
• What is the tone and speaker’s feelings throughout the poem?
• What do you think is the significance of the following lines and phrases:
– Lines 5-6 and “I shall not count the journey one”
– Lines12-13 and “too little price / To pay for thy Right hand.”
– Lines 16 and use of the word “prone”
– Lines 20-22 and “The Sun goes crooked—/ That is Night"
– Lines 24-27 and “we wish the End / Were further off—”
– Lines 28-29 and “We step like Plush, / We stand like snow,”
– Lines 33-34 and “Now Death usurps my Premium / And gets the look at Thee.”
• What do you think this poem is about? What is the story the speaker is telling?
 KEY EVIDENCE + FACTS TO ANALYSE
• Thee = Biblical tone (Old English for ‘you’)…implying it refers to God –OR—a poetic way to describe someone Dickinson loved.
• Structure = Stanza length, line length, rhyme scheme are varied, irregular and not consistent. Unusual for Emily Dickinson. Some repetitive rhyme and
general repetition in each stanza link the stanzas together (rather than a regular rhyme pattern). Each stanza could represent a ‘step’ closer to God and reflect
line 5 where speaker says “I shall not count the journey one”—meaning the poem is the whole journey, but it didn’t happen at once, but rather in stages.
• Enjambment & Dashes = more enjambment than most of her poems, which pushes reader forward to end-stops. Dashes could convey a gap of time or
distance to still reach ‘thee’ and builds anticipation and tension as speaker gets closer
• Metaphorical Obstacles of ‘three rivers’ ‘a hill’ ‘one desert’ and ’a sea’ which stop speaker from reaching ‘thee’
• POV changes from ‘I’ to ‘we’ in stanzas 3-5= speaker was alone on the journey, but as they get closer, they feel more in harmony with ‘thee’.
• “To pay for thy Right hand” = could refer to right hand of God, as the left hand is associated with Hell. The right hand of anybody means their closest
follower.
• Double meaning of “prone” =…1st meaning = to lie down—gives sense that for speaker and ‘thee’ to be reunited, speaker needs to lie down (like be dead?)
…2nd meaning = likely—giving a sense that the speaker’s feet are likely to play, when they need to ‘labor’ work hard to reunite with ‘thee’.
• Lines 20-22 and “The Sun goes crooked—/ That is Night”=speaker is focused on this journey day and night—also the image of a setting sun – death
/meeting God
• Lines 24-27 and “we wish the End / Were further off—”= speaker wishes Death and Knowledge of what happens afterward were further off now…implying
she is becoming fearful of the Truth.
• Lines 28-29 and “We step like Plush, / We stand like snow,”= parallelism describing soft, luxurious arrival in Heaven
• Lines 33-34 and “Now Death usurps my Premium / And gets the look at Thee.”= Death has taken this image of Heaven from the speaker—Death gets to see
God/thee, but not speaker—reflecting her struggles to truly believe in afterlife.
• Varying Views = Speaker is on a spiritual journey wanting to believe in heaven, resurrection and God after death, but after many struggles….in the end,
believes only Death will know the truth and speaker doesn’t believe she’ll find out—implying she doesn’t believe in heaven after death, even though she
wants to. –OR—the poem could be about how Death is the separator of relationships and speaker can’t reach loved one who has died—speaker is racing
against time (represented as distances in the poem) to reach ‘thee’ (dead loved-one).
• Context = Emily Dickinson attended Seminary school, but struggled with her faith and truly believing like her family did. We don’t know exactly when this
poem was written, but Emily Dickinson experienced the deaths of many close friends and family throughout her life, especially during the Civil War.
ATTEMPT TO REUNITE

SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

DEATH IS AT THE END OF JOURNEY

RELIGIOUS PILGRIMAGE OF EMILY

DICKINSON

ELEGIAC POEM FOR DYING LOVED

ONE
VARYING VIEW:
• While some critics might argue……, it seems evident that
……..
• On the one hand, some may argue……., but on the other
hand it seems……. The former/latter seems to be most
likely due to…..
“I DREADED THAT FIRST ROBIN, SO”
• What do you think is the significance of the following lines and phrases:
– The change of “dreaded that first Robin, so,” to Use of ‘mastered’ ‘accustomed’
– Robin as a symbol or metaphor
– Lines 5-6
– “Not all Pianos in the Woods / Had power to mangle me—”
– Speaker’s fear of Daffodils “Would pierce me with a fashion / So foregin to my own”
– Stanza 4 and speaker wanting the Grass to be ”too tall” “to look at me”
– Stanza 5 and speaker’s intolerance of the ”Bees”
– Stanza 6 & 7 and speaker’s reference to herself as the “Queen of Calvary” where the Spring Imagery, such as ”creatures”
and “Blossom(s)” give “deference” to her and “each one salutes” her.
– Speaker claims to “Lift, in bereaved acknowledgment / Of their unthinking Drums--”
• What is the tone and speaker’s feelings throughout the poem?
• What is the significance of the speaker’s feelings juxtaposed against the Spring imagery?
• Where do you think the volta is?
• What do you think the enjambments and dashes convey in the poem?
• Is the rhyme scheme, stanza length, line length, rhythm regular or irregular? What could that signify in the
poem?
 KEY EVIDENCE + FACTS TO ANALYSE
• Structure = Ballad rhythm (alternating iambic tetrameter/trimeter) with irregular rhyme scheme. Stanzas are unified through repetition and slant rhyme with a
rough pattern of ABCB that is not consistently followed. This could reflect the lack of control the speaker feels in the poem.
• The change of “dreaded that first Robin, so,” to Use of ‘mastered’ ‘accustomed’ = At first, the speaker is not ready to acknowledge Spring or being ready to
move on…thus they ’dreaded’ the robin. At the same time, the speaker realizes that they’ve always known time will move one whether one is ready or not…
just like the seasons do, so they have ‘mastered’ or ’accustomed’ to that fact.
• Robin as a symbol of seasons moving one whether one is ready or not= Robins appear in nature in late Winter, beginning of Spring. Therefore seem to
signify end of Winter = state of death or mourning and beginning of Spring = renewal and moving on from death and grief.
• “Not all Pianos in the Woods / Had power to mangle me—” = metaphor for song birds—only the robin’s ‘piano’ or ‘shout’ (song) can ‘mangle’(destroy/hurt)
the speaker. This implies that the idea of moving on (as robin is signifier of moving on) is painful for the speaker.
• Speaker’s fear of Daffodils “Would pierce me with a fashion / So foreign to my own” =Personification of flowers in bright formal wear(‘yellow gown’)
contrast with black mourning the speaker is used to experiencing and ‘pierce’ her—meaning speaker is not used to brightness of Spring or moving on to
happier emotions.
• Stanza 4 and speaker wanting the Grass to be ”too tall” “to look at me” = perhaps gives a sense of speaker’s desire to hide in the ‘too tall grass’ or show
speaker’s fear of being judged by the grass that ‘look at me’.
• Stanza 5 and speaker’s intolerance of the ”Bees” = Bees are social and busy creatures, this gives a sense that the bees represent socials and gossip and
actively participating in society again, which the speaker isn’t ready for.
• Stanza 6 & 7 and speaker’s reference to herself as the “Queen of Calvary” where the Spring Imagery, such as ”creatures” and “Blossom(s)” give “deference”
to her and “each one salutes” her = Queen of Calvary is a Biblical allusion to Mary, mother of Jesus and symbol of Christian suffering and bereavement.
Dickinson portrays nature as acknowledging her grief and respecting her grieving process as they give ‘deference’ to her.
• Speaker claims to “Lift, in bereaved acknowledgment / Of their unthinking Drums--” = speaker has no choice or control of moving on with world even
though they are not ready to do so.
• Juxtaposition of speaker’s feelings of suffering and bereavement to Spring Imagery
• Context = 1861—originally titled “In Shadow”, Civil War had begun. Dickinson often uses ‘robin’ to symbolize emotions or states of being in her poems.
MOVING ON FROM GRIEF

BEREAVEMENT

TIME MOVES ON

SUFFERING

NOT READY TO MOVE ON

VARYING VIEW:
• While some critics might argue……, it seems evident that
……..
• On the one hand, some may argue……., but on the other
hand it seems……. The former/latter seems to be most
likely due to…..
“I HAVE A BIRD IN SPRING”
• What is the speaker describing in each stanza?
• What do you think is the significance of the following lines and phrases:
– The extended metaphor presented in ”I have a Bird in spring” and lines 1-3
– Symbolism of “Rose” and “Robin” in lines 4-6
– The possessiveness the speaker has for the Bird like in line 2 or line 8 or line 11
– Line 12 and use of “And will return”
– Stanza 3 and the speaker’s feelings
– The use of comparative in Stanza 4-–”serener Bright” “more golden light”
– The hypometric line of “I see”
– Lines 22-24 and speaker’s feelings and use of hypometric line of “Removed”
– The repetition of Stanza 5
• Where do you think the volta is?
• What do you think the enjambments and dashes convey in the poem?
• Is the rhyme scheme, stanza length, line length, rhythm regular or irregular? What could that signify in the
poem?
• What is the tone and speaker’s feelings throughout the poem?
• Consider the very specific context for this poem, what do you think this poem is about? What is the story the
 KEY EVIDENCE + FACTS TO ANALYSE
• Structure = 2 tercets of AAB + CCD pushed together, but seems it should be separated for a regular AAB rhyme….this might symbolise Dickinson pushing her
and Sue together even if should be separate. Line length and rhythm follows trimeter / trimeter/ dimeter OR monometer.
• The extended metaphor presented in ”I have a Bird in spring” and lines 1-3 = Double meaning of spring: Spring is a season of rebirth, but also is a trap used to
catch birds. It also means to leap or jump. Varying View = The spring seems to be the speaker herself…trapping the bird OR signifying a time of change or
renewal for the bird after a difficult period (symbolized by Winter).
• Symbolism of “Rose” and “Robin” in lines 4-6 = Roses in particular indicate a romantic relationship, implying that the Robin flies away because it finds love.
• The possessiveness the speaker has for the Bird like in line 2 or line 8 or line 11 = Speaker claims bird as doing things for her, including leaving to get more
experiences to share with her when the bird returns…the bird left FOR her, not because of her in the speaker’s mind.
• Line 12 and use of “And will return” = Sense of Hope and Faith that things will return to normal …..just like how birds return based on the seasons
• Stanza 3 and the speaker’s feelings = Speaker is having difficulty giving up the bird—‘doubting heart’. The speaker even attempts to give ownership away and
say “They’re thine” VARYING VIEW = “Fast” “Held” –bird is ‘trapped’ in new place….a better place if you believe the use of comparatives. It’s like Emily
Dickinson is saying that she accepts Sue needs more space because she is getting married to Austin, whose ‘safer hand’ she is now in, but that Emily still feels she
owns Sue more than Austin and that they BOTH belong to her—‘Are mine’. OR maybe the speaker is saying that ‘Mine (things that belong to me) are fast in safer
hand and held in a truer land’—meaning that the bird (formerly ‘mine’) now belongs to another completely…a better person’s OR that the speaker is keeping her
half of something to herself and giving half of something (friendship) up to the bird to take with them and decide what to do next.
• The use of comparative in Stanza 4-–”serener Bright” “more golden light” = perhaps light signifies truth, so the speaker is being more truthful or realistic here.
• The hypometric line of “I see” = emphasizes how speaker finally accepts and understands
• Lines 22-24 and speaker’s feelings and use of hypometric line of “Removed” = emphasizes how the doubt and fear has finally been taken away, thus emphasizing
speaker’s acceptance. The Parallelism of ‘Each little…”—emphasizes speaker’s acceptance now compared to feelings in stanza 3
•Context =The poem is Dickinson’s friendship with her sister in law, Susan Dickinson - it was originally written for her and sent in a private letter to her. Emily had a
hard time sharing Sue with her brother. Their friendship experienced strain during the engagement of Sue to her brother and when she first became a mother. Sue met
Emily and her brother in 1850, and Sue got engaged to Austin in 1853 and married Austin in 1856. This letter was written in 1854, during Austin and Sue’s
engagement. The letter to Emily's beloved Sue which includes this poem begins: "Sue--you can go or stay -- There is but one alternative -- we differ often lately
and this must be the last. The letter continues in this bitter vein but then ends with this poem that, to me, begins in pain but ends in a state of spiritual gain.”
…..The letter also says…..”We have walked very pleasantly—Perhaps this is the point at which our paths diverge—then pass on singing Sue, and up the distant
hill I journey on.”
TRAPPED IN FRIENDSHIP

IF YOU LET IT GO, IT’LL

RETURN

BREAKING UP & MAKING UP

FRESH START

TIME HEALS ALL WOUNDS

VARYING VIEW:
• While some critics might argue……, it seems evident that
……..
• On the one hand, some may argue……., but on the other
hand it seems……. The former/latter seems to be most
likely due to…..
“I HAVE NEVER SEEN ‘VOLCANOES’”
• What is the speaker describing in each stanza?
• What do you think is the significance of the following lines and phrases:
– The extended metaphor of a ”Volcano”
– The juxtaposition of how ”Volcano” is described in Stanza 1 Vs. Stanza 2
– The repetition of ‘appalling’
– The use of unfinished conditionals in Stanzas 3-5 + repetition of ”will not” and use of rhetorical question
– The connotation of ‘palpitating’
– The connotation of ‘smouldering’
– The connotation of ‘Resumption Morn’ and idea of resurrection in the poem
• Where do you think the volta is?
• What do you think the enjambments and dashes convey in the poem?
• Is the rhyme scheme, stanza length, line length, rhythm regular or irregular? What could that signify in
the poem?
• What is the tone and speaker’s feelings throughout the poem?
• Consider the very specific context for this poem, what do you think this poem is about? What is the
story the speaker is telling?
 KEY EVIDENCE + FACTS TO ANALYSE
• Structure = Generally, follows ABCB rhyme pattern and seems to be ballad meter due to alternating tetrameter and trimeter. However, the rhythm doesn’t seem iambic at all, but rather trochaic with
OoOoOoOo pattern and sometimes the trimeter is cut short from 6 to 5 syllables. Stanza 3 is ABAB with perfect rhyme.
• The extended metaphor of a ”Volcano” = For the speaker (who is generally considered to be the poet), there is a lot going on beneath her calm exterior that she can’t let out on a day-to-day basis.
Eventually, though, if human beings are like volcanoes, as she suggests, the emotion will flow forth with the full strength of its destructive power. Metaphor of sleeping volcano = repressed
emotions; Metaphor of exploding volcano = explosion of repressed emotions.
• VARYING VIEW = From a feminist perspective, I feel the Volcano could be representative of the power and ability of women to do things as capable or even more capable than a man at the time—
for example being a writer or going to school for longer. The poem could be about the repression of women in society at the time and Emily Dickinson’s frustration with being a woman with the
dreams of a man.
• The juxtaposition of how ”Volcano” is described in Stanza 1 Vs. Stanza 2 = The image of the ‘Volcanoes’ described as ‘phlegmatic’, ‘old’, ‘usually so still’, yet with an ‘appalling Ordnance
(dangerous weaponry)’ inside definitely reminds the readers of feelings of repression. For me, it represents the latent rage inside Emily Dickinson and maybe even women of the time that their role
in society is to be ‘still’ ‘phlegmatic’(calm) vases that contain nothing but beauty and not expected to think or even learn about something like Volcanoes.
• The repetition of ‘appalling’ = ‘appalling’ is used to describe both ‘Ordnance’ and ‘Men’—implying the ‘Volcano’ (speaker herself) is both the destroyer and the victim being destroyed by her own
‘Ordnance’ (weaponry) OR VARYING VIEW--Dickinson describes her passion as “appalling” having the ability to destroy villages through her poetry because it goes against what is allowed for
her gender, thus also ‘appalling’ or disgusting men.
• The use of unfinished conditionals in Stanzas 3-5 + repetition of ”will not” and use of rhetorical question = This has a sense of building momentum through a series of possibilities, resolving in the
final line “To the Hills return!”. This creates a pace mimicking like that of an erupting volcano. This Stanza is saying, “If the human face looks still like a Volcano and the facial features don’t move
(keep their place) when actually in huge pain (pain Titanic)”…STOICISM / STOIC ….then moves on to Stanza 4 and doesn’t say what’ll happen. This unfinished conditional creates tension
building up like in a volcano. Stanza 4 starts another conditional, and finishes it with a rhetorical question and is saying ‘If the hidden and burning (smoldering) pain (anguish) will not show on your
face, then won’t you explode like Mt. Vesuvius did at Pompeii and destroy everything (and turn the Vineyards to dust)?’ Rhetorical questions and exclamatory sentences in the later stanzas give a
sense of surmounting tension and pressure, evoking the same process that a volcano itself experiences.
• The connotation of ‘Resumption Morn’ and idea of resurrection in the poem = a morning where activities are resumed, taken up again after a break - in this case, Dickinson is perhaps referring to
the idea of an antiquarian revisiting the site of Pompeii to discover what happened there and bringing the city back to life by excavating it. The idea of ‘Resumption Morn’ potentially recalls the
account of the resurrection of Jesus, who died after being crucified, yet was brought back to life after three days and was seen again by his disciples, with his follower Mary Magdalene seeing him
first emerging from a cave. Symbolically, this allusion may reference the idea of death and resurrection within the soul (a concept which personally resonated with Dickinson) where after a great
period of suffering an individual can undergo a state akin to death, only to be reborn and spiritually awakened. Perhaps it means the soul of Pompeii will be brought back and the city resurrected by
the archeologists (loving Antiquary).
• Context = Written in 1860 - this is the first of several poems that Dickinson wrote about Volcanoes; she returns to the motif several times in other poems, suggesting that it is metaphorically
significant to her, even though she never personally encountered a volcano and only learned about them from travellers’ tales and research, she’d heard about their hidden, silent power. In 1748
excavations began on Pompeii, so Dickinson writing in the 1800s would have heard accounts from travellers who had been to the site and witnessed the preserved city and its people. Dickinson
would be familiar with the scientific discussion of Volcanoes.
REPRESSED EMOTIONS

REPRESSED ROLE OF WOMEN IN

VICTORIAN SOCIETY

POMPEII

FRESH START AFTER PAINFUL

EXPERIENCE

VARYING VIEW:
• While some critics might argue……, it seems evident that
……..
• On the one hand, some may argue……., but on the other
hand it seems……. The former/latter seems to be most
likely due to…..
“I HEARD A FLY BUZZ—WHEN I DIED--’”
• What is the POV of the speaker?
• What do you think is the significance of the following lines and phrases:
– The symbolism of the ‘Fly’
– The Oxymoron of ‘last Onset’
– The repetition of ‘Stillness’
– The allusion of the ‘King’
– The /ee/ sound in line 4
– The /b/ alliteration in lines 13-14
– The metaphor of ‘the Windows’
• How is life and death juxtaposed in the poem? How is the afterlife portrayed?
• What do you think the enjambments and dashes convey in the poem?
• Is the rhyme scheme, stanza length, line length, rhythm regular or irregular? What could that signify
in the poem?
• What is the tone and speaker’s feelings throughout the poem?
• Consider the very specific context for this poem, what do you think this poem is about? What is the
 KEY EVIDENCE + FACTS TO ANALYSE
• Structure = Generally, follows ABCB rhyme pattern and seems to be ballad meter due to alternating tetrameter and trimeter.
• Speaker = 1st person POV from dead person’s perspective, which is contradictory.
• Setting & Atmosphere = deathbed scene with mourning loved ones around and mysterious ‘ghost’ speaker of poem, which could
imply dying, death and afterlife are beyond human understanding. Atmosphere is solemn and serious with use of ‘stillness’, ‘eyes’
‘wrung dry’, ‘breaths’ ‘firm’.
• Juxtaposition of mundanity of fly and profundity of momento mori.
• ‘King’=Christian allusion to God in heaven
• Dashes= create momentum and reflect rhythm of dying to final breath
• /ee/ sound in line 4 = reflects annoying sound of fly among soft sounds of solemnity
• Oxymoron of ‘last Onset’ = emphasizes end of life, but beginning of afterlife as ‘onset’ means beginning of journey.
• ”I could not see to see”. = poem ends with sense of mystery and unknowing what happens after you die.

• VARYING VIEW = Fly symbolism could represent spiritual doubt OR Fly could represent how life continues after death and moves
on making the speaker’s death insignificant to the the fly OR Fly could represent the scavenger of death, so could be reminder of body
will rot and there is no afterlife OR Fly seems to act like a winged angel as a guide to the afterlife in the threshold between life and
death.

• Context = Dickinson struggled with organized religion and the idea of heaven / hell and the afterlife…she was skeptical of these
beliefs and favored personal spirituality over organized religious ideas. Many of her poems explore other possibilities of an afterlife.
This poem was written in 1862, a year after the Civil War started and Emily had already experienced the losses of friends and family
THRESHOLD BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH

MUNDANITY VS. PROFUNDITY

SKEPTICAL OF AFTERLIFE

DEATH IS MYSTERIOUS

SOLEMN, YET COMICAL

MOMENTO MORI
VARYING VIEW:
• While some critics might argue……, it seems evident that
……..
• On the one hand, some may argue……., but on the other
hand it seems……. The former/latter seems to be most
likely due to…..
“THERE’S A CERTAIN SLANT OF LIGHT”
 KEY EVIDENCE + FACTS TO ANALYSE
• Structure = Ballad with ABCB rhyme pattern and alternating tetrameter and trimeter (generally), although the rhythm is more trochaic than iambic. Variations to Ballad
form: Rhyme could be seen as ABAB in some stanzas due to half rhyme & trochee (DUM-da) used instead of iamb (da-DUM) in the meter. *The use of trochees implies
decisiveness, with the initial heaviness of the stressed syllable, followed by doubt, with the lightness of the unstressed syllable. As a combination this echoes the speaker's
indecisive and confused state of mind.
• Speaker = Ambiguous, refers to plural with ‘us’ and ‘we’ making the poem seem to apply to a group of people, maybe everyone. The speaker is someone who feels down
and LONELY, and who is intensely focused on their own reactions to the "Slant": these include "Hurt," a feeling of oppression (OPPRESSED), "internal difference"
(CONFUSED), and "Despair."
• Setting & Atmosphere = Winter Afternoon
• VARYING VIEW of ‘Slant of light’—evokes speaker’s feelings about God, life, death and despair. LIGHT is often associated with RELIGIOUS TRUTH. WINTER /
END OF DAY (AFTERNOONS) = SYMBOLISM FOR DEATH
• Context = As an unmarried woman living in the 19th century, Dickinson was denied much of the freedom and influence of men. She was reclusive,
often communicating with friends through letters alone, and considered eccentric by neighbors. Her sense of ISOLATION can be sensed in much of
her work, including this poem. This poem also captures Dickinson’s ROMANTICISM and TRANSCENDENTALISM beliefs.
– Romanticism—focuses on the self (an individual’s inner connection and place within the outer world)
– Transcendentalism—goes beyond a human-focused vision to try and recognise elements of the divine or sublime in the world around us.

• Oxymoron of ‘Heavenly Hurt’

• Metaphor of ‘Despair, an imperial affliction’— Heaven was often described as an empire during Dickinson’s lifetime. This suggests “affliction”—the despair—the
speaker feels comes from God, or at least something far greater than the speaker themselves. This, in turn, again emphasizes the speaker’s powerlessness in the face of
despair.
• Simile of ‘the Distance / On the look of Death-‘—And even when despair lifts, it is compared to the expression in a corpse’s eyes; just as death is unavoidable, so is any
hope of combating this despair.
• Metaphor of ‘seal’ & ‘Sent us of the Air—‘—The idea of nature as a messenger of religious truths is reinforced by the word “Seal,” which refers to wax used to seal
envelopes. The “Despair” God sends the speaker in the form of a sealed message is therefore like an emperor sending an order to one of the empire's subjects
• Simile of ‘Cathedral Tunes’—Going to church might remind people of the fact that they are subject to forces beyond their control. Perhaps, then, the despair that the
speaker feels is connected to a feeling of helplessness or smallness in relation to the rest of the universe/Heaven.
• TRANCENDENTALISM
• RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HEAVEN
AND NATURE
• DESPAIR IS INESCAPABLE
• DEATH IS INEVITABLE
• HELPLESS HUMANS
• VS.
• POWERFUL GOD/UNIVERSE
• NATURE IS MESSENGER OF GOD

VARYING VIEW:
• While some critics might argue……, it seems evident that
……..
• On the one hand, some may argue……., but on the other
hand it seems……. The former/latter seems to be most
likely due to…..
“ONE NEED NOT BE A CHAMBER-–TO BE HAUNTED—”
 KEY EVIDENCE + FACTS TO ANALYSE
• STRUCTURE= RHYME SCHEME = ABCB pattern. METER = Ballad Meter (alternating iambic tetrameter and trimeter) with
variations…..the tetrameter is often longer with an extra unstressed syllable like -ing or -er (called a feminine ending) and the trimeter is
ofter shorter (even dimeter). This mixture of feminine endings, unpredictable syllable counts, and abruptness adds to the poem's tense,
anxious atmosphere.
• SPEAKER = Anonymous and Objective—use of ‘one’—The speaker seems confident in their belief that the human mind is a dark,
foreboding place full of secrets. But in the end, the speaker is afraid like everyone else because they also can't safely make their way
through the mind's dangerous “corridors” any more than the reader can.
• PARALELLISM = appears throughout the poem and sharpens the contrast between the body and the mind, internal and external threats,
and the different "selves" that exist within people.
• COMPARATIVES = S2 & 3 use comparatives to explain the mind is much scarier than physical threats..”External threat is far safer than
internal threat”
• EXTENDED METAPHOR = The mind = a vast space filled with mysterious passageways ("Corridors") in which people's inner demons,
repressed selves, and unsavory thoughts/feelings/etc. lurk. The speaker insists that the mind is not a physical house or "Chamber" in order
to emphasize just how much more unknowable, uncontrollable, and terrifying it is. What makes one's inner demons so scary is the fact that
they aren't external or physical threats (unlike the ghosts of a haunted house or assassin in an apartment). One comes to the conclusion that
the mind, unlike any house, is haunted by things entirely invisible and unknowable.
• SOUND IMAGERY= /m/ sound lingers in mouth creating a suspenseful feeling in Stanza 1. In Stanza 5, /b/ sound is plosive and builds
suspense by mimicking the pounding footsteps of someone coming to kill you with a gun. /s/ sound mimics sound of wind whistling
creating eerie feeling of a spectre present.
• CONTEXT = Dickinson underwent a process of withdrawing from society in the early 1860s and spent almost all of her mature life at her
family home in Amherst. Critics often believe that Dickinson suffered an extreme shock or loss of someone close to her. Elements of PTSD
are described in the poem and Dickinson may have witnessed the effects on those she loves or even herself due to the losses of the Civil
• Mental Anguish

• Feelings of Disconnect

• The Mind Can Be a Scary Place

• Internal Threats Vs. External Threats

• Metaphor of Brain = Haunted House

• Gothic Imagery/Setting with “Haunted”

“Ghost” “Abbey” “Assassin”, etc.

VARYING VIEW:
• While some critics might argue……, it seems evident that
……..
• On the one hand, some may argue……., but on the other
hand it seems……. The former/latter seems to be most
likely due to…..
“THE BRAIN IS WIDER THAN THE SKY”
 KEY EVIDENCE + FACTS TO ANALYSE
• STRUCTURE = ABCB rhyme pattern with full rhyme, creating a strength in conviction in the poem
• ASSONANCE & use of long vowel sounds = openness of possibilities
• Use of COMPARATIVES in S1 = Brain is full of possibilities and limitless…even more limitless than the sky. The
Brain will easily contain the sky and even you!
• PARALLELISM in S1-3
• USE OF SIMILE comparing brain to sponge and sea to bucket of water in S2 = Brain is again limitless (deeper)…
even more limitless than the depth of the ocean. The Brain will absorb the ocean like a sponge absorbs buckets of
water.
• METAPHOR comparing the brain to God in S3 = Brain is equal weight (power) to God….lift them both up and if
the weight (pound for pound) differs, it’s just like how syllable differs from sound.
• MESSAGE = The Brain is very mighty and full of possibilities (we don’t know the limits) and this power is equal
to the power of God. The simile of “As Syllable from Sound” to describe relationship between God and Brain
shows that they are intertwined and apart of each other. Our Brain allows us to believe in God, yet one could argue
God created Brain.
• CONTEXT = 1862—Dickinson struggled throughout her life with religion, being raised a Calvinist but
transitioning to agnosticism and arguably atheism at different points in her life. She expresses personal spiritual
beliefs here that align more with Transcendentalism, which goes beyond a human-centric vision of the world,
trying to move beyond the self in order to recognise elements of the divine in the world around us.
• POWER OF THE MIND =
POWER OF GOD

• ADMIRATION FOR
COMPLEXITY OF MIND

• HARMONY BETWEEN
PHYSICAL AND DIVINE WORLDS

VARYING VIEW:
• While some critics might argue……, it seems evident that
……..
• On the one hand, some may argue……., but on the other
hand it seems……. The former/latter seems to be most
likely due to…..
“THE WIND—TAPPED LIKE A TIRED MAN—”
 KEY EVIDENCE + FACTS TO ANALYSE
• CONTEXT—Dickinson underwent a process of withdrawing from society in the early 1860s and spent almost all of her mature life at her family
home in Amherst. Critics often believe that Dickinson suffered an extreme shock or loss of someone close to her which caused her to change in
behaviour and precipitated the withdrawal from society, as well as a creative outburst of poetry as she attempted to understand what had happened
to her on a deeper level. She had several marriage proposals, but rejected them all - the shock or loss that caused her to become removed from her
local community may, critics speculate, have been the loss of a potential husband or suitor.

• SETTING—Speaker’s house, which is described very ordinary and non-descript. This makes the speaker's portrait of the wind as a ghostly,
murmuring visitor all the more striking. The everyday world, this poem suggests, is full of strangeness; one need only open the door and let it in.

• SPEAKER—They're a curious, imaginative person who notes with interest all the little movements and sounds of their guest (the wind). Perhaps
they're also rather solitary. When the wind departs and leaves the speaker "alone," readers might get the feeling that the wind was the first guest the
speaker has bothered to host for some time.

• STRUCTURE = ABCB rhyme pattern + Ballad metre (alternating tetrameter and trimeter) also called common metre and used in Church hymns

• CAESURAE = caesurae help to evoke both the speaker's efforts to capture the visiting wind and the wind's own unpredictable movements.

• /t/ /b/ /f/ /oo/ SOUND IMAGERY = /t/ mimics tapping sound as Wind requests to enter home; /b/ = heaviness (of speaker) that contrasts with
wind’s freedom; /oo/ assonance mimics sound of wind

• PERSONIFICATION = ‘footless Guest’—Wind = something strange between a person and a thing;

• USE OF SIMILE = ‘like the Push/Of numerous Humming Birds at once’ --Wind and Humming Birds = floating freely—speaker admires this
ability to travel freely
• ADMIRATION OF BEING FREE TO
TRAVEL

• PERSONIFICATION OF WIND
• SYMBOLISM / METAPHOR OF
WIND=ARTISTIC INSPIRATION
• WIND = WILD FREEDOM / QUICKLY
APPEARS AND DISAPPEARS
• EMILY DICKINSON’S RETREAT
FROM SOCIETY

VARYING VIEW:
• While some critics might argue……, it seems evident that
……..
• On the one hand, some may argue……., but on the other
hand it seems……. The former/latter seems to be most
likely due to…..
“THERE CAME A WIND LIKE A BUGLE”
 KEY EVIDENCE + FACTS TO ANALYSE
• SETTING—The landscape the poem describes sounds a lot like Dickinson's own home in Amherst, Massachusetts. The uprooted "Fences," "panting Trees," and the
church "steeple" with its windblown bell evoke a classic American rural scene. The storm is presented as impersonal and powerful with the ability to reshape (destroy)
any typical rural American town.

• SPEAKER —This speaker is clearly alert, inquisitive, thoughtful, and imaginative, able to spin a cloudburst into philosophical reflections on the nature of the whole
"World." Many of Dickinson's poems use a similar voice, unidentifiable but intense; the reader might well speculate that some of these speaker's qualities are Dickinson's
own.
• STRUCTURE--rhyme scheme pattern =ABCB with ballad rhythm (iambic tetrameter/trimeter). But little variations in the pattern also suggest the jumpy anxiety before
the storm hits. VARIATION IN RHYTHM = line 1 /like a Bugle/ = anapest with feminine ending (da da DUM—) = creates tension. FORM—single stanza, continuous—
The poem thus evokes the storm itself by running what could have been several stanzas together into one wild blast
• SYNESTHESIA— evokes the ominous light and sudden clammy cold of an approaching storm. The "Green Chill upon the Heat" makes the cold air and the weird light
seem like one inseparable, inescapable thing. By combining the senses of touch and sight, the poem suggests just how oppressive the storm feels as it creeps up on the
countryside.
• SIMILE—evokes storms sinister power; bugle = has a long, eerie, brassy note with connotations of announcing ‘Judgment Day’ from Bible or announcing to run for
your life at beginning of a hunt.
• SOUND IMAGERY—ASSONANCE —/ee/ and /oo/ mimic sound of wind and storm—establish setting in poem; ALLITERATION—makes this passage sound urgent
and driven, just as the fences, houses, trees, and rivers are driven by the stormy wind
• METAPHOR—“emerald ghost" Now, the cold greenness seems not just huge, but sinister: haunting the people in the house.
• ANAPHORA—evokes overwhelming chaos: building up tension
• ANTITHESIS—emphasizes the world will go on despite the temporary changes the storm may bring….the world will outlast the changes
• JUXTAPOSITION—powerful storm vs. helpless world suggests that people are at the mercy of huge and uncontrollable forces.

• CONTEXT—Massachusetts, where Dickinson was born, is known for its variable and sometimes extreme weather. Dickinson was characteristically inspired by nature
and saw spirituality in its power (transcendentalism), rather than in organized religion. This poem was written between 1861-1865 during the Civil War. "There came a
Wind like a Bugle," might indirectly reflect Dickinson’s thoughts and feelings about the chaos around her, even if it doesn't explicitly deal with the war. The poem's
portrait of a landscape torn to shreds by a violent storm might evoke the bewildering terror of civil war threatening to turn a familiar home into a devastated waste. Even
STORM = SYMBOL OF CHANGE

WILD STORM VS. HELPLESS

HUMAN WORLD

STORM =
REMORSELESS/INDIFFERENT

AWE-INSPIRING POWER OF
NATURE
VARYING VIEW:
• While some critics might argue……, it seems evident that
……..
• On the one hand, some may argue……., but on the other
hand it seems……. The former/latter seems to be most
likely due to…..
“TWAS THE OLD—ROAD—THROUGH PAIN—”
 KEY EVIDENCE + FACTS TO ANALYSE
• SPEAKER = chose the difficult road (‘pain’ ‘with many a turn—and thorn’), not many take it (‘unfrequented’)
……this leads to Heaven. This implies that the easy road may lead to hell and shows the speaker led a life of
suffering. Familiar Places to ‘she’ / ‘her’—The speaker seems to be talking about their former self, indicating
they’ve changed (or died) since then. Stanzas 1-3 = past tense and Stanza 4 = present tense….implying the speaker
is dead and talking about her death and life;
• METAPHOR—‘road’ ‘That stops—at Heaven”= journey through life; METAPHOR—‘little tracks’ = time
passing…’stepped more fast’ = youth and ‘close prest’ = old age
• REPETITION of ‘Then’ and past tense—emphasizes that ‘her’ / ‘she’ is dead and these familiar places are stops
on her life road.
• JUXTAPOSITION of speeds—time ‘stepped more fast’ when young (notice the /st/ BBBB rhyme) and then
transitioned to ‘slow’ when got older (notice the /t/ BCD rhyme). The rhyme transitions too from /st/ to /t/ to /ow/
to /ck/.
• SYMBOLISM—FAMILIAR OBJECTS = LEGACY LEFT ON EARTH to remind us of her; ‘little Book”—pages
(‘leaf’) are dog-eared (‘turned back’) of a book the deceased loved…the object evokes this memory. ‘Hat’—use of
‘very’ shows that speaker is interested in remembering deceased. ‘worn shoe’—the shoe that walked through the
deceased’s life is still here, even though, ‘she’ ‘fled’ and is gone.
• STRUCTURE = Irregular rhyme scheme, stanza lengths and meter.
TRANSITION FROM LIFE TO
AFTERLIFE

DEATH

REMEMBERING THE DEAD

LEGACY

VARYING VIEW:
• While some critics might argue……, it seems evident that
……..
• On the one hand, some may argue……., but on the other
hand it seems……. The former/latter seems to be most
likely due to…..