Analysis of Emily Dickenson Poems

1. In Poem 67, "Success is counted sweetest," what do you think the poet is saying about success? What must the individual experience before understanding success? How is this poem ironic?

I think that Emily Dickinson may be saying that expectations of something one strives for can sometimes highly outweigh actually achieving the goal. Perhaps she is musing on her own unachieved goals, but instead of being exasperated at not accomplishing these things, she changes her view of what she expects. Then with that changed view of the expectation, not attaining that state is less depressing. Or maybe she is saying that once success is achieved its appeal no longer resides in the unknown, so it has lost its magic mysterious quality.

She says that an individual must have "sorest need" before he is able to "comprehend a nectar", which brings to mind the phrase 'sweet success'. The need and inability to obtain success will provide the motivation to action.

The poem may seem ironic because it is emphasizing that one must never have had what is wished for, for it to happen. This seems to be quite the conundrum but of course it came from Emily Dickinson so it is perhaps expected.

2. Poem 214 speaks of nature as if it were a liquor. How do you think the poet views nature in this poem? Explain your position.

She views nature as a beautiful thing, and it is intoxicating to be surrounded by such beauty. She is captivated by the world around her and enamored by the intricacies of nature. When she says, "inebriate of air - am I- and Debauchee of Dew- Reeling- thro' endless summer days - From inns of molten Blue -" it is quite evident that she is in love with nature, and escapes into the beauty of the outside world. She, being so intoxicated, must really appreciate the seasons and the surrounding woods where she resides.

3. Poem 280 may be a poem about a mental collapse. What is the collapse compared to? What images does Dickinson evoke to describe this collapse?

The mental collapse that Dickinson is trying to convey is paralleled to that of a funeral. One can almost sense a pounding while reading with the description of "kept treading-- treading...Kept beating -- beating", and interpret it as a giant headache, and while reading the words aloud the very prominent rhythm becomes more obvious. Her impending loss of sanity is accented by the thrumming, and her description of the collapse gives the reader perspective into her own awareness of it as she says, "that sense was breaking through--...my mind was going numb".

4. Find two poems in the assignment that have to do with religion. Do these poems indicate the poet's grappling with God and religion? If so, how?

336 "The face I carry with me" and 1732 "My life closed twice before it's close" both deal with religion, but more in the sense of a resignation instead of a constant struggle to attain an ideal. In 336 Dickinson says, "And then - he'll turn me round and round- To an admiring sky- As One that bore her Master's name - Sufficient Royalty" to describe her appearance in heaven, and the reactions of the angels and God praising her faithfulness. She likens her faith to that of Gabriel, and says that even he begged her to put on the crown, emphasizing the strength of her belief.

In the second poem 1732, Emily expresses the idea that she may not be so certain about what the afterlife contains, but she expresses this with patience not exasperation. As she says, "so huge, so hopeless to conceive As these that twice befell. Parting is all we know of heaven, And all we need of hell" she is manifesting that Death is the only thing we are truly certain of, and then after that uncertainty is all we can expect. She seems resigned with the ambiguity that death presents.

5. Find two poems in the assignment that have to do with death. Do these poems indicate the poet's uncertainty over death? If so, how?

In poem 315 "He fumbles at your Soul" and in poem 712 "Because I could not stop for Death", Dickinson views death personified as that of a man coming to call on her, and not some foreboding end to her consciousness. In the first poem she says, "he fumbles at your Soul As Players at the Keys- Before they drop full Music on- He stuns you by Degrees" painting death as a playful person toying with the idea of your mortality by stunning the person in little ways before the big final blow. She seems to be saying that the warning signs of death become evident long before its arrival so that one can even expect it when 'he' arrives.
The second, and one of her most famous poems, "Because I could not stop for death" has a very playful tone, with a very serious content. She seems almost relaxed as she describes in the poem, "we slowly drove- He knew no haste And I had put away My labor and my leisure too, For His Civility" and it is apparent that she is ironically treating death as a rather kind, and considerate gentleman, instead of the grief-filled joyless time that it often seems to be. She treats death as something to be expected, and taken slowly, so slowly that she doesn't even seem to realize she is dead when she says, "Since then- 'tis Centuries- and yet Feels shorter than the Day I first surmised the Horses' Head Were toward Eternity-" and acts like she had been enjoying the ride so much that she fails to realize her actual state of being. So she expresses the waiting around for death, but there is no fear or anxiety present in these words. There is definitely an expectation present, which seems to deny any uncertainty, but how can anyone be that uncertain when it is unavoidably eventual? Emily Dickinson almost expects Death's arrival to be pleasant.