A Little East of Jordan - Emily Dickinson

Question 1

About Emily Dickinson

Answer 1

• 1830-1886
• Dickinson grew up in a religious household but never joined a church. Like her poetry, her faith is hard to fully fathom.
• Presents a number of views without reaching a conclusion of a final opinion (calls Jesus the ‘tender pioneer’ yet also says ‘God cannot be found’

Question 2

Significance of Jacob as a Gymnast

Answer 2

Creates a classic, Greek image of a powerful, strong figure of wrestling and entertainment - a worthy opponent for a messenger of God

Question 3

quotes about painting Jacob as the superior being

Answer 3

Jacob is “waxing strong” while the angel “begged permission” to stop
- suggests the angel is submissive to Jacob and is far more earthly and weak than an agent of the divine should be.

Question 4

quote alluding to Jacob’s mental agility as he demands to be blessed (highlighting that it is he who makes the rules)

Answer 4

“cunning”

Question 5

quotes about Jacob’s reaction to his wrestling with the angel

Answer 5

Jacob becomes “bewildered” (shocked by the realisation) that “he had worsted God”

• worsted refers to a type of yarn, suggesting Jacob has twisted God to his own will, like yarn can be manipulated into clothing. also links back to the beginning of the final stanza which mentions “soft silver fleeces” (creates a jarring contrastive image)
• is a play on ‘bested’ God as he had the upper hand, which creates a sense of foreboding

Question 6

biblical analysis of poem

Answer 6

follows the same structure as Genesis 32 yet places more emphasis on Jacob’s superiority to his opponent (could be intentional due to Dickinson’s ambiguous belief system?)

Question 7

midrash in the poem

Answer 7

2 versions exist, the other published by Martha Dickinson Bianchi (her niece)

• changes “Evangelists record…” to “Genesis records…” which takes away the reference to Jesus and the New Testament
• changes “Gymnast” to “Wrestler” which takes away the classical, non-biblical image
• changes “bewildered” to “astonished” which takes away Jacob’s uncertainty

the changes made remove any biblical complexity, are more focussed on the Old Testament than a reflection on the story with the hindsight of the whole Bible

Both versions are correct which leaves interpretation to the reader.