As imperceptibility as grief Flashcards
1
Q
title
A
Title – foreshadows death.
noun ‘grief’ which helps to create a melancholic tone to the poet.
2
Q
Stanza 1
A
- the poem begins with a simile ‘as imperceptibly as grief’ which compares the ending of summer to that of grief fading away. This suggest that grief is inevitable and cyclical because summer comes around once every year. This creates a highly observational tone which emphasises how Dickinson thought about the world on a longer time scale which is evident as she rarely left home for 30 years.
- The use of the verb ‘lapsed’ has connotations of a time lapse which is used to record a highly sped up video – for example a five second video of a full sunrise and sunset. This emphasises how quickly summer fades away, highlighting how a change over time may not be perceptible and therefore depressing.
- the dashes could represent Dickinson’s fragile and unstable mind which suggests that the Speaker of the poem cannot stay focused on one idea for too long perhaps because of the weight of grief of his on their mind and that weight is causing their thoughts to become tangential and fragmented.
3
Q
Stanza 2
A
- In the phrase ‘A quietness distilled’ Dickinson uses the assonance of ‘i’ sounds, the consonance of ‘t’ sounds and sibilance to give the phrase a linguistic purity mimicking the idea of distillation which is a process that uses temperature alteration to purify a liquid this reminds the reader of Dickinson’s interest in science, developed in her youth. This implies that warmth of summer has progressively made “quietness” purer. This highlights that the ending of summer makes grief more intense.
- the time imagery of ‘‘Twilight’ Indicates a change from day into night which reinforces the idea that death / grief is inevitable.
- Nature has been personified as not just a woman but as a woman who is isolated this could be seen as Dickenson projecting and putting herself or her feelings into the poem as she was isolated for most of her adult life.
- Dickinson uses half rhyme in this section in ‘begun’ and ‘afternoon’ this imperfection could reflect the speaker’s imperfect feelings and the pain of grief.
4
Q
Stanza 3
A
- The image ‘dusk drew earlier in’ means that the evenings arrive earlier as summer turns to autumn.
- The use of alliteration in “dusk drew” conjures the idea of the day being covered with darkness emphasizes the dusk’s arrival - suggests that the passing of time is highlighting the inevitability of death and grief.
- In the phrase “The morning foreign shone”, ‘Foreign’ suggests that ‘mornings’ (which connotes happiness, opportunity and life) feels very unfamiliar to Dickinson as their grief begins to fade.
- this is further emphasized by the oxymoron ‘harrowing grace’ which suggests that ‘grace’ (something that is usually positive) has become harrowing (unsettling or distressing). This reinforces the idea that the speaker has been grieving for some time
5
Q
Stanza 4
A
- ‘And thus’ indicates a shift in mood from being very metaphorical and contemplative beforehand to now being logical and creating a conclusive tone.
- Highlights how the speaker has rationalized their grief and is ready to move on.
- ‘wing’ & ‘keel’ are things that facilitate movement through water or air - suggests that escape requires flight or the ability to sail to be facilitated, however the summer and therefore also a grief does so without these things making its escape seem natural.
- This is reinforced by the adjective ‘light’ which suggests that the escape is something that is both natural and easy.
- The lack of dashes in the final four lines contrast the rest of the poem which could suggest that the speaker’s mind is now clear focused and that they have accepted what has happened.
6
Q
quotes
A
stanza 1
* as imperceptibly as grief
* lapsed
* dashes
stanza 2
* A quietness distilled
* Twilight
* ‘begun’ ‘afternoon’
stanza 3
* dusk drew earlier in
* The morning foreign shone
* harrowing grace
stanza 4
* And thus
* ‘wing’ & ‘keel’
* lack of dashes
