As imperceptibly as grief

Question 1

The Tone

Answer 1

The tone is melancholic – “Twilight long begun” suggests that grief is overtaking her happiness.

Question 2

Semantic field of night and the sense of impending darkness

Answer 2

The use of imagery of the end of a day/season such as “dusk”, “twilight” and “Summer lapsed away” suggests the passing of time and life.

Question 3

Structure

Answer 3

Dickenson uses a series of dashes to create a hesitant and disjointed pace to the poem, reflecting her own fractured state of mind

Question 4

‘Dusk drew in earlier’

Answer 4

The word ‘Dusk’ suggests that the speaker feels the darkness is drawing closer and she feels that the light (her happiness) is growing shorter each day.

Question 5

‘Morning foreign shone’

Answer 5

The morning is ‘foreign’ to her because it offers light and hope. This is something that she does not recognise.

Question 6

Acceptance

Answer 6

The word ‘light’ in ‘light escape’ could suggest that the speaker has finally accepted that time passes and that they will have to face death.