As Imperceptibly as Grief Flashcards
introduction
- written in 1880, the poem explores the almost unnoticeable passing of time through the metaphor of the changing of seasons - conceit
- the disappearance of summer is gradual without a specific moment of transition, fading just as feelings of loss and grief diminish over time
- by drawing a parallel between the end of summer and the fading of grief, Dickinson presents the idea that life and emotions are transient - like the seasons, and that loss is an inevitable part of both the human experience and the natural world
form and rhyme
- ballad rhyme scheme (ABCB) but with imperfect half-rhymes
- rhyme scheme isn’t consistent - about movement and the passing of seasons
- could represent speaker’s imperfect feelings
- stable rhythm created - writing mostly in regular iambic metre containing six or eight syllables - predictable pattern of nature and life as time moves on
examples of half-rhymes
- ‘away/perfidy’
- ‘begun/Afternoon’
- ‘keel/Beautiful’
effect of half-rhymes
- creates dissonance - sense of unease as Dickinson works through the poem towards a peaceful and hopeful conclusion
structure
- dashes - could represent speaker’s increasingly fragmented thoughts
- poems only full-stop - last line - symbolic of acceptance
- heavily punctuated - stream of consciousness - natural speech
- poem presented without breaks between quatrains - written so every fourth line is natural break point in the content - REFLECTS THE INFLUENCE OF TRADITIONAL STRUCTURES ASSOCIATED WITH BALLADS (D’s religious background and appreciation of traditional poetry)
what does the poem begin with?
- grief and mourning
finish the quote: ‘as Twilight…
…long begun’
‘as Twilight long begun’
- time imagery
- suggests that grief is inevitable
finish the quote: ‘as imperceptibly as..
…grief, the summer lapsed away’
‘as imperceptibly as grief, the summer lapsed away’
- suggests that like summer passing, grief takes a long time to fade away
finish the quote: ‘spending..
..with herself’
‘spending with herself’
- personification of nature
- personified as a woman who is isolated - mimetic of Dickinson
- intertwined with human experience - the transition of summer leads to a calm moment of introspection and reflection for nature
finish the quote: ‘Dusk drew…
…earlier in’
‘Dusk drew earlier in’
- the passing of time is incontrollable
finish the quote: ‘As Guest..
..that would be gone’
‘As Guest, that would be gone’
- transitory nature of seasons
- time is personified as a guest who wants to leave
‘Grief’
‘Summer’
‘Perfidy’
- capitalisations
- suggest importance and almost personifies them
finish the quote: ‘A Quietness distilled..
..As Twilight long begun
Or nature spending with herself
Sequestered Afternoon’
‘A Quietness distilled
As Twilight long begun
Or nature spending with herself
Sequestered Afternoon’
- ‘Quietness’ and ‘Sequestered’ - grief seems almost peaceful and comforting
- suggests that grief in intense and long lasting
- ‘Twilight’ - liminal stage - like between summer and autumn
finish the quote: The Morning..
..foreign shone’
finish the quote: ‘harrowing..
..Grace’
‘foreign’
‘harrowing Grace’
- happiness is strange and unfamiliar to the persona
- unfamiliarity of autumn days
- oxymoron - ‘harrowing Grace’ - brings together the sorrow of grief and the beauty and gentleness of change
- implies that human existence can be both challenging and uplifting
finish the quote: ‘without a Wing..
../Or service of a Keel’
‘Wing’
‘Keel’
- summer/grief needs no assistance to pass
- natural process - Dickinson normalises grief
finish the quote: ‘light..
…escape’
‘light escape’
- adjective - suggests lightness and ease
- grief slowly but surely eases itself out of your life- just like summer
finish the quote: ‘Our..
..Summer’
‘Our Summer’
- plural possessive noun
- makes the passing of grief a shared and universal experience
finish the quote: ‘Into..
..the Beautiful’
‘Into the Beautiful’
- the passing of grief is something to celebrate - positive tone at the end of the poem
- the passing of time should not be feared ; instead, comfort should be taken from the realisation that transience, ultimately culminating in death, enables transcendence to something more exquisite
mood and tone
- logical and conclusive tone - ‘And thus’
- reflective and mournful - remarks that positive things feel ‘foreign’ + metaphors ‘A Quietness distilled’
key quotations for transience
“The Summer lapsed away —”
“Or Nature spending with herself
Sequestered Afternoon —”
“A courteous, yet harrowing Grace,
As Guest, that would be gone —”
ANALYSIS FOR KEY QUOTES FOR TRANSIENCE
“The Summer lapsed away —”
“Or Nature spending with herself
Sequestered Afternoon —”
“A courteous, yet harrowing Grace,
As Guest, that would be gone —”
“lapsed” suggests a gradual change, further enhanced by assonance, creating a smooth, flowing sound, mirroring the idea of imperceptibility
Describing quietness as “distilled” suggests purity and tranquillity; here Dickinson implies the transition to autumn is inevitable, bringing an opportunity for reflection. The rhythmic break invites the reader to pause and reflect
The word “Guest” highlights the impermanence of the summer and of feelings of grief, emphasised by the use of alliteration in “Guest”, Grace”, “gone”
key quotations for loss/grief
“As imperceptibly as Grief”
“Too imperceptible at last
To seem like Perfidy —”
“The Morning foreign shone —
A courteous, yet harrowing Grace,
As Guest, that would be gone —
ANALYSIS FOR KEY QUOTES FOR LOSS/GRIEF
“As imperceptibly as Grief”
“Too imperceptible at last
To seem like Perfidy —”
“The Morning foreign shone —
A courteous, yet harrowing Grace,
As Guest, that would be gone —
Through the simile, Dickinson draws an unusual parallel between the passing of summer (usually associated with life) and the passing of grief (often associated with darkness and death). Just as summer’s beauty is fleeting, so too is the pain of grief
“Perfidy” (betrayal) can apply both to the summer’s departure and to a person moving on from grief, linking nature with the human experience; to move on from grief is not a betrayal but the result of the passing of time
The poem only contains two lines that rhyme perfectly: line 10 “shone” and line 12 “gone”. This has the effect of emphasising that presence is transient and that all things, however painful, will eventually fade
key quotations for nature
“The Dusk drew earlier in —”
“And thus, without a Wing
Or service of a Keel”
ANALYSIS FOR KEY QUOTES FOR NATURE
“The Dusk drew earlier in —”
“And thus, without a Wing
Or service of a Keel”
“Dusk drew”: alliteration suggests the encroaching darkness and underscores its gradual onset
“Keel” and “wing” evoke classical imagery, suggesting a desire to ground the poem in tradition and thus giving it a sense of timelessness
key quotations for transcendence
“Our Summer made her light escape
Into the Beautiful.”
ANALYSIS FOR KEY QUOTES FOR TRANSCENDENCE
“Our Summer made her light escape
Into the Beautiful.”
By describing summer’s escape as “light”, Dickinson suggests that it was not painful. The word “light” also contrasts with the notion of darkness, suggesting a moment of transcendence; death, (often symbolised by darkness) is a natural part of life and not something to be feared
