As Imperceptibly as Grief Flashcards
What is the context of Emily Dickinson? (the poet)
-American poet - 19th century
-obsessed with and afraid of death since one of her closest friends died
-from the ages of 10-25 her bedroom overlooked a cemetery in which five of her friends were buried
-a religious revival (meaning and increased public interest in and celebration of faith) occurred in 1845, which led to Dickinson attending Church for a few years but she never made a declaration of faith
-Dickinson was a recluse even though she had friends she communicated to them through letters
-her seclusion was mainly caused by her mother, who was ill and demanded that one of her daughters remain by her side at times
-fewer than a dozen of Dickinson’s poems were published in her lifetime meaning she wasn’t a career poet, this suggests that her poetry was very personal and not intended for an audience
What does ‘imperceptible/y’ mean?
so slight
gradual
as not to be perceived
What does ‘lapsed’ mean?
vanished or expired
What does ‘perfidy’ mean?
deceit
What does ‘distilled’ mean?
purification of a liquid OR having been shortened so that only the essential meaning remains
What does ‘sequestered’ mean?
isolated and hidden away
What does ‘courteous’ mean?
polite
What does ‘harrowing’ mean?
distressing
What does ‘keel’ mean?
part of a boat (or just a boat) OR a ridge along the breastbone of many birds to which the flight muscles are attached
How would you analyse ‘As Imperceptibly as Grief’?
the poem’s title foreshadows the theme of death particularly done by the word ‘Grief’, establishing its importance to the poem and creating a melancholic tone
What does the beginning of the poem suggest?
‘As imperceptibly as Grief,
The Summer lapsed away-‘
the simile suggests that ,like summer passing, grief takes a long time to fade away
‘Summer’ is portrayed as happiness/peak in life
‘lapsed away’ is suggesting coming to an end/death is approaching
by placing ‘Grief’ first in the simile it suggests it is significant to the poet
What does the capitalisation of the nouns suggest?
capitalisation of the nouns throughout the poem suggests importance, and almost personifies them
What does the relatively everyday language used throughout the poem suggest?
everyday language suggests that grief is quite a normal thing to experience
What could the dashes throughout the poem represent?
-unstable mind
-absence/a gap
-connection and separation
-moment of contemplation
-ambiguity
-fragmented thoughts
What does the description of ‘distilled’ and ‘long begun’ suggest?
‘distilled’ suggests that grief is intense and long-lasting
‘long begun’ suggests that grief lasts a while
What does the imagery of ‘Twilight’ suggest?
time imagery could suggest that grief is inevitable and could indicate the passing of time like life and death, which could reinforce the idea that grief is inevitable
‘Twilight’ imagery could also represent a time of change from day into night or night into day, depending on interpretation it could be taken as good things are about to come or discouraging as it could herald in even more darkness
What is the significance of the personification of ‘Nature spending with herself’?
Nature has been personified as a woman who is isolated-Dickinson projecting her feelings into the poem?
What does the words ‘Quietness’ and ‘Sequestered’ suggest about grief?
grief seems almost peaceful and comforting
What does the half-rhyme in parts of the poem suggest?
the imperfect half-rhyme could represent the speaker’s imperfect feelings
What does the image of ‘Dusk drew earlier in-‘ suggest about time?
the passing of time is uncontrollable, highlighting the inevitability of time passing
‘Dusk’ is the darkness drawing in and her happiness growing shorter each day
What is the effect of the personification of ‘As Guest, that would be gone-‘?
time has been personified as a guest who wants to leave reiterating the idea that time must pass no matter how much we want to dwell
time is more powerful than man
What is the significance of the words ‘foreign’ and ‘harrowing Grace’?
happiness is strange and unfamiliar to the poet
‘foreign’ as it offers light and hope which the poet isn’t used to
‘harrowing Grace’ is something that should be kind and gentle but seems painful and frightening to the poet, reinforcing the idea that the poet has been grieving for some time
How does ‘And thus,’ change the mood of the poem?
it suggests a shift in mood for this poem as it has been very metaphorical but ‘And thus’ is logical and creates a conclusive tone, putting their grief aside and ready to move on
What might ‘Keel’ and ‘Wing’ suggest about summer and grief?
summer/grief needs no assistance to pass (its natural)
What is the significance of the plural possessive pronoun ‘Our’ in ‘Our Summer’?
the plural possessive noun makes the passing of grief a shared experience
What does the adjective ‘light’ in ‘light escape’ suggest?
the poet accepting that she will have to face death and the adjective ‘light’ suggests that it is easy and natural
What does the poem’s final line ‘Into the Beautiful’ create?
‘Beautiful’ helps to create a positive time-the passing of grief is something to celebrate
it could suggest she is ready to move onto heaven (positive ending)
What does the full stop at the end of the poem symbolise?
it is the poem’s only full stop and could symbolise acceptance
What does no dashes being in the last four lines of the poem suggest?
the lack of dashes could suggest that the poet’s thoughts are collected and that their pain is over
What is the overall meaning of the poem ‘As Imperceptibly as Grief’?
Dickinson compares the fading of summer to that of grief passing over time
grief or the passing of summer is shown to be very raw, intense emotion
as grief, or summer, nearly fades a new start is welcomed in, which feels strange
it fades away completely into, or leaves behind, the ‘Beautiful’, which could suggest a positive feeling
What are the themes of the poem ‘As Imperceptibly as Grief’?
-LOSS
-TIME
-DEATH
-POWER OF GRIEF
What is the context of the poem?
-Emily Dickinson was a recluse so she had plenty of time to think
-she was influenced by the Bible and poets
-she always overlooked a graveyard
