As Imperceptibly As Grief - Emily Dickinson Flashcards
Structure
One long yet concise stanza. No regular structure
Punctuation is important in this poem with frequent dashes creating a choppy staccato rhythm, suitable for the subject matter.
Themes
Passing of time
Grief
Context
She is an American Romantic - more obsessed with the supernatural than nature
Spent most of her time in her bedroom and rarely left her house after 1865
Originally composed in 1865 but was finalised after her mother’s death in 1882
Was likely gay and may have had a romantic relationship with her brother’s wife
As imperceptibly as Grief
The Summer lapsed away -
The poet compares the passing of summer to autumn to the gradual, subtle passing of grief from a painful loss towards acceptance. It juxtaposes the normal presentation of summer as a place of warmth and happiness. It’s reflective of an inner change within the poet. By opening with a subordinate clause, it creates tension within the poem. The capitalisation of certain nouns throughout the poem personifies them and presents them as universal.
Too imperceptible, at last
To seem like Perfidy —
The repetition of ‘imperceptibly’ in a different form is known as polyptoton. Summer passed unnoticeably, that it is almost disloyal to everyone who was enjoying it. It is symbolic that like seasons, emotions pass and give way to other feelings. She is feeling guilty that her grief is disappearing as it makes her feel disloyal to her mother’s memory. The stanza ends with another dash, forming a caesura, which enables the reader to pause and contemplate the unexpected ideas.
A Quietness distilled
She depicts the personified Nature in late summer/early autumn, a time for quiet contemplation. ‘Distilled’ suggests that the quiet has grown stronger since she lost someone to talk to in her mother.
As Twilight long begun
Or Nature spending with herself
Sequestered Afternoon —
The poet chose to express darkness in terms of ‘twilight’, representing peace and seclusion inverting what the reader might expect. ‘Long begun’ suggests it started happening a long time ago but she only noticed it now. Again, ‘spending with herself’ suggests reclusiveness and peacefulness. ‘Sequestered’ means hidden so nature is hidden away
The Dusk drew earlier in —
The Morning foreign shone —
The poet seems poised just between happiness and unhappiness. Just as the seasons turn and night overtakes day the speaker has to face changes. ‘Dusk’ and ‘Morning’ are at opposing times of day which could refer to the inevitable cycle of seasons and therefore emotions which suggests she will no matter what she will feel grief again. Meanwhile, the placement of foreign is syntactically odd which creates a weird feeling. It suggests she doesn’t recognise or acknowledge the morning as it is bright and cheerful but she thinks she is still in mourning or at least wants to be. The poet uses alliterative ’d’s in ‘Dusk drew’ and assonant ‘o’s in ‘morning foreign shone’. These add to the rhymmic unity.
A courteous, yet harrowing Grace
As Guest that would be gone —
The use of adjectives ‘courteous’ and ‘harrowing’ is contradictory especially when before the capitalised ‘Grace’ which is Christian blessing. This simile rounds off Dickinson’s perceptions in this stanza that the physical signs of Summer are ending. Here, the morning sunlight is depicted as a welcome Guest but one that is impatient to leave with the passing of Summer. The oxymoron ‘harrowing Grace’ shows how Dickinson feels at once blessed by the morning rays of sunlight, but at the same time tormented by the thought that Summer is coming to an end. Note that the alliterative ‘g’s in ‘Grace’, ‘Guest’ and ‘gone’ link the two enjambed lines.
And thus without a Wing
Or service of a Keel
Our Summer made her light escape
Into the Beautiful
A ‘wing’ and a ‘keel’ are both used for navigation so the lack of them suggest it was inevitably going to leave. Her grief eventually faded into acceptance but it was bittersweet as she isn’t necessarily happy about it yet. When it starts to fade away it can be a painful and lonely process but it has to be accepted as part of the natural cycle. The reference to “her light escape” has an ethereal quality that reflects the elusive nature of this poem as we have no idea what the beautiful is
Whys
Dickinson uses the poem as a cathartic means to process and express her overwhelming feelings of loss and grief.
Dickinson suggests that feelings of grief gradually soften and change over time, much like the seasons inevitably lapse into one another.
Dickinson suggests that loss is an irrevocable part of the natural process of life and human experience, over which we have no control.
