Emily Dickinson Flashcards
marsh or swamp
bog
dull, bleak, and lifeless; depressing
dreary
a figure of speech in which incongruous or contradictory terms are combined
oxymoron
courteous behavior; politeness
civility
the ancestry, especially upper-class ancestry of a person or family
pedigree
light, thin, and delicate
gossamer
entire; whole
livelong
a hereditary ruling class; nobility
aristocracy
"Because I could not stop for Death- He kindly stopped for me- The Carriage held but just Ourselves- And Immortality." What important fact about the speaker is established here in the first stanza?
She is dead.
What are some of Death’s characteristics?
kind; leisurely; civil
We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess-in the Ring-
We passed the fields of Gazing Grain-
We passed the Setting Sun-“
Stanza 3 contains anaphora with the clause “We passed..” These clauses introduce three important images, which are symbolic of what?
the stages of life
"Or rather-He passed us- The dews drew quivering and chill- For only Gossamer, my Gown- My tippet-only Tulle-" How does the speaker feel about the sun sets?
It is cold, dewy, and chilly. She is underdressed.
“We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground-“
What does the “House that seemed / A swelling of the Ground?” represent?
her grave
“I first surmised the Horses’ Heads
Were toward Eternity-“
The fact that the Horses’ Heads are pointed toward eternity suggests what?
The soul is eternal.
What is the Central One Idea [Teacher version] of the poem?
The soul is immortal - death will stop for all of us and transport us to eternity.
"The pedigree of honey Does not concern the bee; A clover, any time, to him Is aristocracy." Why does the pedigree of honey literally not concern the bee?
Because he can make honey from the simplest flower, the clover.
What does the clover symbolize in the poem, The Pedigree of Honey?
the beauty and value of the common, the regular
What does the speaker so confidently announce in the opening line of I’m Nobody! Who are You?
She is a Nobody
In I’m Nobody! Who are You?, what does the speaker feel is a dreary, terrible thing to be?
a Somebody
How would you best describe the tone of the poem, I’m Nobody! Who are You?
satirical; ironic; witty
“How dreary-to be …
How public-like a ___ -“
What is the missing word in the second line?
frog
In the poem, I’m Nobody! Who are You?, the speaker speaks directly to the reader, including hte reader in a kind of:
inside secret
“Livelong June” is kind of:
oxymoron
