Emily Dickinson poems Flashcards
What are some notable aspects of Emily dickinsons poetry?
- Unusual use of punctuation : use of the dash and capital letters
- Concrete words to communicate abstract ideas
- Relies on the associations/connotations of words in order to convey meaning
- Strong visual impact - moves fluidly from one visual image to another
- Images, specifically similes and metaphors are used to convey the theme and the tone and are mostly symbolic-they are not just there for decorative purpose.
Tell me 4 notes on “Hope” is the thing with feathers
- Bird is depicted as a spiritual thing that ‘perches in the soul’
- Paradoxical strength/resilience of ‘the little Bird’
- Optimistic tone is sustained throughout the poem
- End rhyme, run on lines (no full stops or comma’s) and
- alliteration give the poem a musical
Tell me 4 more notes on “Hope” is the thing with feathers
Use of dashes before and after phrases draws our attention to those expressions
* THEME: Enduring Power of Hope
* Hope is physically represented in nature by the metaphor of the bird. (linked with warmth)
Tell me 5 notes on I felt a Funeral, in my Brain
- Relentless build up on noise in stanza 1 and 2 convey
the degradation of the mind - Effective aural terms
- Mournful mood- “toll”. She can only hear - loneliness/isolation
- Noise reaches crescendo - “Plank of reason broke”
- “Dropped down” into death or insanity.
Tell me 5 more notes on I felt a Funeral, in my Brain
- Dramatic opening line portraying her imaginary death.
- Dramatic use of sound and image
- Possibly symbolising her emotional and mental collapse instead of death (or maybe both)
- Intensely personal (repeated I)
- Funeral style of language and narrative evoke a sense of trauma and powerless.
Tell me 5 notes on I heard a Fly Buzz - when I died –
- Moment of death/transition process from life to death
- Intensely personal - repetition of “I”
- Contrasts silence and buzzing
- Imagery outlines the intensity of grieving.
- All await the arrival of God.
Tell me 4 notes on I heard a Fly Buzz - when I died –
- Instead the fly arrives symbolising death and decomposition
- “the light” - from the windows/afterlife/illusion of afterlife or a symbol of understanding and truth about life/death
- Closing lines evoke a sense of confusion and darkness without even a hint of a spiritual afterlife beyond death.
- Language of uncertainty throughout the poem culminates in the final line.
Tell me 3 notes on After great pain, a formal feeling comes
- This poem explores the ‘great pain’ of Dickinson’s inner self.
- Perhaps the formal feeling is what we feel during a funeral.
- Allusions to Jesus Christ made, linking in with themes of religion.
Tell me 4 notes about The Soul has Bandaged moments
- Soul is suffering, vulnerable and terrified Moments (plural) suggests soul’s resilience and endurance despite sense of threat/violation
- Figure of ‘Fright’ personified.
- Vivid imagery of escape/delight/vitality/excitement expose contrasting psychological conditions of poet.
- Nature is invoked to further express happiness through the comparison to bee and paradise.
Tell me 3 more notes about The Soul has Bandaged moments
- A sense that this paradisiacal perfection is transient.
- Images of confinement and imprisonment at the end
- ‘The Horror’ is so horrendous that it is beyond description/cannot be spoken about
Tell me 3 notes about There’s a Certain Slant of light
- This poem explores the depths of Dickinson’s inner landscape, while also reflecting on her attitude towards God.
- While light generally has positive connotations, this poem’s winter setting creates a sense of darkness and gloom.
- The phrase ‘imperial affliction’ evokes the harshness of God’s will.
- Such negative terms as ‘oppresses’, ‘Hurt’ and ‘Despair’ underscore the poem’s pessimistic and despondent mood.
- By the close of the poem, death remains as inexplicable as ever.
Tell me 2 more notes about There’s a Certain Slant of light
- The phrase ‘imperial affliction’ evokes the harshness of God’s will.
- Such negative terms as ‘oppresses’, ‘Hurt’ and ‘Despair’ underscore the poem’s pessimistic and despondent mood.
- By the close of the poem, death remains as inexplicable as ever.
What are some quotes from The soul has bandaged moments and give explanations
“The sound has bandaged moments” The soul has moments of escape from anguish.
“She dances like a bomb” simile used to emphasis the shift in tone to a darker one.
What are some quotes from I heard a fly buzz when I died and give explanations
“Eyes around - had wrung them dry” mourners crushing their eyes out
“”With blue- uncertain stumbling buzz- between the light and me” - this adds to the uncertain feeling of the last stanza
What are some quotes from I felt a funeral, in my brain and give explanations
“A service like a drum kept beating - beating” repetition -dramatic use of sound and image
“And then a plank in reason, broke” she has broken through reason
