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Sunday, January 13, 2013
Dickinson 1
In this first post, free-write for 30 minutes on two of the following poems you read tonight: 142, 327, 374, 54. Post your writing as a "comment" to this one. Start your post with the numbers of the poem you've chosen.
Your post should touch on three things: key words, key metaphors, and points of confusion/ambiguity. Write about what puzzles you; use writing as an opportunity to think through the poem.
Explore connections between your two poems as well as connections back to the poems and themes we discussed in class.
If you follow instructions and spend 30 minutes writing to think through the poem, you get full credit.
Due by 8 am Wednesday.
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142 and 374
ReplyDeleteIn poem 142, the key words i found were "Heavens", "Columns", "alone", "Speck", and "Circumference". The first line of the poem is "I saw no Way", here I asked myself, no way to what? Later she tells us that she saw no way to Heaven. "The Heavens were stitched", meaning that they were tightly knit, therefore it was hard for her to see herself getting to Heaven. She says that she "felt the columns close", so the Heavens are being closed toward her, she doesnt believe that she will be able to enter heaven. "The Earth reversed her hemispheres" could mean that the Earth or society influenced her, Emily, so much that it reversed the two sides of herself, maybe her body and soul. The metaphor that I found was "I alone a Speck upon a Ball", "I" being Emily Dickinson, the speck being herself, and the "ball" being the Earth. This is significant because she feels that she is nothing more to the world than a tiny insignificant speck that one can barely see. "Went out upon Circumference" could mean many things because of the unknown subject, but i think that since the beginning talks about her being closed out of heaven, she finally goes toward that border between Earth and Heaven and even beyond it.
In poem 374, the key words I found were "Monotony", "Heart", "insufficient", "convulsive", "demolishes", and "dissolves". The Heart is the subject of the poem's first stanze. The Heart has "narrow banks", which are the heart valves and veins, "It measures like the Sea", meaning that the Heart is evquivalent to the sea. "In mighty- unremitting Bass", meaning that the Heart is beating very stong and continuous. "And Blue Monotony", meaning just like the Sea, the Heart has a samness about it or uniformity. The second stanza of the poem starts with "Till Hurricane bisect". Here there is a new subject and it is Hurricane. The Hurricane could be a catastrophe in someone's life and the feelings that this person has goes to the heart and can potentially destroy that person. If the hurricane is bisect, then it is divided into two equal parts, probably good and bad. And as itself, the hurricane recognizes the lack of force or inability of the heart to function properly as two parts. The Heart will then learn that the the calm part of the hurricane, the eye of the hurricane, has a wall around it. But the wall is not strong, the wall is thin and transparent. "An instant push demolishes", is confusing because I do not know exactly what is being demolished, if it is the wall, or if it is "A Questioning", which dissolves.
In poem 45, the metaphor is kind of confusing to me but I think it has to do with being honest with yourself and the people around you. I think this becase of some of the key words like, "true", "sham", "simulate", "impossible", "homely". Even thouh some of these words like sham and simulate appear to be the opposite of honesty, Dickinson is using them in a negative way. Another key word I'm confused about is "convullsion"- I'm not sure what this means but it seems important because it is capitalized. In my opinion, the metaphor of poem 54 is about being honest until your death. This poem directly connets to poem 374 because it also has the word, "convulsive".
ReplyDeletePoem 374 was all about the heart, and what the heart learns over the year. "The heart" is repeated multiple times throughout the poem. She compares the heart to the sea, this is one of key metaphors. The sea is calm at times, and then chaotic like during a "hurricane" (which is a prominant word in the poem). Some other key words that stuck out to me were, "Sea", "Hurricane", "Calm", "demolishes", and "Questioning". These all seem somewhat negative too. ButI think it represents the different obstacles a heart can go through.
in poem 54 the key words and phrases that i found were; "I like a look of Agony", sham, Convulsion, Throe, "the beads upon the forhead. when she says "I like a look or Angony" i believs here that she says this becuase it is one of the purist states of man, you cant fake agony, it is a mans true self. I believe in this poem the metaphor is men lying to women, and this is what makes her apreciate when someone feels agony. that is why she goes on to say that men can't fake muscles either , that what they have is what they got. i also beliesv that this poem follows Whitmans style of writting beucase it doesnt have that flow that Dickenson usually has it is choppy and it is merging humans with feelings.
ReplyDeletein Poem 374 seems to be talking about love and the different experiences that people go through to find love. when she says "the heart has narrow banks its measures like the sea" she is talking about that what peoples heart wants is pretty simple they all want the same thing which is love. There is a long path that people have to go through to find love and even though it can get ruff like a "hurricane" people still disire it and are always willing to put them selfs at risk of being hurt for it.
142
ReplyDeleteIt’s taking me a while to adjust from Whitman to Dickinson. What is puzzling is the formula of her words. Dickinson uses words such as “stitched” to describe the togetherness or the closing of the Heavens. She writes “the columns close.” This is confusing as well because physically columns don’t close, columns support something, and columns are basically a foundation. In the beginning she is at death and she sees no other “Way.” She sees the Heavens not open before her yet she doesn’t mention the common alternative, Hell. Dickinson wrote the “Earth reversed her hemispheres-I touched the universe-“Everything is out of order, everything is not going forward or planned. Because of this she remotely is in touch with the universe which we have discussed that in contrast to Whitman, Dickinson does not want to be a part of the whole. I sense a lot of loneliness in this poem as well. “Speck” makes me think of something tiny, unimportant. A speck on the “circumference.” A circumference being the Earth which essentially means she something small coexisting with something big. In contrast to Whitman, I think that Dickinson values liberty and the freedom of expression of oneself. Dickinson is all about being a “speck” being “alone.” It does her every bit of good. What is confusing is “Beyond the Dip of Bell-“ Beyond the point of no return, beyond the point of humanity, beyond the point of not wanting to merge with everyone else?
374
The first two lines of this poem are confusing because the descriptions of the metaphor and simile contradict each other. First she writes “has narrow banks” and then “like the sea.” There is nothing narrow about the sea, in fact a simile of the sea is more on message with the oceanic-feeling and merging with the world. The word “unremitting” perplexes me. Skipping through I am curious about what is the meaning behind what the heart learns in the poem. I also notice that in this poem there are less dashes so her thoughts were more forward. When Dickinson mentions the “Wall” she is hinting at the perplexed deceit of mergence. The idea that everything merges and from that mergence the world will be all “Kumbaya,” that in the midst of the civil war, if the two sides were to put aside their differences, nothing would happen. She thinks that death is more of a blessing than a sad occasion. I do not understand “Hurricane bisect” “demolishes A questioning” and what questioning that might be is confusing as well. Nothing really changes in this life she’s trying to hint.
In poem 142 the key words and phrases I found were: "a speck upon a ball," hemispheres, circumference, heavens, "Beyond the dip of bell." This poem really was really confusing, what I think shes talking about is religion/God and how she doesnt know weather to have faith in God or not. That she feels completly alone in the world "a speck upon a ball" to point where its hard to believe that there is actually someone up there in the heavens. What also led me to this discovery was the phrase "beyond the dip of bell" at first I didnt understand what this meant but im pretty sure its refering to a church bell.
ReplyDeleteIn poem 327 the key words and phrases I found were: debated, envy, men, "she staked her feathers", "among the billows." I think what she is refereing to here is an argument or debate against something. Where im getting this from is when she says "she staked her feathers" meaning shes standing up for or against something possibly a man. "Among the billows" I think has something to do with her position in the world, like her rights. So that would mean that this poem is her talking about women and their rights, how at the time when this was written they were not seen as equally as men.
54
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that Dickinson likes "a look a agony." The words that stand out to me are all very painful, "agony," "convulsion," "death," and "anguish." This really sets the mood for the poem. Obviously Dickinson has something wrong with her if she is so twisted as to like agony and pain in other people. The metaphor of their eyes glazing and that being death surprises me. Why is Dickinson so focused on the anguish of others? She says that she likes the look of anguish because it is true. Maybe she feels as if everyone is acting falsely towards her and the only time she can truly see someone is when they are in pain. I do not understand why she is so focused on death and pain, though. It seems like almost every poem of hers has the similar theme of death.
327
The metaphor that I see in poem 327 is a woman as a bird, rising. The words that strike me are "rose again" and "steady." Dickinson says that the woman "debated" before she "rose again" which makes me think that this poem is about female confidence. She is speaking about the confidence of women. The steady boat makes me think that she is confident in herself. The boat in the billows confuses me though. Does this mean that Dickinson feels at home? She had themes of being home and the steady boat where she was born. I don't understand why she is talking about soaring and being confident and free when she feels so confident at home. Those are opposing ideas. Why is she focused on both opposing feelings in one poem?
142
ReplyDeleteIn this poem I found the verbs to be the key words. "Slid", "stitched", and "reversed". These words provide a deeper image of what Dickinson is trying to get across. But the vivid imagery is one of the only similarities I get between Dickinson and Whitman. There are two lines that confused me; "I touched the universe-" and "Beyond the Dip of the Bell". Im not totally sure how these lines played into the poem. The first stanza is talking about how Dickinson feels her insignificance and evilness. She feels she cant get into heaven. This is Dickinson's way of saying her world was falling apart or "reversing". I believe she is talking about the death of a loved one like Mr. Slater said in class. Dickinson touching the Universe may feel very close to heaven but not into or understanding the Universe like she wants to. Then the next stanza is saying how she came back down from close to heaven (back to reality) and understood that she was just a small person on the huge earth. The line "I alone" is further evidence that she is experiencing depression after a death of someone. The bell is a symbol for the universe and the ball in the bell is the earth I believe. And the Dickinson is on the ball and in the Universe which is the bell but in the end of the poem she says, "Beyond the dip of the bell" which means beyond the Universe towards heaven. Is this Dickinson realizing she will achieve going to heaven or maybe its the realization that its not her time yet. I'm not totally sure but that's what makes sense to me. I still wonder whether the capitalization and dashes have any meaning in her poems.
374
Again in this poem I believe all the action verbs are the key words. The main metaphor in this poem is comparing the heart and body to the sea with a hurricane in it. In the first stanza Dickinson says the heart has "narrow banks" but "it measures like the Sea". I think this means that even though the heart is a small confined space that it can hold an enormous amount within it like a sea. The description of the sea just furthers the vastness and grandness of it. In this poem the oceanic feeling comes out just like in Whitman. The heart is a symbol for Love so i believe Dickinson wrote this about a loved one or a man she had fallen in love with. The Hurricane only makes a subtle affect in the ocean but in the Heart, It learns from the hurt of the hurricane and becomes stronger which is maybe a hardship in love that Dickinson had. The last stanza I believe Dickinson is saying that the ocean (the heart) can only remain calm for a certain period of time. The "wall" gets knocked over and "questioning" is "demolished" or "dissolved".
Poem 327
ReplyDeleteHas a an overpowering tone at the beggining, which accompanied by the poems actual meaning in the first stanza leads one to believe that the poem is about a woman exceeding expectations, perhaps those of the "superior" man. It appears that boundaries or guidelines have been given to this woman and she breaks these boundaries, and in the second stanza it is likely that she has been put back into place by her dominant male counterpart.
374
The heart is being compared to an ocean at the begginning with "narrow banks" coming off of it. It means that we think of the heart as being something bigger than it is, this is a thought that is re-itterated with "its insufficient area". The hurricane interrupting the heart seems like another person entering a relationship, causing hectic feelings in the heart.
142
ReplyDeleteThis poem is about a person trying to connect to the eternal. They realize that they are only "a speck upon a Ball", but are still attempting to connect with the rest of the world. This person is trying to connect to the universe through religion. This person is attempting to enter the "column" lifted up eternal heaven, yet it seems to be "stitched" or closed off. Then the poet says "THe Earth reversed her Hemispheres", which sounds like this person did connect to the world. This confuses me because the first two lines make it seem like this person cannot connect with the world. I also do not understand "Beyond the Dip of Bell". THis might mean the tip of the world?
374
In this poem, the poet uses "Heart" as a metaphor for a person's soul. The soul is vast like a "sea". "Narrow banks" depicts the Heart as something weak because it is not well protected. All of a sudden a "Hurrican" comes and tears the heart apart. Hurrican might be a time of a relationship breaking up and the person's soul is sealed off from the rest of the world. This poem is talking about how humans believe that we are strong and we can hide our feelings. Bu actually humans can easily be torn apart because of heart is no well protected. I do not understand the last line of the poem, "A Questioning-dissolves". Maybe the question has something to do with humans believing that we are very strong and after a "hurrican" comes, this consumption vanishes.
When the "Heart" is calm, it is connecting with the universe. It is free and unharmed. In the firs poem, the person is trying to connect to the universe. Maybe this person has been struck by a "hurrican" and is having trouble connecting with the world again.