Welcome to Cross-Cultural Collaboration-Spring 2007: A Conversation about Emily Dickinson, an online conversation among students in two classes at Clemson University, South Carolina, United States, and one class at Chalmers University of Technology, Göteborg, Sweden.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Group 1: Lauren B., Ashley D., Missy D., Michelle K., Mateusz K., Neira T., Kristoffer W.
22 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Hello, Group One!
My name is Missy Davis. I am in Dr. Young’s Victorian Poetry class at Clemson University. I received an undergraduate degree in Secondary Education with an emphasis in English. In the English field, my interest is in British literature and Southern American literature.
I find “I taste a liquor never brewed” to be a nice dose of optimism in light of the numerous ponderings on death that Dickinson readers usually receive. Beginning the poem with “I taste liquor never brewed” establishes a metaphor for a happiness – an inebriation – caused by living. The poem celebrates the simple pleasures in life in saying “Inebriate of air am I, / And debauchee of dew” as the basic ability to breath or to encounter morning dew allows one to experience euphoria in living. The most interesting aspect of the poem appears in the final stanza as Dickinson appears to touch slightly on religion. The poem declares that the speaker (presumably Dickinson) will be drunk on life until she no longer lives. Or, in her words,
Till seraphs swing their snow hats And saints to windows run, To see the little tippler Leaning against the sun!
Dickinson’s perception of organized religion interests me in general (as she attended a female seminary for a year and is often skeptical about religion within her poetry), but each time I read this final stanza I can not help but recognize some suggestion of a belief in an afterlife and possibly Heaven. As the speaker anticipates angels and saints watching her standing in the heavens, it is interesting to think about how Dickinson celebrates life and anticipates some form of afterlife while also considering the many poems she writes about death.
In considering Dickinson’s point-of-view, it is impossible not to touch on “Tell all the Truth but tell it slant--” as the poem seems to hinge on the idea of point-of-view. This very short poem says a lot about the capability of human understanding. So often, studying this poem turns into word study. For example, who doesn’t wonder exactly what Dickinson means by “tell it slant?” Merriam-Webster online gives several definitions for SLANT. They appear below:
1 : a slanting direction, line, or plane : SLOPE 2 a : something that slants b : SLASH 4 c : a football running play in which the ball carrier runs obliquely toward the line of scrimmage 3 a : a peculiar or personal point of view, attitude, or opinion b : a slanting view : GLANCE
Seeing that I never did well with slopes in math and we’re clearly not working with football, I tend to use the third definition in thinking about this poem.
The term CIRCUIT can also be troublesome to readers. Again, Merriam-Webster comes to the rescue:
1 a : a usually circular line encompassing an area b : the space enclosed within such a line 2 a : a course around a periphery b : a circuitous or indirect route 3 a : a regular tour (as by a traveling judge or preacher) around an assigned district or territory b : the route traveled c : a group of church congregations ministered to by one pastor 4 a : the complete path of an electric current including usually the source of electric energy b : an assemblage of electronic elements : HOOKUP c : a two-way communication path between points (as in a computer) d : a neuronal pathway of the brain along which electrical and chemical signals travel 5 a : an association of similar groups : LEAGUE b : a number or series of public outlets (as theaters, radio shows, or arenas) offering the same kind of presentation c : a number of similar social gatherings (ie: the cocktail circuit)
For my interpretation, I tend to think of circuit in terms of the space enclosed within a circular line.
As for the meaning to the poem, I see Dickinson promoting personal point-of-view in saying that a person should tell the truth in terms of his or her understanding because absolute truth is something beyond comprehension for the average individual. The absolute truth, then, is within the circuit that “lies / too bright for our infirm Delight.” This idea is made most clear with the simile “As Lightning to the Children eased / With explanation kind.” Lightning – a scientific and fantastic occurrence – may be difficult for a child to understand unless it is explained in terms the child comprehends. The truth, then, is to be handled in the same manner. It must “dazzle gradually” so that a person is able to obtain some part of it rather than become blind by the intensity of the absolute truth.
This is long, and I’m sorry. But I look forward to your responses and your interpretations of these and the other poems!
My name is Tabaré Neira and I’m following the course Fiction for Engineers at Chalmers. I come from the Universidad de Zaragoza, in Spain, where I study Telecommunications engineering, and I’m exchange student here in Göteborg for the course 2006 – 2007. Thus I’m afraid you will have to forgive me my ‘spanglish’ and my lack of background in English literature.
I liked especially the second poem, ‘Time and Eternity’. Here Dickinson depicts Death not as an aggressive or cruel character, but as a gently and calm being. The poem opens with the lines Because I could not stop for Death, He kindly stopped for me; They refer to the fact that death is inevitable, and it is impossible for us to stop it.
In the second stanza Dickinson talks about the calm of death, and in the third stanza she illustrates the common believe that all your memories pass in front of your eyes when you die.
The fourth stanza puzzled me when I first read the poem. After a more careful reading, I think she is saying that they stopped before her own tomb: We paused before a house that seemed A swelling of the ground;
I’m not quite sure what Dickinson means in her last stanza, but I think is a wink, a message, for the readers on time to come, Since then ’t is centuries;
I was not sure of the meaning of ‘civility’, thus from Merrian-Webster’s I got: 1 archaic : training in the humanities 2 a : civilized conduct; especially : courtesy, politeness b : a polite act or expression Therefore, as I said above, I think Dickinson here is both depicting Death as a polite, soft and kind character, and saying that after death we change all our labour and all our leisure for the civilized behaviour of corpses.
My name is Kristoffer Wilhelmsson, i am currently completing a Msc degree in electronics focusing on computer- and software systems technology. My previous experience of analysing poetry is nonexistent.
I chose to focus on the poem "i started early" because it was the most pictorial of the five, also excluding any reference to feelings and thougt, which are found in the other four.
My main impression of this poem is a 19-th century naive copperplate-ish picture of a lone woman watching the tide break early at morning. Lets dissect:
I STARTED early, took my dog, And visited the sea; The mermaids in the basement Came out to look at me,
Nothing special here except she mentions mermaids, which is richly featured in pre 20-th century naive art and mythology. She also mentions that they live in the basement which is a reference to their living subsurface.
(It may at this point be in order for me to explain what i mean by "naive" art. The way i see it, the naive artist does not think that she is making "art" when painting, but rather thoughtlessly depicting. This can of course also be done with fictional images, where their lack of persuasion gives a naive impression.)
And frigates in the upper floor Extended hempen hands, Presuming me to be a mouse Aground, upon the sands.
The ships on the other hand are placed upon the surface of the sea, which is mentioned. A quite funny remark is made here regarding the difference in size between a ship and a human and a mouse. From the ships point of view the difference between a human and a mouse is apparently not distinguishable. The ships extend their ropes to this "mouse" in order to take it aboard. This further extends the romanticising/naive picture. In her image rats belong on ships so that they can climb the mast when the ship sinks or run down the ropes when it burns down in dock. Whereas in reality ships do not want rats on them at all.
Main Entry: aground Pronunciation: &-'graund Function: adverb or adjective 1 : on the ground "planes aloft and aground" 2 : on or onto the shore or the bottom of a body of water "a ship run aground"
With this sentence "Aground, upon the sands." she further extends this notion of rats belonging on ships since the wording implies that something Aground, upon the sands, does not really belong there.
But no man moved me till the tide Went past my simple shoe, And past my apron and my belt, And past my bodice too,
In her image the mermaids are female, the frigates presumably sexless and the tide is male. It is further implied that the poem is about a woman since the word bodice is used.
Main Entry: bod·ice Pronunciation: 'bä-d&s Function: noun Etymology: alteration of bodies, plural of 1body 1 : the upper part of a woman's dress 2 archaic : CORSET, STAYS
And made as he would eat me up As wholly as a dew Upon a dandelion’s sleeve— And then I started too.
Their encounter is intensified until she becomes aware that the rising tide may in fact engulf her.
And he—he followed close behind; I felt his silver heel Upon my ankle,—then my shoes Would overflow with pearl.
This is my favourite part. When she is ascending from the water, walking towards the new shoreline, she feels the waves on her ankles, looks down and sees the foam swirling around her shoes. I like it because it is a very beautiful and _accurate_ description of walking out of the ocean.
Until we met the solid town, No man he seemed to know; And bowing with a mighty look At me, the sea withdrew.
Now she reaches the new shoreline, presumably somewhere where the tide breaks against rocks since a distinction ("no man he seemed to know") is made between the liquid nature of the water and the "solid town". And here, of course, the sea retreats.
My name is Ashley, and I am currently enrolled in Dr. Young's Victorian Poetry seminar at Clemson University. While I enjoy all fields of writing, my interests primarily lie in 20th Century and Contemporary American literature. I have a little bit of experience with various types of poetry, but I am not particularly well-versed in Dickinson's writing. Therefore, I hope that you all will be able to shed some light on these various poems.
I'd like to look at Dickinson's "I started early, took my dog..." As I read this poem for the first time, it piqued my interest in two ways. For one, I had never read this poem before, and found it to be a somewhat refreshing departure from the samples of Dickinson's poetry that I had previously studied. To me, this poem seemed somewhat more open and inviting than some of her other poems— in the work, the speaker ventures out into nature, and says, "I started early, took my dog, / and visited the sea" (ll. 1-2). She even moves into direct communication with nature, actually letting the sea surround her body: "But no man moved me till the tide / Went past my simple shoe, / And past my apron and my belt, / And past my bodice too" (ll. 9-12). Although some of Dickinson’s other poetry references a connection to nature, the relationship between the speaker and the natural elements in this poem just seems different to me. The sea and the speaker seem to become one for a brief moment, which leads me to believe that there is more to this intersection than we might initially think.
On a more specific note, I also found this particular poem to be interesting because of the juxtaposition of submission and dominance. The speaker first recounts how the sea envelops her, going up to her "bodice." According to Merriam-Webster, the term "bodice" means "the upper part of a woman’s dress," so we can assume that the sea has gone well above the speaker"s waist, and has almost swallowed her completely. Therefore, it appears that the speaker submits to the sea, allowing it to fully surround her. However, in lines 17-19, the poem takes a different turn. The sea turns to follow the speaker, as she comments, "And he—he followed close behind; / I felt his silver heel/ Upon my ankle..." In these lines, it seems that the speaker has come to dominate nature: the sea turns to follow her as she moves away from its grasp. Could this be Dickinson's way of speaking about death, one of her favorite subjects? Or is she talking about the strange and often complicated interrelation of man and nature? This idea of the relationship between man and nature can also be seen in line 6, where the speaker mentions "hempen hands." Merriam-Webster defines the word "hempen" as "something composed of hemp," which is a rough plant fiber. Here again, we see the combination of something natural (the hemp) with something human (the hands). An interesting connection to ponder.
I am eager to see what the rest of you think about this poem and other samples of Dickinson's writing. Until next time!
My name is Mateusz Knop and I’m taking part in Socrates Erasmus Exchange here in Geteborg on Chalmers. I come from Szczecin/Poland and I’m studying Sea Transportation on Szczecin University of Technology. Here I’m following courses connected with Logistic and Economy.
It is my first contact with poems in English so I will try do my best in this course.
I tried to work at understanding meaning of the second poem titled “Because I could not stop for Death” where author has been consecrated on concept of Death. She isn’t comprehend Death like something wrong or sad, tying mark that she can’t even wait more for “him”. She characterized him very positive and even said that death is very kindly for her. In my opinion when she speaks about Immortality it means that she feel very young and resistant for death. During their trip she feel very comfortable and calm. In third stanza she try to express people’s life n 3 main parts. Children signify the childhood, also she talk about school, where they are getting useful knowledge. Using “fields of gazing grain” she talks about the best moment in our live – growing up and becoming adult. Later using the setting sun she talk about end of live and soon getting closer of Death. She is talking about going by live and that death is surly element of people’s life… With the end of the poem emily’s feelings are completely different that in priors stanzas. We can feel that author is becoming sad with time. She is realizing that death is something, some part of our life that we can not avoid it and it will soon come for each of us. In the early end she use comparison – swelling house – which in my eyes means the end of somebody’s life and it strict connected I my opinion with element of grave. Which means and shows going down to the ground and disappear from the earth. On the other hand ground can also mean the eternal place where human goes after his life. After death we becomes eternal and we are part of the world. But the most important question which each should ask himself is “should be surly afraid of the death”? Personally I thing that it’s some kind of unavoidable part of life and we should be ready for it every time. There is no time to waste and death is not dependent of us. What do you thing my friends?
In the poem I would like to mark two keywords which are for me quite important and they force me to deeper thinking. 1. Grave – I explain it earlier 2. Sun – which in my eyes means the eternity. I imagine that every day sun goes up and down and it’s normal right on our planet. Everyone is used to see this situation and it happens everyday. What is more I see sun as a human life when it going up – childhood, then we have got all day shining and on the end of the beautiful day it’s go down and it’s getting dark…in fact that it is so normal I hope that we can compare it to death and end of life. we should not be sad after “sun gone down” because next day we will have also day, next and next.
I hope we can nicely discuss about this and also other aspect in Ms. Dickinson’s poetry.
Dear Group, Hello! My name is Lauren Bianchi and I am currently majoring in Sociology (emphasis in criminal justice) at Clemson University. I am taking Ms. Reiss’s “American Literature to 1945” class. I read the poem “I taste a liquor never brewed”. I was pleasantly surprised that this poem was not centered on the theme of death that is usually found in Emily Dickinson’s writings. It did, however, have the same A-B-A-B pattern to the rhyming that is characteristic of her writings. She rhymes the first and third lines and then rhymes the second and fourth. In this poem, she is saying that she is inebriated and happy not because of any alcohol that man can brew, but because of life. There must have been an event in her life that made her appreciate the life she had, or that made her love the life she was living due to the dramatic difference in this poem as compared to the rest of her characteristically gloomy, dreary poems. There were a few phrases that caught my eye that I wanted to investigate further. The first phrase is, “and debauchee of dew” in which she is saying that she is, as is defined in Merriam-Webster Online dictionary, a person who is addicted to excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures and obtains these pleasures simply from the dew in the morning. I find it very deep in the ideology in that someone can directly tie in being “high on life” in a sense with 20th century poetry. Another phrase I found interesting was the phrase, “when butterflies renounce their drams”. I hope I am interpreting the definition correctly because it is defined as “a small bit, or a small amount” and I believe that it would be the butterflies shedding off their cocoon and “renouncing” that little bit that was holding them back from being free. That explanation makes the most sense to me since I am not very familiar with the term “dram”. I really enjoyed this poem particularly because of the upbeat, optimistic attitude that it gives off. It put me in a very relaxed and enjoyable mood!
My name is Michelle. I am in an American Literature course at Clemson University. My major is Industrial Engineering with a minor in Business Administration. The poem that interested me the most was "I taste a liquor never brewed." I loved the way Dickinson related to intoxication from liquor to nature. She is expressing how she is so overcome by nature and its beauty that it makes her feel more intoxicated than any alcohol ever could. She expresses this in the first stanza when she says, "Not all the vats upon the Rhine/Yield such an alcohol!" Dickinson next expresses how the air and dew make her feel inebriated. She claims that she will feel this intoxication forever, since nature will never cease to be. To further understand Dickinson's poem I looked up three words from Merriam-Webster online. These words and definitions are as follows:
Debauchee: one given to debauchery (extreme indulgence in sensuality) Dram: a small portion of something to drink Tippler: to drink liquor especially by habit or to excess
Dickinson uses the first word to express how the simple things in nature, such as dew and air, give her the feeling of pleasure as a high quality liquor would. Her reference to "when butterflies renounce their drams" shows that she will never stop getting this feeling from nature since it cannot simply come to an end. In the final stanza of the poem, Dickinson makes a reference to the feeling one may get after a night of drinking. She uses the word "tippler" to relate how she would feel after drinking liquor to how nature makes her feel. I took "leaning against the sun" to mean that she is overwhelmed by her intoxication from nature and is resting at the end of the day. Dickinson uses brilliant metaphors to strengthen the feelings she is describing.
I have just finished reading your first posts, and I am excited to further this conversation. I found myself drawn to the posts by Kristoffer and Ashley because I, too, enjoy Dickinson’s “I started early, took my dog.”
I like the way Kristoffer described the poem as the “most pictorial of the five” because Dickinson does spend so much time developing images of mermaids, frigates, “hempen hands” or ropes, the speaker’s body, etc etc. Somehow, I have failed to appreciate the beautiful many in which she depicts images in my previous readings, instead looking for meaning behind the images. Another section that stood out to me as I read Kristoffer’s post was the line that said the poem seemed to show a naïve picture of woman. I agree that Dickinson is developing a sort of battle between the two genders within this poem.
The sea, for example, takes on a very masculine role. Even the frigates (warships), vessels of the sea, adapt a sort of masculinity as they extend the hempen hands. This extention of rope appears as a threat to the female speaker – whom Dickinson is careful to point out is assumed “to be a mouse” which is typically small, weak, and timid. Developing the stereotype of man (dominating, powerful) and of woman (passive, weak), Dickinson moves into the third stanza into the poem where the masculine sea begins to overwhelm her body.
In my past readings, I have assumed the physical domination to be suggestive of a sexual encounter. The sea moves past all of the clothing articles of the speaker – her shoes, apron, belt, and bodice. And then in the fourth stanza the speaker suggests that the sea “made as he would eat [her] up” or that he would take complete domination over her body. The description Dickinson gives is very sensual, but also creates a feeling of danger as it does not seem in the beginning that the speaker is capable of escape.
However, the poem closes with the speaker moving away with the sea following “close behind.” In reading this, I am stuck with a question of consent. If this poem is suggesting a sexual encounter, does the fact that the speaker chose to walk away and the sea, in turn, “withdrew” show the reader that the speaker does actually have a choice in the matter? Or is the reader to assume that, because the sea bowed “with a mighty look” before withdrawing, the masculine figure holds the upper hand?
Ashley’s question “Could this be Dickinson's way of speaking about death, one of her favorite subjects?” sparked a lot of thought for me. It does seem that the sea could be playing the role of death – taking of the body, “mighty” in its inevitability. Some word usage in the poem seems to fit this idea. For example, “the mermaids in the basement” may suggest that the speaker is being welcomed into a new world – the afterlife. Thinking of this, I was reminded of the artist, Julie Bell, who depicts fantastic images including some of mermaids. Below is a link that will take you to a picture of two mermaids and a dolphin.
http://www.clemson.edu/~mdavis/mermaids.JPG
Looking at this picture, one might make a connection to Dickinson’s poem as the mermaids are suspended between a section of bright light and great darkness – arguably the Christian idea of Heaven and Hell. The dolphin that appears between the two may suggest that the mermaid further back in the image is intended for one place in eternity while the mermaid in the foreground will be elsewhere. Both, however, exhibit a sense of freedom in their body language. Perhaps this escape from life – the oppression of time, social expectations, etc – is what is being offered to the speaker of Dickinson’s poem.
Interestingly, as the speaker retreats, Dickinson says that “No man [the sea] seemed to know.” Perhaps this is because the speaker is the one intended for death, not any other man. Thinking of the poem in this life would make the ending a reprieve from death. But this reprieve (if we consider the above image) prolongs the time until the speaker gains the freedom death offers in the afterlife. I hope this post has added more to your understanding of the poem! Kristoffer and Ashley, thank you for helping me think more deeply about this poem.
Until later, Missy Davis
(To see other work by Julie Bell, go to http://www.imaginistix.com)
I just finished reading your first letters and what I noticed first is that many of you choose ‘I taste a liquor never brewed’. I must confess the first time I read the poem I didn’t understood it quite well. But, as I told you in my first letter, I haven’t had much contact with English poetry before, and a few things I read, I read them translated. But I’m glad this exchange will help me to understand better some aspects of Dickinson’s poetry.
The first thing I learned though your letters was, as Missy said, that Dickinson usually writes about dead. That explains in part that many of you wanted to comment on ‘I taste a liquor never brewed’. Missy says Beginning the poem with “I taste liquor never brewed” establishes a metaphor for a happiness – an inebriation – caused by living. But I think the connection between her happiness and life is not as patent there as in the second stanza, Inebriate of air am I Other thing that I found important in Missy’s letter was her comment on Dickinson’s point of view on religion, referring to the last stanza. But, don’t you find in Till seraphs swing their snowy hats, And saints to windows run, To see the little tippler Leaning against the sun! a slight note of provocation? The way I read it, she is ‘drunk of life’, careless lying under the sun, and the angels and saints run to the windows to see her below. Perhaps jealous? Perhaps infuriated?
This interpretation also differs from Michelle’s. I don’t understand quite well the third stanza, but I like Michelle’s interpretation, when she says Her reference to "when butterflies renounce their drams" shows that she will never stop getting this feeling from nature since it cannot simply come to an end.
Back to the poem I first choose, ‘Because I could not stop for Death’, it reminds me a song by a Spanish band. The song is called Nana, and the band is Warcry. I’m sure you all know how to find it, but just in case, you can use ed2k://|file|Warcry%20-%20Nana.mp3|3965895|621FDC7BD3A69458426969DE9AEFFABC|/
In the song, the lyrics say Muerte espera un momento Que pronto han de volver Veo venir una dama sonriendo hacia mí Si esa dama es la muerte ¿quién tiene miedo a morir? Which translated means Death wait a moment Because they will soon be back I see a lady come smiling towards me If that lady is Death Who is afraid to die? Thank you all for your letters, you helped me understand the poems much better.
I have, as many of you, this time also focused on the poem "I TASTE a liquor never brewed". This because when i read your contributions i felt a large increase in understanding of the poem, but also quite a few thoughts occured.
Both Michelle and Missy and points out the technicality of drug intoxication as a way of describing euphoria, to which she is very passionately related. The most striking quoute would be "Inebriate of air am I, / And debauchee of dew” a quote which, thanks to your interpretations, became a key in understanding the poems underlying meaning.
Since then i have pondered why this intoxication/inebriation metaphore is used. My findings so far have concluded that it is most likely an agent used to try to describe the strength of her feeling without risking becoming cheesy. I found that i instantly reject any lyric/poem that has explicit descriptions of happiness/euphoria as cheesed out. I dont know why though, maybe it is because the word "happy" is used in many different ways an therefore is somewhat devalued? Anyway i think this poem is a good descpription of euphoria and the interesting thing lies in the contrast between the good that happiness is associated with and on the other hand the bad associated with drug intoxication.
Another remark, by Lauren, "There must have been an event in her life that made her appreciate the life she had" and the successing about the aspects of freedom "butterflies shedding off their cocoon and “renouncing” that little bit that was holding them back from being free" sent me in the opposite direction when searching for my multimodal representation. Another way to look at and understand this kind of metamorphosis into a feeling of freedom is to look at the situation preceding that. A quite good representation of a locked-down and frustrated situation is pictured by Trent Reznor in the song "The hand that feeds". I especially like the phrase "Are you brave enough to see? Do you want to change it?", this means that the person in this situation sees the whole picture but has a choice to stay or free herself. Just as a butterfly on the way out of its cocoon.
It was very nice to read your all comments on this website.
About “my” poem wrote only Tabare who has similar point of view on this poem. I really enjoy his sentence said that “all your memories pass in front of your eyes when you die”. I think the same. At first time when I was talking with my very ill grandfather, he realize my that in life the most important are memories and he also said that I should only keep the good memories. It was for sure very deep idea of seeing the world. I think Dickinson is always coming back to best moments in her life describing the childhood and time of her youth.
After reading it all I realize that you prefer to choose the poem ‘I taste a liquor never brewed’. On the beginning I didn’t catch the main meaning of this poem but with time and reading your letters I started to understand couple of main thoughts. Exactly I didn’t understand the center point of Dickinson’s writing. After reading “because I can’t……” I thought that Emily is used to write about only death and sad situations of ending life. But suddenly I was surprised reading first poem and it’s interpretation of group members. It was very interesting what she took in consideration creating this poem. I really curious what has influenced for her just to write so bright and humorous poem. I even know the order of writing her poems but something had to influenced for her life what is noticeable in changing her moon. In my eyes the butterfly is a symbol of freedom and also happiness which Emily write in this poem.
The first link which I will enclose : http://www.josephinewall.co.uk/fairies/butterfly_tree.jpg i really like this photo cause it shows my a happiness and freedom. It also makes my relaxed and calm. Sending it I would like to according to free Dickinson’s mind which we can mark in “I taste a….”
Death like a blind eye http://www.dotguy.net/Death_like_a_blind_eye.jpg . I found this staff just to remember and notice that Death is blind, what in my eyes means that it doesn’t metter how you are behave, who are you soon or later death will come for all of us. On the other hand my opinion is that, that death is not justice. Dickinson didn’t write about it and it’s worth of adding to this topic.
I like our conversation because it takes me fun and also it’s very educational for me and I think also for the rest.
Greetings to friend from all over the world! Mateusz
Hi hi hallo is saying Mateusz Knop / Chalmers Goteborg It was very nice to read your all comments on this website.
About “my” poem wrote only Tabare who has similar point of view on this poem. I really enjoy his sentence said that “all your memories pass in front of your eyes when you die”. I think the same. At first time when I was talking with my very ill grandfather, he realize my that in life the most important are memories and he also said that I should only keep the good memories. It was for sure very deep idea of seeing the world. I think Dickinson is always coming back to best moments in her life describing the childhood and time of her youth.
After reading it all I realize that you prefer to choose the poem ‘I taste a liquor never brewed’. On the beginning I didn’t catch the main meaning of this poem but with time and reading your letters I started to understand couple of main thoughts. Exactly I didn’t understand the center point of Dickinson’s writing. After reading “because I can’t……” I thought that Emily is used to write about only death and sad situations of ending life. But suddenly I was surprised reading first poem and it’s interpretation of group members. It was very interesting what she took in consideration creating this poem. I really curious what has influenced for her just to write so bright and humorous poem. I even know the order of writing her poems but something had to influenced for her life what is noticeable in changing her moon. In my eyes the butterfly is a symbol of freedom and also happiness which Emily write in this poem.
The first link which I will enclose : http://www.josephinewall.co.uk/fairies/butterfly_tree.jpg i really like this photo cause it shows my a happiness and freedom. It also makes my relaxed and calm. Sending it I would like to according to free Dickinson’s mind which we can mark in “I taste a….”
Death like a blind eye http://www.dotguy.net/Death_like_a_blind_eye.jpg . I found this staff just to remember and notice that Death is blind, what in my eyes means that it doesn’t metter how you are behave, who are you soon or later death will come for all of us. On the other hand my opinion is that, that death is not justice. Dickinson didn’t write about it and it’s worth of adding to this topic.
I like our conversation because it takes me fun and also it’s very educational for me and I think also for the rest.
Greetings to friend from all over the world! Mateusz
I thoroughly enjoyed all of your letters. After reading them, I do feel that my understanding of Dickinson's poetry has been expanded. Thanks for your comments and insights on the poems!
In this letter, I would like to discuss Dickinson's "Because I could not stop for Death..." While reading everyone's letters, I found Mateusz's and Tabaré's posts to be very interesting— they both discuss this poem in some detail, and provide several important thoughts about Dickinson's work. As I read this particular poem, I was struck by Dickinson's use of personification. She personifies death as a man coming to call on her, almost like a suitor or lover. However, the personification of death is not entirely negative or frightening; in fact, Dickinson seems to portray death as a figure who means well. He does not come to terrify or hurt her: he merely appears in order to do his job.
Mateusz comments that, "[Dickinson] characterized [death] very positive and even said that death is very kindly for her. In my opinion when she speaks about Immortality it means that she feels very young and resistant for death. During their trip she feels very comfortable and calm." I completely agree with his assertion, and felt the same way as I was reading the poem. Dickinson says that death "kindly stopped" for her, and as they drive away in the carriage, they drive slowly and "[know] no haste." In effect, death really does seem to be a rather benign character within the poem. However, as I was reading the poem, I wondered, why might Dickinson do this? Tabaré answered my question within her post. She says, "Dickinson depicts Death not as an aggressive or cruel character, but as a gently and calm being. The poem opens with the lines 'Because I could not stop for Death, / He kindly stopped for me...' They refer to the fact that death is inevitable, and it is impossible for us to stop it." Therefore, perhaps Dickinson personifies death in this manner in order to express that it is not something we should fear; death is a certain event, and because it will definitely happen, we should not be afraid of it.
While reading this poem, I couldn't help but think of other interesting (and often humorous) characterizations of death that I have either read or seen. The personification of death in the TV show "Family Guy" came to my mind first, and I was able to find a picture of it online: http://www.alexross.com/FGHP03XL.jpg . This link shows a still from the TV show, illustrating death as just another character— not a menacing figure. In the various episodes in which he appears, Death tells jokes, laughs at the other characters, and speaks lightheartedly about his "occupation," things that we would not expect him to do. I think that this characterization of death, although not exactly on par with Emily Dickinson's, also serves to show death as a benign character, perhaps supporting the idea that we should not fear it.
Thanks to everyone for your interesting posts! I enjoyed reading them all.
After reading your first posts, I was able to further my understanding of several of the poems. One response that I enjoyed was Mateusz's interpretation of "Because I could not stop for Death." I had heard this poem before and was not really sure on the meaning of it. To begin, Mateusz notes that Dickinson characterizes Death as friendly and kind. He believes that her mention of Immortality "means that she feels very young and resistant of death." I think this is a great interpretation and I agree with what he says. I looked up immortality on Merriam-Webster online and found the definition to be "the quality or state of being exempt from death." I think this is important to understand because as Mateusz stated it shows that she is not afraid of death. I also really liked Mateusz's explanation of the third stanza. When I read these lines I did not look deeply into them and understand them. But after reading the first post, it made much more sense to me. The stanza shows the stages of life: childhood, adulthood, and death. Reading this again in the poem after this explanation, I really like the way Dickinson expressed this, especially the connection between "fields of gazing grain" and adulthood. Mateusz then explains how the end of the poem expresses sadness as the author is realizing that death is inevitable. But as he says, it is an "unavoidable part of life," so there is no reason to worry or be afraid of it.
Since I had written my first post on "I taste a liquor never brewed," I wanted to read what other students who had read this poem felt about it. Missy had also written about this poem, and seemed to share my views on what the poem meant. She pointed out that the poem "celebrates the simple pleasures in life." One point that Missy touched on was the religious undertones of the poem. She says that the final stanza, with mention of seraphs and saints, may suggest "a belief in and afterlife and possibly Heaven." I had not mentioned this idea in my own interpretation and enjoyed reading Missy's thoughts on it. I found a picture that I really liked and felt related to this part of the poem. The image is entitled "Seraph," and it made me think of an angel looking through a window, similar to what is described in the poem. The picture is located at: http://www.nzweddingservices.co.nz/images/seraph.jpg
Dear Group, After reading the first letters for each member of our group, I decided to take quotes from Michelle and Kristoffer. Michelle and I read the same poem so I felt like we analyzed it similarly and that her interpretation backs up my same thinking on what the meaning was. When Michelle said, “She uses the word "tippler" to relate how she would feel after drinking liquor to how nature makes her feel” it brought up part of the poem I did not analyze as deeply. I think I overlooked that direct example of the theme I described in my first letter as Dickinson being, “high on life”. I think our modern day word usage for that feeling would be “tipsy” or even a more severe “drunk” depending on the consumption of alcohol. Either way, they are both words that describe a decrease in inhibitions and a carefree, happy attitude in which there are no consequences for actions and everything is, informally speaking, “fine and dandy”. I think that quote shows how Dickinson had not a care in the world and was so happy to just be alive. Kristoffer made a great point in his first letter by saying that, “the poem "i started early"… was the most pictorial of the five”. I think that this is the one aspect of Dickinson’s writings that can really be seen throughout her many different works. She has a very vivid way of describing what she is feeling or trying to get her audience to see what she is trying to say, not just understand it. I chose to find a poem that I felt encompassed the same general theme as the poem I read and that also incorporated the visual aspect that Dickinson incorporates into her poems. Here is the link to the poem (it is a little lengthy but the correlation to Dickinson’s “I taste a liquor never brewed” was too obvious and perfect to ignore!) :
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/happiness-12
In this poem, the author talks about nature and the happiness s/he gets from being close to nature and just from life itself. I felt the same general optimistic attitude in this poem and although it is long, the themes of happiness with your life and happiness in nature come through in practically every stanza. I think that I chose to read another poem because it is easy for me to explain to the group and for me to see similarities between works when they are alike in their structure/flow. These two works seemed very related to me in that they were both very descriptive and illustrative. They were both so illustrative, that I did feel like I had pictures out to the side of the stanza illustrating what was written. I hope you all enjoy reading the poem I chose and see the same connections as I did when reading Nikhil’s poem.
I have read all of the second letters, and I really enjoyed everyone's comments and insights. The media expressions were also great ways to further understand the poems. I thought the song lyrics that Tabaré included went very well with "Because I could not stop for Death." I learned more about this poem after the second letter, so reading this quote went along with my understanding of the poem. I took the lyrics to mean that no one could be afraid of death if she is the woman described. She is happy and smiling and not fearful in any way. I looked up the full lyrics and saw that it ends with the lady singing a song that the person's mother sang. This calmed the person and made them not afraid. I felt this related very well to the poem because Dickinson seemed very calm and comfortable and not at all frightened.
Ashley also wrote about this poem in her second letter. She states that she "was struck by Dickinson's use of personification." She notes that this personification is not what we would normally think of death, as frightening or negative. She also says that it seems as though death is simply doing his job. Ashley and I had the same take on the poem I felt, when she said "perhaps Dickinson personifies death in this manner in order to express that it is not something we should fear." I too touched on this point, noting that the poem expresses the inevitability of death which is why it should not be feared. I am also a fan of Family Guy, and thought of the show's portrayal of death when reading this poem. Ashley makes a good point with this picture by noting that death is seen as just another character and the family is not afraid of him but rather talks and jokes with him.
I have really enjoyed reading all of your posts, thank you for all of the insightful input!
I have finished reading all your letters and seeing your multimedia representations, and I think I’ll focus this letter on the later.
First, I would like to talk about the butterflies image choose by Mateusz. I think it suits the poem very well because of the female representation of the tree and the butterflies (as Dickinson is a woman), and depicts very well the act of ‘breaking free’ of the butterflies, in this case from the leaves instead of from a cocoon.
About the mermaids picture choose by Missy, I love Bell’s and Vallejo’s work, and I must say they have draw some of the most beautiful mermaids I ever saw. The picture choose by Missy is a good sample of their art.
About the Family guy screener choose by Ashley, I must say I didn’t thought about Death as a funny character when I read the poem. But it gives, anyway, a different view of the same concept: Death is there, as it (he? she?) has always been, and there’s nothing to be afraid of. This image reminds me also of Death in South Park, especially in the episode where Stan’s grandfather wants Stan to kill him (‘Death’, S1E6)
I must tell you all that I have enjoyed a lot reading your letters, and I have learned a lot through them. I’m also glad you have enjoyed my notes and the song I choose (@Missy, I hope you was able to find the song, not just the lyrics, it’s a very beautiful heavy ballad).
Thank you all for this cross-cultural collaboration.
Thank you all for your interesting posts. I’ve enjoyed reading each of them.
As I read each of the letter two posts, I was intrigued by all of the multimodal representations that we were all able to find. Every single one of them helped to supplement my understanding of Dickinson’s work, and helped me to see some interesting connections between her themes and the themes often found in art, music, and other poetry.
I particularly enjoyed Kristoffer’s comparison of Trent Reznor lyrics to Dickinson’s poetry. I never would have thought of a song like this when considering Dickinson’s work, and I thought that the lyrics worked very nicely with the poem that we had read. Kristoffer comments that the song portrays a “locked-down and frustrating situation,” and I think he’s right. The song was a surprising choice, but I think he made a great connection between contemporary music and 19th Century poetry. This comparison made me realize how different types of art can often be closely related.
Lauren also chose an interesting alternative expression that gave me more insight into Dickinson’s “I taste a liquor never brewed.” She chose a 20th Century poem by Nikhil Parekh that uses many of the same ideas and images as Dickinson’s poem. When I was writing my second post, I wanted to try and find a good poem by another author that might work well when compared to Dickinson’s poetry, but I wasn’t able to find such a poem. Lauren did a great job of choosing a poem that was not only interesting, but applicable to Dickinson’s ideas.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed discussing Emily Dickinson’s work with each of you. Thanks so much for some interesting insights into a very complicated poet!
Sincerely, Ashley
P.S.: Tabaré, I am so sorry for the confusion! Please excuse me!
Dear Group, I personally enjoyed reading all of your responses and found many interesting points that you addressed. By reading your responses I got a better understanding of what some of the poems meant and I think everyone did a wonderful job picking out themes in the poems, interpreting the poems, and providing insight as to why Dickinson wrote in her distinct style. I think Tabarè did a great job in connecting her song lyrics from her multimodal representation to the poem “Because I could not stop for death”. I think the ending two lines of the song lyrics really capture the emotion that Dickinson had by saying, “If that lady is Death, Who is afraid to die?” in that if that is the image of death, who needs to be afraid to die (implying that she is beautiful and that if death is that beautiful they don’t care to die)? I also looked at Michelle’s picture of the seraph that she found that correlated with the poem that I read, “I taste a liquor never brewed.” I think it is the perfect visual to go along with the poem in which the seraph is looking through the window at Dickinson as she lay “inebriate with air”. The image that she found is really what I pictured as I read the poem so I think it is interesting how she ran across that and incorporated it in as her multimodal representation. Emily Dickinson does such a good job already in using descriptive words to illustrate her poems that visuals are almost not even necessary, however with this picture I think it was the perfect accent to that part of the poem that Dickinson already described so well. Both people did a good job in interpreting other people’s responses and all of the letters helped me gain a better understanding of the poems that were discussed. I think this has been a really neat assignment and I really enjoyed being in this group!
I have never thought that reading poems and later discussing about their meaning can be so pleasant and nice. I want to admit that it brought my a lot of fun and on the other hand a lot of education. I knew new vocabulary and new glance for poetry.
It was very useful to understand “I taste a liquor never brewed’ poem after reading your posts especially Lauren’s one. It really influenced on my thinking way. Personally he explained my this poem and idea that we can be drunk by happiness - “In this poem, she is saying that she is inebriated and happy not because of any alcohol that man can brew, but because of life. In this one sentence Lauren reach sense of the real happiness. I realize that we should be very happy because of nice moments in our life. There is nothing more important than this.
“He does not come to terrify or hurt her: he merely appears in order to do his job” - Ashley’s words I enjoy much. I tried to say it but I can not find this mind like “do his job” . It is truth that we shouldn’t think about Death like some monster bringing only sorrow. I will compare death to debt collector, who also takes sth away from somebody but it’s only his unrewarding job.
What also brought me a lot of fun, was to look at Ashley’s picture which she added to our topic of the Death. I’ve never seen this Tv show but when I first time saw this photo I really love it. It’s very commensurate with our minds and opinion about “good image of death”. When I look at this picture I notice not frightened family. View of coming death is for them not scary because maybe they think the same as me about death – that we should not be frightened of her. Everyday we should be ready for her visit. It was very amusing for me. You bring a smile on my face – Ashley.
I would like to thank all the member of my group for keeping nice conversation. I really enjoyed it.
Greetings my frends, Mateusz Knop
Greetings to friend from all over the world! Mateusz
First, I would like to thank each of you for the contributions you made to this conversation. Each of the multimodal items selected were well connected to the poetry and often to more than one of them!
The discussion on “Because I could not stop for Death” became so interesting, thanks especially to Tabare and Ashley. The lyrics to “Nana” by Warcry seemed almost to mirror the poem with the word “Death, wait a minute” as we all know death will not wait for Dickinson or the band. I thought it was interesting that Ashley’s words “Dickinson seems to portray death as a figure who means well” were so well represented by the image from Family Guy. Further, I liked that in the image of death Ashley provided, two characters appear amused by Death. Because of this, her image mirrored the lines of Tabare’s song where they say “I see a lady come smiling towards me. / If that Lady is Death / Who is afraid to die?” Both of these comforting representations of death match the illustration Dickinson gives; she describes the grave as a home. After the speaker of “Because I could not stop for Death” reminisces on various stages of life, s/he arrives at “a swelling in the ground” which Dickinson describes as having a “roof” and a “cornice.” In making a grave a home, Dickinson removes the negative connotation so many associate with death, and instead creates a comfort zone for a person’s eternal resting place. Thank you to both Tabare and Ashley for these well-connected multimodal representations.
I also appreciate how Kristoffer considered “I taste a liquor never brewed” in terms of what happened to make Dickinson reach a point in life where she could have a “metamorphosis into a feeling of freedom.” The lyrics to the Nine Inch Nails song were very intriguing, and made me consider even more the religious, or perhaps just the psychological, aspect of the poem. The lyrics “What if this whole crusade's / A charade” very much illustrated the doubt that Dickinson shows in much of her poetry. I think it is a perfect representation of confusion and doubt that one may feel before some point of enlightenment and freedom. Eventually, a person must ask themselves “Are you brave enough to see? Do you want to change it?” in order to come to a point where they can feel the euphoria Dickinson illustrates in “I taste a liquor never brewed.”
Lauren, Michelle, and Mateusz selected very different works of art to depict the freedom and/or happiness Dickinson displays in the poem. The butterfly tree, as Mateusz says, displays so much freedom and happiness that is available to living beings. It also speaks volumes to natural and human life. The image shows human bodies enclosed by butterfly wings a human face surrounded by the trunk of a tree while human beings are sitting separately beneath the tree. This image illustrates that life of nature – trees, butterflies, bees – is typically a shorter length than human life just as the stanza below.
When landlords turn the drunken bee Out of the foxglove’s door, When butterflies renounce their drams, I shall but drink the more! Lauren was right in feeling the poem she selected was so similar to Dickinson’s in the way that it describes nature and life. Particularly, I liked the lines “Happiness is in inhaling the fragrance of soil and ravishing rose…” and “Happiness is in fighting for the unrelenting ultimate essence of truth; disseminating its Godly virtue…” The first quote is so much like “Inebriate of air am I” as breathing is the primary source of happiness in living. The second quote reminds me of the final stanza and the possible reference to religion. However, the second quote also seems to reference “Tell all the Truth but tell it slant” in how it describes the largeness of truth and the difficulty in discovering it.
Finally, the seraph image Michelle selected was an interesting take on the final stanza. In thinking about the possibility for Dickinson to be referencing the afterlife, Michelle’s picture does fit into Dickinson’s description of heavenly beings at a window. The picture fits into the afterlife idea as it is hazy and white, suggestive of the uncertain world after death and the purity most associate with Heaven.
Thank you all so much for the ideas you’ve offered about Dickinson’s poetry. You’ve all been so helpful with your ideas and the multimodal representations you’ve chosen.
22 comments:
Hello, Group One!
My name is Missy Davis. I am in Dr. Young’s Victorian Poetry class at Clemson University. I received an undergraduate degree in Secondary Education with an emphasis in English. In the English field, my interest is in British literature and Southern American literature.
I find “I taste a liquor never brewed” to be a nice dose of optimism in light of the numerous ponderings on death that Dickinson readers usually receive. Beginning the poem with “I taste liquor never brewed” establishes a metaphor for a happiness – an inebriation – caused by living. The poem celebrates the simple pleasures in life in saying “Inebriate of air am I, / And debauchee of dew” as the basic ability to breath or to encounter morning dew allows one to experience euphoria in living. The most interesting aspect of the poem appears in the final stanza as Dickinson appears to touch slightly on religion. The poem declares that the speaker (presumably Dickinson) will be drunk on life until she no longer lives. Or, in her words,
Till seraphs swing their snow hats
And saints to windows run,
To see the little tippler
Leaning against the sun!
Dickinson’s perception of organized religion interests me in general (as she attended a female seminary for a year and is often skeptical about religion within her poetry), but each time I read this final stanza I can not help but recognize some suggestion of a belief in an afterlife and possibly Heaven. As the speaker anticipates angels and saints watching her standing in the heavens, it is interesting to think about how Dickinson celebrates life and anticipates some form of afterlife while also considering the many poems she writes about death.
In considering Dickinson’s point-of-view, it is impossible not to touch on “Tell all the Truth but tell it slant--” as the poem seems to hinge on the idea of point-of-view. This very short poem says a lot about the capability of human understanding. So often, studying this poem turns into word study. For example, who doesn’t wonder exactly what Dickinson means by “tell it slant?” Merriam-Webster online gives several definitions for SLANT. They appear below:
1 : a slanting direction, line, or plane : SLOPE
2 a : something that slants b : SLASH 4 c : a football running play in which the ball carrier runs obliquely toward the line of scrimmage
3 a : a peculiar or personal point of view, attitude, or opinion b : a slanting view : GLANCE
Seeing that I never did well with slopes in math and we’re clearly not working with football, I tend to use the third definition in thinking about this poem.
The term CIRCUIT can also be troublesome to readers. Again, Merriam-Webster comes to the rescue:
1 a : a usually circular line encompassing an area b : the space enclosed within such a line
2 a : a course around a periphery b : a circuitous or indirect route
3 a : a regular tour (as by a traveling judge or preacher) around an assigned district or territory b : the route traveled c : a group of church congregations ministered to by one pastor
4 a : the complete path of an electric current including usually the source of electric energy b : an assemblage of electronic elements : HOOKUP c : a two-way communication path between points (as in a computer) d : a neuronal pathway of the brain along which electrical and chemical signals travel
5 a : an association of similar groups : LEAGUE b : a number or series of public outlets (as theaters, radio shows, or arenas) offering the same kind of presentation c : a number of similar social gatherings (ie: the cocktail circuit)
For my interpretation, I tend to think of circuit in terms of the space enclosed within a circular line.
As for the meaning to the poem, I see Dickinson promoting personal point-of-view in saying that a person should tell the truth in terms of his or her understanding because absolute truth is something beyond comprehension for the average individual. The absolute truth, then, is within the circuit that “lies / too bright for our infirm Delight.” This idea is made most clear with the simile “As Lightning to the Children eased / With explanation kind.” Lightning – a scientific and fantastic occurrence – may be difficult for a child to understand unless it is explained in terms the child comprehends. The truth, then, is to be handled in the same manner. It must “dazzle gradually” so that a person is able to obtain some part of it rather than become blind by the intensity of the absolute truth.
This is long, and I’m sorry. But I look forward to your responses and your interpretations of these and the other poems!
Until later,
Missy Davis
Hello everybody,
My name is Tabaré Neira and I’m following the course Fiction for Engineers at Chalmers. I come from the Universidad de Zaragoza, in Spain, where I study Telecommunications engineering, and I’m exchange student here in Göteborg for the course 2006 – 2007. Thus I’m afraid you will have to forgive me my ‘spanglish’ and my lack of background in English literature.
I liked especially the second poem, ‘Time and Eternity’. Here Dickinson depicts Death not as an aggressive or cruel character, but as a gently and calm being.
The poem opens with the lines
Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
They refer to the fact that death is inevitable, and it is impossible for us to stop it.
In the second stanza Dickinson talks about the calm of death, and in the third stanza she illustrates the common believe that all your memories pass in front of your eyes when you die.
The fourth stanza puzzled me when I first read the poem. After a more careful reading, I think she is saying that they stopped before her own tomb:
We paused before a house that seemed
A swelling of the ground;
I’m not quite sure what Dickinson means in her last stanza, but I think is a wink, a message, for the readers on time to come,
Since then ’t is centuries;
I was not sure of the meaning of ‘civility’, thus from Merrian-Webster’s I got:
1 archaic : training in the humanities
2 a : civilized conduct; especially : courtesy, politeness b : a polite act or expression
Therefore, as I said above, I think Dickinson here is both depicting Death as a polite, soft and kind character, and saying that after death we change all our labour and all our leisure for the civilized behaviour of corpses.
Yours sincerely,
Tabaré Neira
Hello
My name is Kristoffer Wilhelmsson, i am currently completing a Msc degree in electronics focusing on computer- and software systems technology.
My previous experience of analysing poetry is nonexistent.
I chose to focus on the poem "i started early" because it was the most pictorial of the five, also excluding any reference to feelings and thougt, which are found in the other four.
My main impression of this poem is a 19-th century naive copperplate-ish picture of a lone woman watching the tide break early at morning.
Lets dissect:
I STARTED early, took my dog,
And visited the sea;
The mermaids in the basement
Came out to look at me,
Nothing special here except she mentions mermaids, which is richly featured in pre 20-th century naive art and mythology. She also mentions that they live in the basement which is a reference to their living subsurface.
(It may at this point be in order for me to explain what i mean by "naive" art. The way i see it, the naive artist does not think that she is making "art" when painting, but rather thoughtlessly depicting. This can of course also be done with fictional images, where their lack of persuasion gives a naive impression.)
And frigates in the upper floor
Extended hempen hands,
Presuming me to be a mouse
Aground, upon the sands.
The ships on the other hand are placed upon the surface of the sea, which is mentioned.
A quite funny remark is made here regarding the difference in size between a ship and a human and a mouse. From the ships point of view the difference between a human and a mouse is apparently not distinguishable.
The ships extend their ropes to this "mouse" in order to take it aboard. This further extends the romanticising/naive picture. In her image rats belong on ships so that they can climb the mast when the ship sinks or run down the ropes when it burns down in dock. Whereas in reality ships do not want rats on them at all.
Main Entry: aground
Pronunciation: &-'graund
Function: adverb or adjective
1 : on the ground "planes aloft and aground"
2 : on or onto the shore or the bottom of a body of water "a ship run aground"
With this sentence "Aground, upon the sands." she further extends this notion of rats belonging on ships since the wording implies that something Aground, upon the sands, does not really belong there.
But no man moved me till the tide
Went past my simple shoe,
And past my apron and my belt,
And past my bodice too,
In her image the mermaids are female, the frigates presumably sexless and the tide is male. It is further implied that the poem is about a woman since the word bodice is used.
Main Entry: bod·ice
Pronunciation: 'bä-d&s
Function: noun
Etymology: alteration of bodies, plural of 1body
1 : the upper part of a woman's dress
2 archaic : CORSET, STAYS
And made as he would eat me up
As wholly as a dew
Upon a dandelion’s sleeve—
And then I started too.
Their encounter is intensified until she becomes aware that the rising tide may in fact engulf her.
And he—he followed close behind;
I felt his silver heel
Upon my ankle,—then my shoes
Would overflow with pearl.
This is my favourite part. When she is ascending from the water, walking towards the new shoreline, she feels the waves on her ankles, looks down and sees the foam swirling around her shoes.
I like it because it is a very beautiful and _accurate_ description of walking out of the ocean.
Until we met the solid town,
No man he seemed to know;
And bowing with a mighty look
At me, the sea withdrew.
Now she reaches the new shoreline, presumably somewhere where the tide breaks against rocks since a distinction ("no man he seemed to know") is made between the liquid nature of the water and the "solid town".
And here, of course, the sea retreats.
Kind regards.
Kristoffer Wilhelmsson
Hello Everyone!
My name is Ashley, and I am currently enrolled in Dr. Young's Victorian Poetry seminar at Clemson University. While I enjoy all fields of writing, my interests primarily lie in 20th Century and Contemporary American literature. I have a little bit of experience with various types of poetry, but I am not particularly well-versed in Dickinson's writing. Therefore, I hope that you all will be able to shed some light on these various poems.
I'd like to look at Dickinson's "I started early, took my dog..." As I read this poem for the first time, it piqued my interest in two ways. For one, I had never read this poem before, and found it to be a somewhat refreshing departure from the samples of Dickinson's poetry that I had previously studied. To me, this poem seemed somewhat more open and inviting than some of her other poems— in the work, the speaker ventures out into nature, and says, "I started early, took my dog, / and visited the sea" (ll. 1-2). She even moves into direct communication with nature, actually letting the sea surround her body: "But no man moved me till the tide / Went past my simple shoe, / And past my apron and my belt, / And past my bodice too" (ll. 9-12). Although some of Dickinson’s other poetry references a connection to nature, the relationship between the speaker and the natural elements in this poem just seems different to me. The sea and the speaker seem to become one for a brief moment, which leads me to believe that there is more to this intersection than we might initially think.
On a more specific note, I also found this particular poem to be interesting because of the juxtaposition of submission and dominance. The speaker first recounts how the sea envelops her, going up to her "bodice." According to Merriam-Webster, the term "bodice" means "the upper part of a woman’s dress," so we can assume that the sea has gone well above the speaker"s waist, and has almost swallowed her completely. Therefore, it appears that the speaker submits to the sea, allowing it to fully surround her. However, in lines 17-19, the poem takes a different turn. The sea turns to follow the speaker, as she comments, "And he—he followed close behind; / I felt his silver heel/ Upon my ankle..." In these lines, it seems that the speaker has come to dominate nature: the sea turns to follow her as she moves away from its grasp. Could this be Dickinson's way of speaking about death, one of her favorite subjects? Or is she talking about the strange and often complicated interrelation of man and nature? This idea of the relationship between man and nature can also be seen in line 6, where the speaker mentions "hempen hands." Merriam-Webster defines the word "hempen" as "something composed of hemp," which is a rough plant fiber. Here again, we see the combination of something natural (the hemp) with something human (the hands). An interesting connection to ponder.
I am eager to see what the rest of you think about this poem and other samples of Dickinson's writing. Until next time!
Cheers,
Ashley
Nice HALLO to group One
My name is Mateusz Knop and I’m taking part in Socrates Erasmus Exchange here in Geteborg on Chalmers. I come from Szczecin/Poland and I’m studying Sea Transportation on Szczecin University of Technology. Here I’m following courses connected with Logistic and Economy.
It is my first contact with poems in English so I will try do my best in this course.
I tried to work at understanding meaning of the second poem titled “Because I could not stop for Death” where author has been consecrated on concept of Death.
She isn’t comprehend Death like something wrong or sad, tying mark that she can’t even wait more for “him”. She characterized him very positive and even said that death is very kindly for her. In my opinion when she speaks about Immortality it means that she feel very young and resistant for death. During their trip she feel very comfortable and calm.
In third stanza she try to express people’s life n 3 main parts. Children signify the childhood, also she talk about school, where they are getting useful knowledge. Using “fields of gazing grain” she talks about the best moment in our live – growing up and becoming adult. Later using the setting sun she talk about end of live and soon getting closer of Death.
She is talking about going by live and that death is surly element of people’s life…
With the end of the poem emily’s feelings are completely different that in priors stanzas. We can feel that author is becoming sad with time. She is realizing that death is something, some part of our life that we can not avoid it and it will soon come for each of us. In the early end she use comparison – swelling house – which in my eyes means the end of somebody’s life and it strict connected I my opinion with element of grave. Which means and shows going down to the ground and disappear from the earth. On the other hand ground can also mean the eternal place where human goes after his life. After death we becomes eternal and we are part of the world.
But the most important question which each should ask himself is “should be surly afraid of the death”?
Personally I thing that it’s some kind of unavoidable part of life and we should be ready for it every time. There is no time to waste and death is not dependent of us. What do you thing my friends?
In the poem I would like to mark two keywords which are for me quite important and they force me to deeper thinking.
1. Grave – I explain it earlier
2. Sun – which in my eyes means the eternity. I imagine that every day sun goes up and down and it’s normal right on our planet. Everyone is used to see this situation and it happens everyday. What is more I see sun as a human life when it going up – childhood, then we have got all day shining and on the end of the beautiful day it’s go down and it’s getting dark…in fact that it is so normal I hope that we can compare it to death and end of life. we should not be sad after “sun gone down” because next day we will have also day, next and next.
I hope we can nicely discuss about this and also other aspect in Ms. Dickinson’s poetry.
see you
bye
Dear Group,
Hello! My name is Lauren Bianchi and I am currently majoring in Sociology (emphasis in criminal justice) at Clemson University. I am taking Ms. Reiss’s “American Literature to 1945” class.
I read the poem “I taste a liquor never brewed”. I was pleasantly surprised that this poem was not centered on the theme of death that is usually found in Emily Dickinson’s writings. It did, however, have the same A-B-A-B pattern to the rhyming that is characteristic of her writings. She rhymes the first and third lines and then rhymes the second and fourth. In this poem, she is saying that she is inebriated and happy not because of any alcohol that man can brew, but because of life. There must have been an event in her life that made her appreciate the life she had, or that made her love the life she was living due to the dramatic difference in this poem as compared to the rest of her characteristically gloomy, dreary poems. There were a few phrases that caught my eye that I wanted to investigate further. The first phrase is, “and debauchee of dew” in which she is saying that she is, as is defined in Merriam-Webster Online dictionary, a person who is addicted to excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures and obtains these pleasures simply from the dew in the morning. I find it very deep in the ideology in that someone can directly tie in being “high on life” in a sense with 20th century poetry. Another phrase I found interesting was the phrase, “when butterflies renounce their drams”. I hope I am interpreting the definition correctly because it is defined as “a small bit, or a small amount” and I believe that it would be the butterflies shedding off their cocoon and “renouncing” that little bit that was holding them back from being free. That explanation makes the most sense to me since I am not very familiar with the term “dram”.
I really enjoyed this poem particularly because of the upbeat, optimistic attitude that it gives off. It put me in a very relaxed and enjoyable mood!
Sincerely,
Lauren Bianchi
Dear Group,
My name is Michelle. I am in an American Literature course at Clemson University. My major is Industrial Engineering with a minor in Business Administration.
The poem that interested me the most was "I taste a liquor never brewed." I loved the way Dickinson related to intoxication from liquor to nature. She is expressing how she is so overcome by nature and its beauty that it makes her feel more intoxicated than any alcohol ever could. She expresses this in the first stanza when she says, "Not all the vats upon the Rhine/Yield such an alcohol!" Dickinson next expresses how the air and dew make her feel inebriated. She claims that she will feel this intoxication forever, since nature will never cease to be.
To further understand Dickinson's poem I looked up three words from Merriam-Webster online. These words and definitions are as follows:
Debauchee: one given to debauchery (extreme indulgence in sensuality)
Dram: a small portion of something to drink
Tippler: to drink liquor especially by habit or to excess
Dickinson uses the first word to express how the simple things in nature, such as dew and air, give her the feeling of pleasure as a high quality liquor would. Her reference to "when butterflies renounce their drams" shows that she will never stop getting this feeling from nature since it cannot simply come to an end. In the final stanza of the poem, Dickinson makes a reference to the feeling one may get after a night of drinking. She uses the word "tippler" to relate how she would feel after drinking liquor to how nature makes her feel. I took "leaning against the sun" to mean that she is overwhelmed by her intoxication from nature and is resting at the end of the day. Dickinson uses brilliant metaphors to strengthen the feelings she is describing.
Sincerely,
Michelle
Hello again, Group One!
I have just finished reading your first posts, and I am excited to further this conversation. I found myself drawn to the posts by Kristoffer and Ashley because I, too, enjoy Dickinson’s “I started early, took my dog.”
I like the way Kristoffer described the poem as the “most pictorial of the five” because Dickinson does spend so much time developing images of mermaids, frigates, “hempen hands” or ropes, the speaker’s body, etc etc. Somehow, I have failed to appreciate the beautiful many in which she depicts images in my previous readings, instead looking for meaning behind the images. Another section that stood out to me as I read Kristoffer’s post was the line that said the poem seemed to show a naïve picture of woman. I agree that Dickinson is developing a sort of battle between the two genders within this poem.
The sea, for example, takes on a very masculine role. Even the frigates (warships), vessels of the sea, adapt a sort of masculinity as they extend the hempen hands. This extention of rope appears as a threat to the female speaker – whom Dickinson is careful to point out is assumed “to be a mouse” which is typically small, weak, and timid. Developing the stereotype of man (dominating, powerful) and of woman (passive, weak), Dickinson moves into the third stanza into the poem where the masculine sea begins to overwhelm her body.
In my past readings, I have assumed the physical domination to be suggestive of a sexual encounter. The sea moves past all of the clothing articles of the speaker – her shoes, apron, belt, and bodice. And then in the fourth stanza the speaker suggests that the sea “made as he would eat [her] up” or that he would take complete domination over her body. The description Dickinson gives is very sensual, but also creates a feeling of danger as it does not seem in the beginning that the speaker is capable of escape.
However, the poem closes with the speaker moving away with the sea following “close behind.” In reading this, I am stuck with a question of consent. If this poem is suggesting a sexual encounter, does the fact that the speaker chose to walk away and the sea, in turn, “withdrew” show the reader that the speaker does actually have a choice in the matter? Or is the reader to assume that, because the sea bowed “with a mighty look” before withdrawing, the masculine figure holds the upper hand?
Ashley’s question “Could this be Dickinson's way of speaking about death, one of her favorite subjects?” sparked a lot of thought for me. It does seem that the sea could be playing the role of death – taking of the body, “mighty” in its inevitability. Some word usage in the poem seems to fit this idea. For example, “the mermaids in the basement” may suggest that the speaker is being welcomed into a new world – the afterlife. Thinking of this, I was reminded of the artist, Julie Bell, who depicts fantastic images including some of mermaids. Below is a link that will take you to a picture of two mermaids and a dolphin.
http://www.clemson.edu/~mdavis/mermaids.JPG
Looking at this picture, one might make a connection to Dickinson’s poem as the mermaids are suspended between a section of bright light and great darkness – arguably the Christian idea of Heaven and Hell. The dolphin that appears between the two may suggest that the mermaid further back in the image is intended for one place in eternity while the mermaid in the foreground will be elsewhere. Both, however, exhibit a sense of freedom in their body language. Perhaps this escape from life – the oppression of time, social expectations, etc – is what is being offered to the speaker of Dickinson’s poem.
Interestingly, as the speaker retreats, Dickinson says that “No man [the sea] seemed to know.” Perhaps this is because the speaker is the one intended for death, not any other man. Thinking of the poem in this life would make the ending a reprieve from death. But this reprieve (if we consider the above image) prolongs the time until the speaker gains the freedom death offers in the afterlife.
I hope this post has added more to your understanding of the poem! Kristoffer and Ashley, thank you for helping me think more deeply about this poem.
Until later,
Missy Davis
(To see other work by Julie Bell, go to http://www.imaginistix.com)
Hello again,
I just finished reading your first letters and what I noticed first is that many of you choose ‘I taste a liquor never brewed’. I must confess the first time I read the poem I didn’t understood it quite well. But, as I told you in my first letter, I haven’t had much contact with English poetry before, and a few things I read, I read them translated.
But I’m glad this exchange will help me to understand better some aspects of Dickinson’s poetry.
The first thing I learned though your letters was, as Missy said, that Dickinson usually writes about dead. That explains in part that many of you wanted to comment on ‘I taste a liquor never brewed’. Missy says
Beginning the poem with “I taste liquor never brewed” establishes a metaphor for a happiness – an inebriation – caused by living.
But I think the connection between her happiness and life is not as patent there as in the second stanza,
Inebriate of air am I
Other thing that I found important in Missy’s letter was her comment on Dickinson’s point of view on religion, referring to the last stanza. But, don’t you find in
Till seraphs swing their snowy hats,
And saints to windows run,
To see the little tippler
Leaning against the sun!
a slight note of provocation? The way I read it, she is ‘drunk of life’, careless lying under the sun, and the angels and saints run to the windows to see her below. Perhaps jealous? Perhaps infuriated?
This interpretation also differs from Michelle’s. I don’t understand quite well the third stanza, but I like Michelle’s interpretation, when she says
Her reference to "when butterflies renounce their drams" shows that she will never stop getting this feeling from nature since it cannot simply come to an end.
Back to the poem I first choose, ‘Because I could not stop for Death’, it reminds me a song by a Spanish band. The song is called Nana, and the band is Warcry. I’m sure you all know how to find it, but just in case, you can use
ed2k://|file|Warcry%20-%20Nana.mp3|3965895|621FDC7BD3A69458426969DE9AEFFABC|/
In the song, the lyrics say
Muerte espera un momento
Que pronto han de volver
Veo venir una dama sonriendo hacia mí
Si esa dama es la muerte
¿quién tiene miedo a morir?
Which translated means
Death wait a moment
Because they will soon be back
I see a lady come smiling towards me
If that lady is Death
Who is afraid to die?
Thank you all for your letters, you helped me understand the poems much better.
Yours sincerely,
Tabaré Neira
Hello again.
I have, as many of you, this time also focused on the poem "I TASTE a liquor never brewed".
This because when i read your contributions i felt a large increase in understanding of the poem, but also quite a few thoughts occured.
Both Michelle and Missy and points out the technicality of drug intoxication as a way of describing euphoria, to which she is very passionately related. The most striking quoute would be "Inebriate of air am I, / And debauchee of dew” a quote which, thanks to your interpretations, became a key in understanding the poems underlying meaning.
Since then i have pondered why this intoxication/inebriation metaphore is used. My findings so far have concluded that it is most likely an agent used to try to describe the strength of her feeling without risking becoming cheesy. I found that i instantly reject any lyric/poem that has explicit descriptions of happiness/euphoria as cheesed out. I dont know why though, maybe it is because the word "happy" is used in many different ways an therefore is somewhat devalued?
Anyway i think this poem is a good descpription of euphoria and the interesting thing lies in the contrast between the good that happiness is associated with and on the other hand the bad associated with drug intoxication.
Another remark, by Lauren, "There must have been an event in her life that made her appreciate the life she had" and the successing about the aspects of freedom "butterflies shedding off their cocoon and “renouncing” that little bit that was holding them back from being free" sent me in the opposite direction when searching for my multimodal representation. Another way to look at and understand this kind of metamorphosis into a feeling of freedom is to look at the situation preceding that.
A quite good representation of a locked-down and frustrated situation is pictured by Trent Reznor in the song "The hand that feeds". I especially like the phrase "Are you brave enough to see? Do you want to change it?", this means that the person in this situation sees the whole picture but has a choice to stay or free herself. Just as a butterfly on the way out of its cocoon.
The whole lyrics.
Many thanks for an interesting read.
/Kristoffer
Hi hi hallo
It was very nice to read your all comments on this website.
About “my” poem wrote only Tabare who has similar point of view on this poem. I really enjoy his sentence said that “all your memories pass in front of your eyes when you die”. I think the same. At first time when I was talking with my very ill grandfather, he realize my that in life the most important are memories and he also said that I should only keep the good memories. It was for sure very deep idea of seeing the world. I think Dickinson is always coming back to best moments in her life describing the childhood and time of her youth.
After reading it all I realize that you prefer to choose the poem ‘I taste a liquor never brewed’. On the beginning I didn’t catch the main meaning of this poem but with time and reading your letters I started to understand couple of main thoughts. Exactly I didn’t understand the center point of Dickinson’s writing. After reading “because I can’t……” I thought that Emily is used to write about only death and sad situations of ending life. But suddenly I was surprised reading first poem and it’s interpretation of group members. It was very interesting what she took in consideration creating this poem. I really curious what has influenced for her just to write so bright and humorous poem. I even know the order of writing her poems but something had to influenced for her life what is noticeable in changing her moon. In my eyes the butterfly is a symbol of freedom and also happiness which Emily write in this poem.
The first link which I will enclose : http://www.josephinewall.co.uk/fairies/butterfly_tree.jpg i really like this photo cause it shows my a happiness and freedom. It also makes my relaxed and calm. Sending it I would like to according to free Dickinson’s mind which we can mark in “I taste a….”
Death like a blind eye http://www.dotguy.net/Death_like_a_blind_eye.jpg . I found this staff just to remember and notice that Death is blind, what in my eyes means that it doesn’t metter how you are behave, who are you soon or later death will come for all of us. On the other hand my opinion is that, that death is not justice. Dickinson didn’t write about it and it’s worth of adding to this topic.
I like our conversation because it takes me fun and also it’s very educational for me and I think also for the rest.
Greetings to friend from all over the world!
Mateusz
Hi hi hallo is saying Mateusz Knop / Chalmers Goteborg
It was very nice to read your all comments on this website.
About “my” poem wrote only Tabare who has similar point of view on this poem. I really enjoy his sentence said that “all your memories pass in front of your eyes when you die”. I think the same. At first time when I was talking with my very ill grandfather, he realize my that in life the most important are memories and he also said that I should only keep the good memories. It was for sure very deep idea of seeing the world. I think Dickinson is always coming back to best moments in her life describing the childhood and time of her youth.
After reading it all I realize that you prefer to choose the poem ‘I taste a liquor never brewed’. On the beginning I didn’t catch the main meaning of this poem but with time and reading your letters I started to understand couple of main thoughts. Exactly I didn’t understand the center point of Dickinson’s writing. After reading “because I can’t……” I thought that Emily is used to write about only death and sad situations of ending life. But suddenly I was surprised reading first poem and it’s interpretation of group members. It was very interesting what she took in consideration creating this poem. I really curious what has influenced for her just to write so bright and humorous poem. I even know the order of writing her poems but something had to influenced for her life what is noticeable in changing her moon. In my eyes the butterfly is a symbol of freedom and also happiness which Emily write in this poem.
The first link which I will enclose : http://www.josephinewall.co.uk/fairies/butterfly_tree.jpg i really like this photo cause it shows my a happiness and freedom. It also makes my relaxed and calm. Sending it I would like to according to free Dickinson’s mind which we can mark in “I taste a….”
Death like a blind eye http://www.dotguy.net/Death_like_a_blind_eye.jpg . I found this staff just to remember and notice that Death is blind, what in my eyes means that it doesn’t metter how you are behave, who are you soon or later death will come for all of us. On the other hand my opinion is that, that death is not justice. Dickinson didn’t write about it and it’s worth of adding to this topic.
I like our conversation because it takes me fun and also it’s very educational for me and I think also for the rest.
Greetings to friend from all over the world!
Mateusz
Dear Group One,
I thoroughly enjoyed all of your letters. After reading them, I do feel that my understanding of Dickinson's poetry has been expanded. Thanks for your comments and insights on the poems!
In this letter, I would like to discuss Dickinson's "Because I could not stop for Death..." While reading everyone's letters, I found Mateusz's and Tabaré's posts to be very interesting— they both discuss this poem in some detail, and provide several important thoughts about Dickinson's work. As I read this particular poem, I was struck by Dickinson's use of personification. She personifies death as a man coming to call on her, almost like a suitor or lover. However, the personification of death is not entirely negative or frightening; in fact, Dickinson seems to portray death as a figure who means well. He does not come to terrify or hurt her: he merely appears in order to do his job.
Mateusz comments that, "[Dickinson] characterized [death] very positive and even said that death is very kindly for her. In my opinion when she speaks about Immortality it means that she feels very young and resistant for death. During their trip she feels very comfortable and calm." I completely agree with his assertion, and felt the same way as I was reading the poem. Dickinson says that death "kindly stopped" for her, and as they drive away in the carriage, they drive slowly and "[know] no haste." In effect, death really does seem to be a rather benign character within the poem. However, as I was reading the poem, I wondered, why might Dickinson do this? Tabaré answered my question within her post. She says, "Dickinson depicts Death not as an aggressive or cruel character, but as a gently and calm being. The poem opens with the lines 'Because I could not stop for Death, / He kindly stopped for me...' They refer to the fact that death is inevitable, and it is impossible for us to stop it." Therefore, perhaps Dickinson personifies death in this manner in order to express that it is not something we should fear; death is a certain event, and because it will definitely happen, we should not be afraid of it.
While reading this poem, I couldn't help but think of other interesting (and often humorous) characterizations of death that I have either read or seen. The personification of death in the TV show "Family Guy" came to my mind first, and I was able to find a picture of it online: http://www.alexross.com/FGHP03XL.jpg . This link shows a still from the TV show, illustrating death as just another character— not a menacing figure. In the various episodes in which he appears, Death tells jokes, laughs at the other characters, and speaks lightheartedly about his "occupation," things that we would not expect him to do. I think that this characterization of death, although not exactly on par with Emily Dickinson's, also serves to show death as a benign character, perhaps supporting the idea that we should not fear it.
Thanks to everyone for your interesting posts! I enjoyed reading them all.
Cheers,
Ashley
Hello Group!
After reading your first posts, I was able to further my understanding of several of the poems. One response that I enjoyed was Mateusz's interpretation of "Because I could not stop for Death." I had heard this poem before and was not really sure on the meaning of it. To begin, Mateusz notes that Dickinson characterizes Death as friendly and kind. He believes that her mention of Immortality "means that she feels very young and resistant of death." I think this is a great interpretation and I agree with what he says. I looked up immortality on Merriam-Webster online and found the definition to be "the quality or state of being exempt from death." I think this is important to understand because as Mateusz stated it shows that she is not afraid of death. I also really liked Mateusz's explanation of the third stanza. When I read these lines I did not look deeply into them and understand them. But after reading the first post, it made much more sense to me. The stanza shows the stages of life: childhood, adulthood, and death. Reading this again in the poem after this explanation, I really like the way Dickinson expressed this, especially the connection between "fields of gazing grain" and adulthood. Mateusz then explains how the end of the poem expresses sadness as the author is realizing that death is inevitable. But as he says, it is an "unavoidable part of life," so there is no reason to worry or be afraid of it.
Since I had written my first post on "I taste a liquor never brewed," I wanted to read what other students who had read this poem felt about it. Missy had also written about this poem, and seemed to share my views on what the poem meant. She pointed out that the poem "celebrates the simple pleasures in life." One point that Missy touched on was the religious undertones of the poem. She says that the final stanza, with mention of seraphs and saints, may suggest "a belief in and afterlife and possibly Heaven." I had not mentioned this idea in my own interpretation and enjoyed reading Missy's thoughts on it. I found a picture that I really liked and felt related to this part of the poem. The image is entitled "Seraph," and it made me think of an angel looking through a window, similar to what is described in the poem. The picture is located at:
http://www.nzweddingservices.co.nz/images/seraph.jpg
I look forward to reading more of your letters!
Sincerely,
Michelle
Dear Group,
After reading the first letters for each member of our group, I decided to take quotes from Michelle and Kristoffer. Michelle and I read the same poem so I felt like we analyzed it similarly and that her interpretation backs up my same thinking on what the meaning was. When Michelle said, “She uses the word "tippler" to relate how she would feel after drinking liquor to how nature makes her feel” it brought up part of the poem I did not analyze as deeply. I think I overlooked that direct example of the theme I described in my first letter as Dickinson being, “high on life”. I think our modern day word usage for that feeling would be “tipsy” or even a more severe “drunk” depending on the consumption of alcohol. Either way, they are both words that describe a decrease in inhibitions and a carefree, happy attitude in which there are no consequences for actions and everything is, informally speaking, “fine and dandy”. I think that quote shows how Dickinson had not a care in the world and was so happy to just be alive. Kristoffer made a great point in his first letter by saying that, “the poem "i started early"… was the most pictorial of the five”. I think that this is the one aspect of Dickinson’s writings that can really be seen throughout her many different works. She has a very vivid way of describing what she is feeling or trying to get her audience to see what she is trying to say, not just understand it.
I chose to find a poem that I felt encompassed the same general theme as the poem I read and that also incorporated the visual aspect that Dickinson incorporates into her poems. Here is the link to the poem (it is a little lengthy but the correlation to Dickinson’s “I taste a liquor never brewed” was too obvious and perfect to ignore!) :
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/happiness-12
In this poem, the author talks about nature and the happiness s/he gets from being close to nature and just from life itself. I felt the same general optimistic attitude in this poem and although it is long, the themes of happiness with your life and happiness in nature come through in practically every stanza. I think that I chose to read another poem because it is easy for me to explain to the group and for me to see similarities between works when they are alike in their structure/flow. These two works seemed very related to me in that they were both very descriptive and illustrative. They were both so illustrative, that I did feel like I had pictures out to the side of the stanza illustrating what was written. I hope you all enjoy reading the poem I chose and see the same connections as I did when reading Nikhil’s poem.
Sincerely,
Lauren Bianchi
Hello for the third (and maybe last time).
I want to start with thanking you all for your
interesting remarks.
I would first like to comment on Tabares note
regarding the note of provocation in "i taste".
Since i read this and re-read the poem i also
sense this underlying remark of difference
between the living and the afterlife. This is
also furthered by the paganism of worshipping
"Leaning against" the sun, in contrast to the
christian mythological elements which is present
also. For me the poem now has taken on a very
nature-worshipping characteristic. This in
combination with the sensual undertone in the
"debauchee"-wording further elevates the
paganism. In light of this i must think that
there is a clear provocation between the
paganistic and christian elements.
My understanding of the "Because I could
not"-poem was further widened thanks to Michelles
comment "The stanza shows the stages of life:
childhood, adulthood, and death." But this made
me wonder about the temporality in the poem. As i
understand it the poem starts with the charachter
dying. "BECAUSE I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me" leads me to believe
that the charachter dies at a time in her life
where she has not reconciled with the fact that
she is going to die. And then death stopped for
her and through showing her the cycle of life (on
her way to the grave, (life flashing before your
eyes anyone?)) she can accept her death and find
peace.
Lastly i would like to comment on Missys
Mermaid-image matched with the "I started
early"-poem. I really like the connections you
make between the composition of the image and the
poem. But yet again we end up in the afterlife. I
wonder really how much Dickinson wanted to press
this issue in her poems in comparison with how
much we read in to them.
Many thanks for this interesting session.
/Kristoffer
Hello again group,
I have read all of the second letters, and I really enjoyed everyone's comments and insights. The media expressions were also great ways to further understand the poems. I thought the song lyrics that Tabaré included went very well with "Because I could not stop for Death." I learned more about this poem after the second letter, so reading this quote went along with my understanding of the poem. I took the lyrics to mean that no one could be afraid of death if she is the woman described. She is happy and smiling and not fearful in any way. I looked up the full lyrics and saw that it ends with the lady singing a song that the person's mother sang. This calmed the person and made them not afraid. I felt this related very well to the poem because Dickinson seemed very calm and comfortable and not at all frightened.
Ashley also wrote about this poem in her second letter. She states that she "was struck by Dickinson's use of personification." She notes that this personification is not what we would normally think of death, as frightening or negative. She also says that it seems as though death is simply doing his job. Ashley and I had the same take on the poem I felt, when she said "perhaps Dickinson personifies death in this manner in order to express that it is not something we should fear." I too touched on this point, noting that the poem expresses the inevitability of death which is why it should not be feared. I am also a fan of Family Guy, and thought of the show's portrayal of death when reading this poem. Ashley makes a good point with this picture by noting that death is seen as just another character and the family is not afraid of him but rather talks and jokes with him.
I have really enjoyed reading all of your posts, thank you for all of the insightful input!
Sincerely,
Michelle
Hello again, group one
I have finished reading all your letters and seeing your multimedia representations, and I think I’ll focus this letter on the later.
First, I would like to talk about the butterflies image choose by Mateusz. I think it suits the poem very well because of the female representation of the tree and the butterflies (as Dickinson is a woman), and depicts very well the act of ‘breaking free’ of the butterflies, in this case from the leaves instead of from a cocoon.
About the mermaids picture choose by Missy, I love Bell’s and Vallejo’s work, and I must say they have draw some of the most beautiful mermaids I ever saw. The picture choose by Missy is a good sample of their art.
About the Family guy screener choose by Ashley, I must say I didn’t thought about Death as a funny character when I read the poem. But it gives, anyway, a different view of the same concept: Death is there, as it (he? she?) has always been, and there’s nothing to be afraid of.
This image reminds me also of Death in South Park, especially in the episode where Stan’s grandfather wants Stan to kill him (‘Death’, S1E6)
I must tell you all that I have enjoyed a lot reading your letters, and I have learned a lot through them. I’m also glad you have enjoyed my notes and the song I choose (@Missy, I hope you was able to find the song, not just the lyrics, it’s a very beautiful heavy ballad).
Thank you all for this cross-cultural collaboration.
Yours sincerely,
Tabaré Neira
P.D. @Ashley… I’m a boy. ;-P. Don’t worry, weird name, happens often.
Hi Group One,
Thank you all for your interesting posts. I’ve enjoyed reading each of them.
As I read each of the letter two posts, I was intrigued by all of the multimodal representations that we were all able to find. Every single one of them helped to supplement my understanding of Dickinson’s work, and helped me to see some interesting connections between her themes and the themes often found in art, music, and other poetry.
I particularly enjoyed Kristoffer’s comparison of Trent Reznor lyrics to Dickinson’s poetry. I never would have thought of a song like this when considering Dickinson’s work, and I thought that the lyrics worked very nicely with the poem that we had read. Kristoffer comments that the song portrays a “locked-down and frustrating situation,” and I think he’s right. The song was a surprising choice, but I think he made a great connection between contemporary music and 19th Century poetry. This comparison made me realize how different types of art can often be closely related.
Lauren also chose an interesting alternative expression that gave me more insight into Dickinson’s “I taste a liquor never brewed.” She chose a 20th Century poem by Nikhil Parekh that uses many of the same ideas and images as Dickinson’s poem. When I was writing my second post, I wanted to try and find a good poem by another author that might work well when compared to Dickinson’s poetry, but I wasn’t able to find such a poem. Lauren did a great job of choosing a poem that was not only interesting, but applicable to Dickinson’s ideas.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed discussing Emily Dickinson’s work with each of you. Thanks so much for some interesting insights into a very complicated poet!
Sincerely,
Ashley
P.S.: Tabaré, I am so sorry for the confusion! Please excuse me!
Dear Group,
I personally enjoyed reading all of your responses and found many interesting points that you addressed. By reading your responses I got a better understanding of what some of the poems meant and I think everyone did a wonderful job picking out themes in the poems, interpreting the poems, and providing insight as to why Dickinson wrote in her distinct style.
I think Tabarè did a great job in connecting her song lyrics from her multimodal representation to the poem “Because I could not stop for death”. I think the ending two lines of the song lyrics really capture the emotion that Dickinson had by saying, “If that lady is Death, Who is afraid to die?” in that if that is the image of death, who needs to be afraid to die (implying that she is beautiful and that if death is that beautiful they don’t care to die)?
I also looked at Michelle’s picture of the seraph that she found that correlated with the poem that I read, “I taste a liquor never brewed.” I think it is the perfect visual to go along with the poem in which the seraph is looking through the window at Dickinson as she lay “inebriate with air”. The image that she found is really what I pictured as I read the poem so I think it is interesting how she ran across that and incorporated it in as her multimodal representation. Emily Dickinson does such a good job already in using descriptive words to illustrate her poems that visuals are almost not even necessary, however with this picture I think it was the perfect accent to that part of the poem that Dickinson already described so well.
Both people did a good job in interpreting other people’s responses and all of the letters helped me gain a better understanding of the poems that were discussed. I think this has been a really neat assignment and I really enjoyed being in this group!
Sincerely,
Lauren Bianchi
Mateusz Knop / Chalmers University
Hallo my friends
I have never thought that reading poems and later discussing about their meaning can be so pleasant and nice. I want to admit that it brought my a lot of fun and on the other hand a lot of education. I knew new vocabulary and new glance for poetry.
It was very useful to understand “I taste a liquor never brewed’ poem after reading your posts especially Lauren’s one. It really influenced on my thinking way. Personally he explained my this poem and idea that we can be drunk by happiness - “In this poem, she is saying that she is inebriated and happy not because of any alcohol that man can brew, but because of life. In this one sentence Lauren reach sense of the real happiness. I realize that we should be very happy because of nice moments in our life. There is nothing more important than this.
“He does not come to terrify or hurt her: he merely appears in order to do his job” - Ashley’s words I enjoy much. I tried to say it but I can not find this mind like “do his job” . It is truth that we shouldn’t think about Death like some monster bringing only sorrow. I will compare death to debt collector, who also takes sth away from somebody but it’s only his unrewarding job.
What also brought me a lot of fun, was to look at Ashley’s picture which she added to our topic of the Death. I’ve never seen this Tv show but when I first time saw this photo I really love it. It’s very commensurate with our minds and opinion about “good image of death”. When I look at this picture I notice not frightened family. View of coming death is for them not scary because maybe they think the same as me about death – that we should not be frightened of her. Everyday we should be ready for her visit. It was very amusing for me. You bring a smile on my face – Ashley.
I would like to thank all the member of my group for keeping nice conversation. I really enjoyed it.
Greetings my frends,
Mateusz Knop
Greetings to friend from all over the world!
Mateusz
Hello once again, group!
First, I would like to thank each of you for the contributions you made to this conversation. Each of the multimodal items selected were well connected to the poetry and often to more than one of them!
The discussion on “Because I could not stop for Death” became so interesting, thanks especially to Tabare and Ashley. The lyrics to “Nana” by Warcry seemed almost to mirror the poem with the word “Death, wait a minute” as we all know death will not wait for Dickinson or the band. I thought it was interesting that Ashley’s words “Dickinson seems to portray death as a figure who means well” were so well represented by the image from Family Guy. Further, I liked that in the image of death Ashley provided, two characters appear amused by Death. Because of this, her image mirrored the lines of Tabare’s song where they say “I see a lady come smiling towards me. / If that Lady is Death / Who is afraid to die?” Both of these comforting representations of death match the illustration Dickinson gives; she describes the grave as a home. After the speaker of “Because I could not stop for Death” reminisces on various stages of life, s/he arrives at “a swelling in the ground” which Dickinson describes as having a “roof” and a “cornice.” In making a grave a home, Dickinson removes the negative connotation so many associate with death, and instead creates a comfort zone for a person’s eternal resting place. Thank you to both Tabare and Ashley for these well-connected multimodal representations.
I also appreciate how Kristoffer considered “I taste a liquor never brewed” in terms of what happened to make Dickinson reach a point in life where she could have a “metamorphosis into a feeling of freedom.” The lyrics to the Nine Inch Nails song were very intriguing, and made me consider even more the religious, or perhaps just the psychological, aspect of the poem. The lyrics “What if this whole crusade's / A charade” very much illustrated the doubt that Dickinson shows in much of her poetry. I think it is a perfect representation of confusion and doubt that one may feel before some point of enlightenment and freedom. Eventually, a person must ask themselves “Are you brave enough to see? Do you want to change it?” in order to come to a point where they can feel the euphoria Dickinson illustrates in “I taste a liquor never brewed.”
Lauren, Michelle, and Mateusz selected very different works of art to depict the freedom and/or happiness Dickinson displays in the poem. The butterfly tree, as Mateusz says, displays so much freedom and happiness that is available to living beings. It also speaks volumes to natural and human life. The image shows human bodies enclosed by butterfly wings a human face surrounded by the trunk of a tree while human beings are sitting separately beneath the tree. This image illustrates that life of nature – trees, butterflies, bees – is typically a shorter length than human life just as the stanza below.
When landlords turn the drunken bee
Out of the foxglove’s door,
When butterflies renounce their drams,
I shall but drink the more!
Lauren was right in feeling the poem she selected was so similar to Dickinson’s in the way that it describes nature and life. Particularly, I liked the lines “Happiness is in inhaling the fragrance of soil and ravishing rose…” and “Happiness is in fighting for the unrelenting ultimate essence of truth; disseminating its Godly virtue…” The first quote is so much like “Inebriate of air am I” as breathing is the primary source of happiness in living. The second quote reminds me of the final stanza and the possible reference to religion. However, the second quote also seems to reference “Tell all the Truth but tell it slant” in how it describes the largeness of truth and the difficulty in discovering it.
Finally, the seraph image Michelle selected was an interesting take on the final stanza. In thinking about the possibility for Dickinson to be referencing the afterlife, Michelle’s picture does fit into Dickinson’s description of heavenly beings at a window. The picture fits into the afterlife idea as it is hazy and white, suggestive of the uncertain world after death and the purity most associate with Heaven.
Thank you all so much for the ideas you’ve offered about Dickinson’s poetry. You’ve all been so helpful with your ideas and the multimodal representations you’ve chosen.
Thanks again,
Missy Davis
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