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 5: Heidi F., Britt G., Stephanie G., Olof J., Daniel L., Alejandro L., Jennifer R., Lauren R.
16 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Hello group,
My name is Brett Gallman, and I’m enrolled in Dr. Young’s Victorian Poetry class at Clemson University. I haven’t taken many courses focusing specifically on poetry, but I have read a few of these Dickinson poems a few times. Of the poems we read, I mostly focused on “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” because it’s fairly familiar to me. While reading it this time, I noticed that death, despite being personified as a gentleman, doesn’t play a huge role in the poem. Instead, the bulk of the poem seems to focus on what the speaker passes while riding in death’s carriage: the “school where children played,” the “gazing grain,” and the “setting sun” (9, 11, 12). Each of these seems to represent stages in life (childhood, maturation, and death, respectively), but the first two images especially suggest some sort of promise or future, which contrasts sharply with the subject matter of death.
Interestingly, the speaker is placed in the position of passing or observing these subjects, implying a sense of reminiscence on her part while the subjects remain ignorant. This dynamic perhaps serves as a metaphor for the relationship of humans and death. The children are too busy “wrestling in a ring” to be bothered by death, and, while the grain is “gazing,” this seems to give the effect that it is gazing towards a promising future rather than death” (10, 11). These two images perhaps represent the speaker’s state at the beginning of the poem in that they are too busy “to stop for death” (1). However, these images are brought to a swift halt with the image of the “setting sun” that perhaps represents death’s suddenness.
Thus, this stanza might represent the speaker’s further contemplation on the perhaps sudden nature of death, which seems to conflict with the idea of death “kindly” stopping by to pick her up (2). I think it’s possible that Dickinson is being ironic by conceiving death in this manner because the rest of the poem focuses on a sort of bleak finality rather than on death as a promising suitor. The structure of the poem mirrors this as well, as the alliteration of the second and third stanzas give the poem a sort of galloping pace before the fourth stanza slows the poem considerably. It’s probably no coincidence that death’s carriage literally “pauses” in front of the speaker’s grave at this point (13). At this point, I had to look up the word “cornice” (16). The Merriam-Webster dictionary gives three meanings:
1 a : the molded and projecting horizontal member that crowns an architectural composition; a top course that crowns a wall 2 : a decorative band of metal or wood used to conceal curtain fixtures 3 : an overhanging mass of windblown snow or ice usually on a ridge
I think the first and second definitions probably apply best here because it again returns us to the notion of disappointment, as the speaker expects some ornate, decorative cornice, they find only a nondescript “mound” (16).
Thus, it seems this poem is generally about disappointment. It seems that the speaker is looking forward to death to end life in a glorious manner, but soon finds an unexpected disappointment. One of the main aspects that leads me to this conclusion is the fact that the speaker notes “immortality” to be riding with her, which brings a more positive connotation to the situation; however, by the end of the poem, this immortality is nowhere to be found. Instead, the speaker has spent “centuries” plodding towards an “eternity” that seems more sinister than promising by the poem’s end (17, 20).
These are just some general thoughts on the poem, and I look forward to everyone else’s posts.
I'm Heidi, a student at Chalmers Univ. of Technology here in Gothenburg, Sweden. I'm in Magnus Gustavsson's class "Fiction for Engineers". After 4 years in Computer Science I felt I needed something else and that's how I ended up here.
I had trouble picking out one of the poems, there are some parts in all of them that I find interesting. "I taste a liqour" seems so carefree and happy, especially compared to "Because I could not stop for Death" and "There's a certain slant of light". But even so it makes me wonder what she's really thinking of since the beginning of the poem says "I taste a liqour never brewed". Is she being ironic?
Somehow I got the feeling of youth, especially in the second stanza "Inebriate of air am I, And debauchee of dew, Reeling, through endless summer days". It makes me think of a never ending summers without worries, the ones you can only have as a child.
Debauchee - A person who habitually indulges in debauchery or dissipation; a libertine. - From American Heritage Dictionary. The word feels very central for the second stanza, "I" being full of mischief and invulnerable ("Inebriate of air") while "Reeling, through the endless summer days".
When the poem continues saying that "When butterflies renounce their drams, I shall but drink the more!" it reminds me even more of childish rebellion. Living in the present and so sure it will never change, never going to sober up, never going to grow up and never to become an adult. And maybe that's why she writes it's a liqour never brewed – is it life itself? Or youth drunk on life?
The American Heritage Dictionary: Tippler – A tippler, a drinker.
The last stanza confuses me with the seraphs and the saints. As if the end of the poem is a notion of beginning. And as if the angels would be greeting life or new life, and "the little tippler" being a child or newborn? Or maybe the angels are terrified with youth or this life being so reckless?
When reading the poem I had to look up a lot of words I'd never seen before. Learning more about them and understanding them properly made me see the poem more clearly.
But I still feel that I don't understand this poem. I was actually going to write about "I started early" which was the poem that confused me most.. But now it seems they all confuse me just the same!
Hello Group, My name is Jeni Renew. I am taking English 214 American Literature at Clemson University. My major is Financial Management. I was particularly intrigued by Emily Dickinson’s poem Part Two: Nature XIX because I have always been very interested in poems relating to the ocean. I really enjoyed Emily Dickinson’s striking imagery about the sea rising against her. I think Dickinson deliberately described the sea in such a way that it would create a visual image within the reader’s mind. While reading the poem, I came across a couple of words I haven’t heard before, but I used “The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition” website to look up the words. For example, I looked up the word frigates, which is actually a very large warship. I was very confused by the line because I didn’t know what she was referring to being “in the upper floor” of the ocean, but now I understand it. Dickinson is just describing the view of the ocean from where she stands. I also wasn’t exactly sure what hempen meant, but as I thought it simply relates to hemp. I still don’t quite understand why the warship “extended hempen hands” even after looking it up in the dictionary. Does anyone else understand what Dickinson meant in the line? Although using the dictionary only helped for one word, it still made a big difference towards my understanding the poem. Dickinson uses her striking imagery to convey her overall meaning of life. Her poem describes someone going to the ocean only to realize how small she is compared to sea. It symbolizes how small a single person is in this extremely large world. She even states that the warship is “presuming me to be a mouse aground, upon the sands.” Sincerely, Jennifer R.
I’m a first-year graduate student at Clemson University. I studied English literature and anthropology as an undergraduate, and right now I am really interested in medieval literature and children’s literature. Before our Victorian Poetry class, I had very little experience with Emily Dickinson; I think the last time I academically contemplated any of her work was in high school. That said, please be patient with me! In this letter, I would like to discuss “There’s a certain slant of light,” mainly because it is the most difficult poem for me to understand of the bunch.
The poem begins with a reflection upon the weather, saying, “There’s a certain slant of light, / On winter afternoons, / That oppresses . . .” (1-3). This imagery tells me that while the winter atmosphere may be cold and lifeless, it is not completely dark. The light is perhaps not as bright as in the days of spring, but it is there nonetheless, present if obscured by an overcast sky. American Heritage gives two definitions of “oppress” that I feel are relevant: “to weigh heavily on” and “to overwhelm or crush.” Although the latter explanation is marked obsolete, I think that it provides depth to the emotional content of the poem. The speaker likens the winter days’ oppression to “cathedral tunes” (4), an illustration I most easily relate to the loud, obtrusive sound of an organ echoing in the rafters. Perhaps church music can be jovial and lighthearted, but in a cathedral, the blasts of music coming from this instrument command, not ask, for reverence (especially at a funeral, and let’s face it, Dickinson loves to talk about death).
I see quite a few instances of contrasting bodily action with emotional feeling. In the second stanza, the speaker insists that “we can find no scar” (6), no physical evidence of this depression. Its—and what is “it,” anyway? I kind of understood it to be doubt, but are there any other ideas?—significance can only be found internally. In the next stanza, we read that it is “An imperial affliction / Sent us of the air” (11-12). American Heritage defines “affliction” as “a condition of pain, suffering, or distress,” and I personally think of illness or physical discomfort. The carrier of this affliction, however, is the air, something that we know exists but cannot see. If “it” is doubt, then it makes sense that “none may teach it anything” (9). No matter how much physical evidence we have of any mystery, our emotions get the final say on whether we’re right or wrong.
The final stanza puzzles me with its abstraction. The speaker again evokes images of bodily action as she uses the words “listens” (13), “breath” (14), and “look” (16), but I am confused by what the poet is actually trying to say. Why does the landscape listen (13)? Shadows holding their breath reminds me of waiting and anticipation, but I get the feeling I’m missing something here. And the last two lines leave me completely befuddled: “When it goes, ‘t is like the distance / On the look of death” (15-16). Are we to identify this distance as the distance between those who are experiencing death and those who are still living? In other words, are we merely separated from death by the fact that we cannot fully understand it?
I’d appreciate some thoughts on these questions. Until I read them, though, I’ll (hopefully) be
jHi, my name is Olof Jakobsson, I’m a masters student at Chalmers University of Science. Right now I’m running a project and taking some old exams I haven’t passed yet. My bachelor was in Applied Physics and my masters will be in Automotive Engineering. My previous experience in poetry is non-existing.
The poem that most appealed to me was “I started early”, the picture of a lonely woman and a dog taking a walk into town reminded me of a picture we used have at home, a woman sitting by the waterside with her dog. It was painted by one of the “skagen”-painters, I think.
The second stanza, in my opinion describing the weather, starts out with a beautiful line, where the clouds are described as “frigates”, which are “extending hempen hands”. I was not quite sure on that one. Hemp could be used to make many great things; in marine environments probably mostly used to make rope or ornaments. Are these hempen hands the rain, or the wind? Anyway, “presuming me to be a mouse” really connects to the feeling when you watch a low pressure front moving in, the clouds look really big and the power of the eventual thunder storm might make you feel like a mouse.
Reading the last stanza, where the sea meets the town makes me imagine a giant or at least quite big wave hitting the quay of some old fishing town. Even though possessing a huge amount of energy doesn’t move a hundred years of man made rock.
I’m a bit disappointed that the dog didn’t get a bigger role in all this; he probably had an opinion about it as well.
First thing I would like to say is sorry because I posted my letter 1 in group 4 and it’s not published yet, at least in the properly group so I guess you would have not enough time to analyze it.
Secondly I have to say that I thought that I was the only one that have had problems understanding some sentences of the poems but now I guess she uses a complicate language, in special the second half of the first poem.
I would like to refer to Jennifer. R. because you have chosen a poem which was quite hard for me to understand but after reading your post it’s a little bit clear for me. I think with the sentence “in the upper floor” the writer want to mean the sky, like there are two floors the sky and underwater with the horizon as a barrier. But I agree with you that it like the description of a view, it could be like she is watching a picture where you can see all she is describing, a picture of really large scale where the writer has been seated in front of for hours feeling a special sensation. Any way it could be more clear the last part where I think it try to say that she could no take away the see from her head in sentences like “he followed close behind” and others along this fifth paragraph. What I could not understand is what does it means “Would overflow with pearl” in this context.
I would like to refer also to Heidi because I think we have similar points of view about the poem “I taste a liquor never brewed”, reading your letter I saw what you says about the youth. Some of the sentence you refer to say it I have understood in other contest but I think you are completely right about the sentence “ through endless summer days” talking as the end of youth.
Well it was interesting to see your comments because I was really confuse and I see some light above them.
In my last letter, I concluded with a question concerning our (the living’s) relationship with death, and whether the only thing that separates us from death is our total comprehension of it, an understanding that only becomes clear to us through time's experience. Upon reading our group’s posts, I gained a lot of insight from Brett’s observations on “Because I could not stop for Death.” Although the poem may seem to have death as its focus—what with the personification of it as a gentlemanly suitor in the first two lines—Brett points out that death is hardly the center of the action. The speaker instead chooses to concentrate on the passage of life, and I find it interesting that she ends her poem ambiguously:
Since then ‘t is centuries; but each Feels shorter than the day I first surmised the horses’ heads Were towards eternity. (17-20)
I’m not exactly sure whether the speaker has experienced death, or if she is waiting to experience death. The stanza before shows the speaker and Death pausing before a grave (16), but there seems to be more serene reflection and little (if any) passionate action here. Any thoughts?
For my alternative representation, I chose the song “Send in the Clowns,” written by Stephen Sondheim. The song premiered in the Broadway production A Little Night Music, whose story coincidentally takes place in Sweden. The play deals with the issues of love (what Broadway musical doesn’t?) and its place in the course of human life. I chose this song because its singer, like the speaker in Dickinson’s poem, is reflecting upon her own life with an air of detachment; she is singing to her lover, but, like Death, he is not the true focal point. This somber ballad is deeply ironic, like much of Dickinson’s work, and I thought its last line, “Well, maybe next year,” complemented the wistful acknowledgement of time’s continuance in the poem’s conclusion.
Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5SLZ2jD6LI
One of the poems I really liked was "There's a certain slant of light" so I'd like to comment on the letter by Lauren.
When I first read the poem I could really feel the cold and crispy air of "winter afternoons", maybe because we have so many of them here in Gothenburg. The winters are long and from late September to early December we hardly ever get any snow. The weather's frosty and cold in a way and the light is more of a sharp grey color than blue. So from my own experience I connected the poem to a kind of lingering anxiety. I'm not sure that's what she's writing about though.
Lauren writes about the second stanza wondering what Dickinson is really trying to say. I agree that it must be connected to some kind of depression, but I didn't get the feeling of doubt – unless it's a part of the anxiety or a reason for it? Anxiety kind of fits the description of why it's hurting, but not a scar and "...internal difference, Where the meanings are" too. Why? Living through those dark winter days changes you – maybe they make you feel depressed without any reason for it? It's hard to find good things when your blue, but if you're blue without a reason? It would make you wonder why you're feeling that way. That's the feeling I get from the first and third stanza, that the reason for all of this is the oppressing light of an empty winter sky.
The end of the poem puzzles me too and I find Laurens comments about the distance interesting. Sadly I have no own comment to that part. The poem became very personal right from the start, so maybe I'm too much into it to be able to see it?
Listening through the music I had at home I didn't really find what I was looking for. But then after a while when thinking of those long blue winters I remembered a song by Portishead called Roads.
"Ohh, can't anybody see We've got a war to fight Never found our way Regardless of what they say
How can it feel, this wrong From this moment How can it feel, this wrong
Storm.. in the morning light I feel No more can I say Frozen to myself
I got nobody on my side And surely that ain't right"
I think it catches the feeling of being blue and maybe also lost, not knowing where you are nor why, not feeling in control of your life. Maybe the ”war” in the song could be a description of trying to fight a depression and the reason to why feeling so alone - ”Frozen to myself”?
http://www.fnemo.se/ffe/
If you go to the page you will find a quick drawing I did tonight – trying to catch the empty streets during the winters here ;) And the song by Portishead (very illegal, I'll take it away next week).
Dear Group, After reading over everyone’s first letter, I noticed that I experienced the same feeling from “A taste of liquor” that Heidi F. from Chalmers University also experienced. I completely agree that Dickinson’s poem gives the impression of youth and that the endless summers being described are make you “think of a never ending summers without worries” just like “the ones you can only have as a child.” I almost considered analyzing this poem in my first letter but I couldn’t quite put my finger on the feeling being described within the poem. “Youth” is the perfect word to describe the feeling Dickinson was trying to convey in “A taste of liquor. I also agreed with Lauren R. from Clemson University that “There’s a certain slant of light” is Dickinson’s most difficult poem to understand out of the ones provided. I find it very brave of you to pick this poem because it was the hardest; I, however, chose not to pick it because of the same reason. After reading you analysis of “it” being doubt makes the poem much easier to read. I couldn’t come up with any other options on my own, but completely agree that doubt it being described. Your conclusion for the second stanza also clarifies the meaning for me, “no matter how much physical evidence we have of any mystery, our emotions get the final say on whether we’re right or wrong.” My initial reaction to the last stanza was that Dickinson is using nature to symbolize human nature. Whenever doubt comes, people are uptight, nervous, and jumpy. Dickinson describes the nature as reacting to doubt by “when it comes, the landscape listens, shadows hold their breath” (13-14). For humans, when doubt is being mentioned, people listen to it and are aware of it. The shadows holding their breath also symbolizes the anxiety humans go through around doubtful occurrences. I hope that helps a little. Sincerely, Jennifer R. American Literature, Clemson University http://www.eaudrey.com/myth/images/mermaid.gif I picked this drawing of a mermaid because the first stanza mentions “the mermaids in the basement came out to look at me” (3-4). I thought about all the different images within the poem and thought this one would help contribute to the understanding of the poem “I started early, took my dog.” I chose this image of the mermaid because it is a drawing, very similar to Emily Dickinson’s drawings she included in some of her poems and stories. I also thought about finding a picture with a woman waist-deep in the ocean looking into the horizon but could not find a sufficient one. I think the image of the mermaid contributes to my understanding of the poem because it visually represents the beginning of the poem.
There were lots of interesting comments in your posts. I particularly think Lauren asks a good question about the “distance” in the final stanza of “There’s a certain slant of light.” I think it is possible to read this as a distance between the living and the dead in the sense that the living can’t possibly comprehend death. It’s possible that Dickenson is saying the same thing about these abstract feelings caused by this “slant of light,” which seems very fleeting, yet very profound. Perhaps the light, once gone, is so far in the distance that one can’t possibly comprehend that it was ever there in the first place. I’m not sure that fits with the rest of the poem though. Ultimately, it seems like this particular poem is an attempt to describe something that is not easily described: quick, sudden fits of depression.
Heidi also makes a good point when she talks about the youthful quality of “I taste a liquor never brewed.” I had never considered that the liquor of the poem could be youth itself. This type of reading could also connect it to Wordsworth’s “Tintern Abbey,” as that poem makes a connection between youth, nature, and purity. There is definitely a Romantic sentiment to Dickinson’s poem here, so I think it makes sense that the speaker would be a carefree youth. The final stanza definitely presents a youth/old age dynamic with the “seraphs” and “saints” watching the “little tippler,” especially if you consider the tippler to be the speaker herself. Notice that the saints seem to be indoors, which perhaps suggests that they are cut off from nature in their old age (a sentiment that also echoes Wordsworth).
As an alternative way to represent “There’s a certain slant of light,” I’ve chosen to place a link to “The Frail” by Nine Inch Nails. I think this instrumental is relevant because there’s a very sparse quality to the music that’s reminiscent of Dickinson’s own writing. The music also has a very somber tone that’s befitting of the poem because it suggests an empty sort of melancholy (especially the end). I hope everyone enjoys listening to it—it’s not at all typical of what I’m guessing is the normal perception of NIN.
I'm sorry I'm posting so early before everyone's got their comments online, but I'm leaving early tomorrow and will be gone all weekend.
I think Bretts choice of music fits ”There's a certain slant of light” very well. I was looking for some kind of instrumental myself but didn't find one good enough. I actually have a live version of ”The Frail” and I've listened to it before. I think ”an empty sort of melanchol” as Lauren said describes both the poem by Dickinson as well as the instrumental by Nine Inch Nails.
I hadn't hear “Send in the Clowns” before so I didn't really get the connection between it and ”Because I could not stop for death” when reading Lauren's comments. And I didn't really agree at first by just reading the letter. But after listening and reading the lyrics to “Send in the Clowns” I reread the poem and even though I still feel I don't understand the poem wholly I have something to connect it too now.
By the way, I found another version of the song at Youtube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH1o4KB2toQ I've never seen a Broadway musical, but that Judi Dench is amazing! I think you can really hear the detachment Lauren's writing about in the way she sings – and for someone like me who can't sing – it's just amazing!
I'd like to add as a comment to my own second letter that maybe ”melancholy” fits the description better than anxiety. But I hope you understood what I was trying to say anyways..
I'm looking forward to reading all your comments on Sunday when I get back.
Dear Group, I enjoyed reading everyone’s comments and input to everyone. I noticed how Brett agreed with Heidi about the youthfulness found in “I taste a liquor never brewed.” It seems as though both Brett and I agree with Heidi’s insight about the poem. I also enjoyed reading Brett’s further input about Heidi’s view of the poem, “There is definitely a Romantic sentiment to Dickinson’s poem here, so I think it makes sense that the speaker would be a carefree youth.” In Heidi’s second letter, her opinion of “There’s a certain slant of light” differs from Lauren’s and my own opinions. While Lauren and I thought Dickinson was referring to doubt in her poem, Heidi offers another point of view to what is being referred to. I listened to Brett’s song “The Frail” by Nine Inch Nails and definitely understood how that song could be related to any Emily Dickinson poem, especially “There’s a certain slant of light.” This particular poem definitely has a somber tone and the song conveys the tone perfectly. I don’t think I’ve heard a song that could sum up the overall attitude of the poem and better. I also looked at Heidi’s sketch of the street scene that she believes represents a scene from “There’s a certain slant of light.” It took me a second to see the drawing clearly, but then I could see how it related to how Dickinson mentions loneliness in her poems. I am glad that I got to see and hear two different interpretations of the same song. Though very different, both capture the essence of Emily Dickinson’s poem. It was pleasure to be able to share all of our opinions internationally! Sincerely, Jennifer Renew
First of all sorry because I didn’t say anything about the relation between the poems and any song or picture but I didn’t understand what to do really well.
I would like to say about Heidi. F. and the poem "There's a certain slant of light" that I hadn’t think about it before but it’s true that the poem reminds me Gothenburg, I become from Spain that there is a country with many sunny days and reading the poem twice it transmit me a similar feeling as I feel some days here when I haven’t seen the sun for days and how those days could change my point of view of things. Listening the song you name I agree that it could represent some aspect of the poem as the war you named.
I have found really interesting the explanation of Lauren. R. to the last stanza of the “Because I could not stop for death” because I could not understand it before. Now I see that the writer could be talking about a close death, like there you know that is close but you don’t know exactly when it’s going to arrive. About the song I’ve listened to it I think that you have choose a good song for what you want to be focus.
Finally I would like to say that I have found this experience interesting because when I read the poems the first time I understood much less than now.
I would first like to say that I found each and everyone’s comments enlightening in some sort of way. I agree with Jennifer (and Brett) in that Brett did an awesome job of choosing “The Frail” for a musical interpretation of “There’s a certain slant of light.” The deep tones on the piano absolutely capture the oppressive gloominess of the poem’s mood, and I like how the notes are nearly completely isolated from any other sound in the song. I find Dickinson’s poem to be one that speaks of loneliness and of being alone; the song’s design conveyed this feeling perfectly. I also think that Brett’s textual analysis of the poem is especially insightful: “Perhaps the light, once gone, is so far in the distance that one can’t possibly comprehend that it was ever there in the first place.” This particular contention sheds so much more light for me (no pun intended, now that I look back on what I’ve just written) on the lines, “Heavenly hurt it gives us / We can find no scar” (5-6). I also appreciated Heidi’s take on what “it” is; as an English major, it’s quite easy to interpose my own thoughts and feelings onto literary works. Maybe it is just the weather—I can certainly relate to this!
Heidi’s song gave me additional perspective for this poem, especially the lyrics:
“Storm.. in the morning light I feel No more can I say Frozen to myself
I got nobody on my side And surely that ain't right"
I like the parallels between the weather and the light. Very cool. Like Brett’s instrumental song, I think these words do a good job of expressing the isolation the speaker of the poem feels. It is very interesting to see how two different audio interpretations get the same message across. I’d also like to mention that Jennifer’s mermaid drawing was neat to see, especially since it does resemble Dickinson’s own illustrations. I’m studying Children’s Literature right now, so I’m somewhat fascinated by visual representation and the relationships between picture and text. Thanks!
This was a wonderful exercise in both poetic and cultural exploration. Truly a pleasure.
Hello once again. I really enjoyed everyone’s responses and rather interesting alternative representations.
On “Because I could not stop for death,” I think Lauren is absolutely right when she says the final stanza is very ambiguous, particularly the speaker’s assertion that it has been “centuries” since she died (possibly), but each of those centuries has been shorter than the day she realized that her fate was an eternal one. I think this can be taken two ways: the speaker can be saying that you get used to death after a while, or she can be saying that death brings such finality that one cannot fully fathom its eternity. I prefer the latter interpretation because it seems more in line with the gradual decline in hope from the poem (this is best seen in the movement from a hopeful, glorious “immortality” to the empty “eternity” at the end of the poem).
I also think Heidi’s personal connection to her own winter experiences were very interesting in understanding “There’s a certain slant of light.” I believe that her observation that the poem could be about “living through those dark winter days [that] change you” summarizes the poem in that the speaker makes it clear that this “slant of light” (an image that seems weightless) is actually very oppressive and influences everything.
Lauren’s choice of “Send in the Clowns” was very interesting. There were definitely a lot of parallels to Dickinson’s poem. Even the sense of disappointment (“and where are the clowns/there ought to be clowns) matches up nicely to the possible disappointment of the speaker in the poem. The lyrics to the Portishead song were also very interesting, particularly the line about being “frozen to myself,” which captures the sort of paralyzing nature of the light in Dickinson’s poem. Finally, Jennifer’s mermaid picture was neat because it forced me to further consider the mermaids’ role in the poem. We’ve dealt a bit with mermaids in our class this semester (especially in “Prufrock”), and it’s interesting to think of them as sirens or seducers. I’m not sure how that would work in this poem, but perhaps there is a connection.
Once again, I’d just like to say that this has been a very insightful experience. I wish everyone well in their further studies.
16 comments:
Hello group,
My name is Brett Gallman, and I’m enrolled in Dr. Young’s Victorian Poetry class at Clemson University. I haven’t taken many courses focusing specifically on poetry, but I have read a few of these Dickinson poems a few times. Of the poems we read, I mostly focused on “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” because it’s fairly familiar to me. While reading it this time, I noticed that death, despite being personified as a gentleman, doesn’t play a huge role in the poem. Instead, the bulk of the poem seems to focus on what the speaker passes while riding in death’s carriage: the “school where children played,” the “gazing grain,” and the “setting sun” (9, 11, 12). Each of these seems to represent stages in life (childhood, maturation, and death, respectively), but the first two images especially suggest some sort of promise or future, which contrasts sharply with the subject matter of death.
Interestingly, the speaker is placed in the position of passing or observing these subjects, implying a sense of reminiscence on her part while the subjects remain ignorant. This dynamic perhaps serves as a metaphor for the relationship of humans and death. The children are too busy “wrestling in a ring” to be bothered by death, and, while the grain is “gazing,” this seems to give the effect that it is gazing towards a promising future rather than death” (10, 11). These two images perhaps represent the speaker’s state at the beginning of the poem in that they are too busy “to stop for death” (1). However, these images are brought to a swift halt with the image of the “setting sun” that perhaps represents death’s suddenness.
Thus, this stanza might represent the speaker’s further contemplation on the perhaps sudden nature of death, which seems to conflict with the idea of death “kindly” stopping by to pick her up (2). I think it’s possible that Dickinson is being ironic by conceiving death in this manner because the rest of the poem focuses on a sort of bleak finality rather than on death as a promising suitor. The structure of the poem mirrors this as well, as the alliteration of the second and third stanzas give the poem a sort of galloping pace before the fourth stanza slows the poem considerably. It’s probably no coincidence that death’s carriage literally “pauses” in front of the speaker’s grave at this point (13). At this point, I had to look up the word “cornice” (16). The Merriam-Webster dictionary gives three meanings:
1 a : the molded and projecting horizontal member that crowns an architectural composition; a top course that crowns a wall
2 : a decorative band of metal or wood used to conceal curtain fixtures
3 : an overhanging mass of windblown snow or ice usually on a ridge
I think the first and second definitions probably apply best here because it again returns us to the notion of disappointment, as the speaker expects some ornate, decorative cornice, they find only a nondescript “mound” (16).
Thus, it seems this poem is generally about disappointment. It seems that the speaker is looking forward to death to end life in a glorious manner, but soon finds an unexpected disappointment. One of the main aspects that leads me to this conclusion is the fact that the speaker notes “immortality” to be riding with her, which brings a more positive connotation to the situation; however, by the end of the poem, this immortality is nowhere to be found. Instead, the speaker has spent “centuries” plodding towards an “eternity” that seems more sinister than promising by the poem’s end (17, 20).
These are just some general thoughts on the poem, and I look forward to everyone else’s posts.
Take care,
Brett Gallman
Hi all (or "Hej alla"),
I'm Heidi, a student at Chalmers Univ. of Technology here in Gothenburg, Sweden. I'm in Magnus Gustavsson's class "Fiction for Engineers". After 4 years in Computer Science I felt I needed something else and that's how I ended up here.
I had trouble picking out one of the poems, there are some parts in all of them that I find interesting. "I taste a liqour" seems so carefree and happy, especially compared to "Because I could not stop for Death" and "There's a certain slant of light". But even so it makes me wonder what she's really thinking of since the beginning of the poem says "I taste a liqour never brewed". Is she being ironic?
Somehow I got the feeling of youth, especially in the second stanza "Inebriate of air am I, And debauchee of dew, Reeling, through endless summer days". It makes me think of a never ending summers without worries, the ones you can only have as a child.
Debauchee - A person who habitually indulges in debauchery or dissipation; a libertine. - From American Heritage Dictionary.
The word feels very central for the second stanza, "I" being full of mischief and invulnerable ("Inebriate of air") while "Reeling, through the endless summer days".
When the poem continues saying that "When butterflies renounce their drams, I shall but drink the more!" it reminds me even more of childish rebellion. Living in the present and so sure it will never change, never going to sober up, never going to grow up and never to become an adult. And maybe that's why she writes it's a liqour never brewed – is it life itself? Or youth drunk on life?
The American Heritage Dictionary: Tippler – A tippler, a drinker.
The last stanza confuses me with the seraphs and the saints. As if the end of the poem is a notion of beginning. And as if the angels would be greeting life or new life, and "the little tippler" being a child or newborn? Or maybe the angels are terrified with youth or this life being so reckless?
When reading the poem I had to look up a lot of words I'd never seen before. Learning more about them and understanding them properly made me see the poem more clearly.
But I still feel that I don't understand this poem. I was actually going to write about "I started early" which was the poem that confused me most.. But now it seems they all confuse me just the same!
Hälsningar,
Heidi F.
Hello Group,
My name is Jeni Renew. I am taking English 214 American Literature at Clemson University. My major is Financial Management. I was particularly intrigued by Emily Dickinson’s poem Part Two: Nature XIX because I have always been very interested in poems relating to the ocean. I really enjoyed Emily Dickinson’s striking imagery about the sea rising against her. I think Dickinson deliberately described the sea in such a way that it would create a visual image within the reader’s mind. While reading the poem, I came across a couple of words I haven’t heard before, but I used “The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition” website to look up the words. For example, I looked up the word frigates, which is actually a very large warship. I was very confused by the line because I didn’t know what she was referring to being “in the upper floor” of the ocean, but now I understand it. Dickinson is just describing the view of the ocean from where she stands. I also wasn’t exactly sure what hempen meant, but as I thought it simply relates to hemp. I still don’t quite understand why the warship “extended hempen hands” even after looking it up in the dictionary. Does anyone else understand what Dickinson meant in the line? Although using the dictionary only helped for one word, it still made a big difference towards my understanding the poem. Dickinson uses her striking imagery to convey her overall meaning of life. Her poem describes someone going to the ocean only to realize how small she is compared to sea. It symbolizes how small a single person is in this extremely large world. She even states that the warship is “presuming me to be a mouse aground, upon the sands.”
Sincerely,
Jennifer R.
Wotcher, everyone!
I’m a first-year graduate student at Clemson University. I studied English literature and anthropology as an undergraduate, and right now I am really interested in medieval literature and children’s literature. Before our Victorian Poetry class, I had very little experience with Emily Dickinson; I think the last time I academically contemplated any of her work was in high school. That said, please be patient with me! In this letter, I would like to discuss “There’s a certain slant of light,” mainly because it is the most difficult poem for me to understand of the bunch.
The poem begins with a reflection upon the weather, saying, “There’s a certain slant of light, / On winter afternoons, / That oppresses . . .” (1-3). This imagery tells me that while the winter atmosphere may be cold and lifeless, it is not completely dark. The light is perhaps not as bright as in the days of spring, but it is there nonetheless, present if obscured by an overcast sky. American Heritage gives two definitions of “oppress” that I feel are relevant: “to weigh heavily on” and “to overwhelm or crush.” Although the latter explanation is marked obsolete, I think that it provides depth to the emotional content of the poem. The speaker likens the winter days’ oppression to “cathedral tunes” (4), an illustration I most easily relate to the loud, obtrusive sound of an organ echoing in the rafters. Perhaps church music can be jovial and lighthearted, but in a cathedral, the blasts of music coming from this instrument command, not ask, for reverence (especially at a funeral, and let’s face it, Dickinson loves to talk about death).
I see quite a few instances of contrasting bodily action with emotional feeling. In the second stanza, the speaker insists that “we can find no scar” (6), no physical evidence of this depression. Its—and what is “it,” anyway? I kind of understood it to be doubt, but are there any other ideas?—significance can only be found internally. In the next stanza, we read that it is “An imperial affliction / Sent us of the air” (11-12). American Heritage defines “affliction” as “a condition of pain, suffering, or distress,” and I personally think of illness or physical discomfort. The carrier of this affliction, however, is the air, something that we know exists but cannot see. If “it” is doubt, then it makes sense that “none may teach it anything” (9). No matter how much physical evidence we have of any mystery, our emotions get the final say on whether we’re right or wrong.
The final stanza puzzles me with its abstraction. The speaker again evokes images of bodily action as she uses the words “listens” (13), “breath” (14), and “look” (16), but I am confused by what the poet is actually trying to say. Why does the landscape listen (13)? Shadows holding their breath reminds me of waiting and anticipation, but I get the feeling I’m missing something here. And the last two lines leave me completely befuddled: “When it goes, ‘t is like the distance / On the look of death” (15-16). Are we to identify this distance as the distance between those who are experiencing death and those who are still living? In other words, are we merely separated from death by the fact that we cannot fully understand it?
I’d appreciate some thoughts on these questions. Until I read them, though, I’ll (hopefully) be
Fraternizing with the living,
Lauren
jHi, my name is Olof Jakobsson, I’m a masters student at Chalmers University of Science. Right now I’m running a project and taking some old exams I haven’t passed yet. My bachelor was in Applied Physics and my masters will be in Automotive Engineering. My previous experience in poetry is non-existing.
The poem that most appealed to me was “I started early”, the picture of a lonely woman and a dog taking a walk into town reminded me of a picture we used have at home, a woman sitting by the waterside with her dog. It was painted by one of the “skagen”-painters, I think.
The second stanza, in my opinion describing the weather, starts out with a beautiful line, where the clouds are described as “frigates”, which are “extending hempen hands”. I was not quite sure on that one. Hemp could be used to make many great things; in marine environments probably mostly used to make rope or ornaments. Are these hempen hands the rain, or the wind? Anyway, “presuming me to be a mouse” really connects to the feeling when you watch a low pressure front moving in, the clouds look really big and the power of the eventual thunder storm might make you feel like a mouse.
Reading the last stanza, where the sea meets the town makes me imagine a giant or at least quite big wave hitting the quay of some old fishing town. Even though possessing a huge amount of energy doesn’t move a hundred years of man made rock.
I’m a bit disappointed that the dog didn’t get a bigger role in all this; he probably had an opinion about it as well.
Best Regards, Olof
Dear group 5
First thing I would like to say is sorry because I posted my letter 1 in group 4 and it’s not published yet, at least in the properly group so I guess you would have not enough time to analyze it.
Secondly I have to say that I thought that I was the only one that have had problems understanding some sentences of the poems but now I guess she uses a complicate language, in special the second half of the first poem.
I would like to refer to Jennifer. R. because you have chosen a poem which was quite hard for me to understand but after reading your post it’s a little bit clear for me. I think with the sentence “in the upper floor” the writer want to mean the sky, like there are two floors the sky and underwater with the horizon as a barrier. But I agree with you that it like the description of a view, it could be like she is watching a picture where you can see all she is describing, a picture of really large scale where the writer has been seated in front of for hours feeling a special sensation. Any way it could be more clear the last part where I think it try to say that she could no take away the see from her head in sentences like “he followed close behind” and others along this fifth paragraph. What I could not understand is what does it means “Would overflow with pearl” in this context.
I would like to refer also to Heidi because I think we have similar points of view about the poem “I taste a liquor never brewed”, reading your letter I saw what you says about the youth. Some of the sentence you refer to say it I have understood in other contest but I think you are completely right about the sentence “ through endless summer days” talking as the end of youth.
Well it was interesting to see your comments because I was really confuse and I see some light above them.
Best regards
Word.
In my last letter, I concluded with a question concerning our (the living’s) relationship with death, and whether the only thing that separates us from death is our total comprehension of it, an understanding that only becomes clear to us through time's experience. Upon reading our group’s posts, I gained a lot of insight from Brett’s observations on “Because I could not stop for Death.” Although the poem may seem to have death as its focus—what with the personification of it as a gentlemanly suitor in the first two lines—Brett points out that death is hardly the center of the action. The speaker instead chooses to concentrate on the passage of life, and I find it interesting that she ends her poem ambiguously:
Since then ‘t is centuries; but each
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses’ heads
Were towards eternity. (17-20)
I’m not exactly sure whether the speaker has experienced death, or if she is waiting to experience death. The stanza before shows the speaker and Death pausing before a grave (16), but there seems to be more serene reflection and little (if any) passionate action here. Any thoughts?
For my alternative representation, I chose the song “Send in the Clowns,” written by Stephen Sondheim. The song premiered in the Broadway production A Little Night Music, whose story coincidentally takes place in Sweden. The play deals with the issues of love (what Broadway musical doesn’t?) and its place in the course of human life. I chose this song because its singer, like the speaker in Dickinson’s poem, is reflecting upon her own life with an air of detachment; she is singing to her lover, but, like Death, he is not the true focal point. This somber ballad is deeply ironic, like much of Dickinson’s work, and I thought its last line, “Well, maybe next year,” complemented the wistful acknowledgement of time’s continuance in the poem’s conclusion.
Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5SLZ2jD6LI
I hope y’all enjoy it.
Lauren
Hi all, it's Heidi here again.
One of the poems I really liked was "There's a certain slant of light" so I'd like to comment on the letter by Lauren.
When I first read the poem I could really feel the cold and crispy air of "winter afternoons", maybe because we have so many of them here in Gothenburg. The winters are long and from late September to early December we hardly ever get any snow. The weather's frosty and cold in a way and the light is more of a sharp grey color than blue. So from my own experience I connected the poem to a kind of lingering anxiety. I'm not sure that's what she's writing about though.
Lauren writes about the second stanza wondering what Dickinson is really trying to say. I agree that it must be connected to some kind of depression, but I didn't get the feeling of doubt – unless it's a part of the anxiety or a reason for it? Anxiety kind of fits the description of why it's hurting, but not a scar and "...internal difference, Where the meanings are" too. Why? Living through those dark winter days changes you – maybe they make you feel depressed without any reason for it? It's hard to find good things when your blue, but if you're blue without a reason? It would make you wonder why you're feeling that way. That's the feeling I get from the first and third stanza, that the reason for all of this is the oppressing light of an empty winter sky.
The end of the poem puzzles me too and I find Laurens comments about the distance interesting. Sadly I have no own comment to that part. The poem became very personal right from the start, so maybe I'm too much into it to be able to see it?
Listening through the music I had at home I didn't really find what I was looking for. But then after a while when thinking of those long blue winters I remembered a song by Portishead called Roads.
"Ohh, can't anybody see
We've got a war to fight
Never found our way
Regardless of what they say
How can it feel, this wrong
From this moment
How can it feel, this wrong
Storm.. in the morning light
I feel
No more can I say
Frozen to myself
I got nobody on my side
And surely that ain't right"
I think it catches the feeling of being blue and maybe also lost, not knowing where you are nor why, not feeling in control of your life. Maybe the ”war” in the song could be a description of trying to fight a depression and the reason to why feeling so alone - ”Frozen to myself”?
http://www.fnemo.se/ffe/
If you go to the page you will find a quick drawing I did tonight – trying to catch the empty streets during the winters here ;) And the song by Portishead (very illegal, I'll take it away next week).
Good Night from me.
Dear Group,
After reading over everyone’s first letter, I noticed that I experienced the same feeling from “A taste of liquor” that Heidi F. from Chalmers University also experienced. I completely agree that Dickinson’s poem gives the impression of youth and that the endless summers being described are make you “think of a never ending summers without worries” just like “the ones you can only have as a child.” I almost considered analyzing this poem in my first letter but I couldn’t quite put my finger on the feeling being described within the poem. “Youth” is the perfect word to describe the feeling Dickinson was trying to convey in “A taste of liquor.
I also agreed with Lauren R. from Clemson University that “There’s a certain slant of light” is Dickinson’s most difficult poem to understand out of the ones provided. I find it very brave of you to pick this poem because it was the hardest; I, however, chose not to pick it because of the same reason. After reading you analysis of “it” being doubt makes the poem much easier to read. I couldn’t come up with any other options on my own, but completely agree that doubt it being described. Your conclusion for the second stanza also clarifies the meaning for me, “no matter how much physical evidence we have of any mystery, our emotions get the final say on whether we’re right or wrong.” My initial reaction to the last stanza was that Dickinson is using nature to symbolize human nature. Whenever doubt comes, people are uptight, nervous, and jumpy. Dickinson describes the nature as reacting to doubt by “when it comes, the landscape listens, shadows hold their breath” (13-14). For humans, when doubt is being mentioned, people listen to it and are aware of it. The shadows holding their breath also symbolizes the anxiety humans go through around doubtful occurrences. I hope that helps a little.
Sincerely,
Jennifer R. American Literature, Clemson University
http://www.eaudrey.com/myth/images/mermaid.gif
I picked this drawing of a mermaid because the first stanza mentions “the mermaids in the basement came out to look at me” (3-4). I thought about all the different images within the poem and thought this one would help contribute to the understanding of the poem “I started early, took my dog.” I chose this image of the mermaid because it is a drawing, very similar to Emily Dickinson’s drawings she included in some of her poems and stories. I also thought about finding a picture with a woman waist-deep in the ocean looking into the horizon but could not find a sufficient one. I think the image of the mermaid contributes to my understanding of the poem because it visually represents the beginning of the poem.
Hello group,
There were lots of interesting comments in your posts. I particularly think Lauren asks a good question about the “distance” in the final stanza of “There’s a certain slant of light.” I think it is possible to read this as a distance between the living and the dead in the sense that the living can’t possibly comprehend death. It’s possible that Dickenson is saying the same thing about these abstract feelings caused by this “slant of light,” which seems very fleeting, yet very profound. Perhaps the light, once gone, is so far in the distance that one can’t possibly comprehend that it was ever there in the first place. I’m not sure that fits with the rest of the poem though. Ultimately, it seems like this particular poem is an attempt to describe something that is not easily described: quick, sudden fits of depression.
Heidi also makes a good point when she talks about the youthful quality of “I taste a liquor never brewed.” I had never considered that the liquor of the poem could be youth itself. This type of reading could also connect it to Wordsworth’s “Tintern Abbey,” as that poem makes a connection between youth, nature, and purity. There is definitely a Romantic sentiment to Dickinson’s poem here, so I think it makes sense that the speaker would be a carefree youth. The final stanza definitely presents a youth/old age dynamic with the “seraphs” and “saints” watching the “little tippler,” especially if you consider the tippler to be the speaker herself. Notice that the saints seem to be indoors, which perhaps suggests that they are cut off from nature in their old age (a sentiment that also echoes Wordsworth).
As an alternative way to represent “There’s a certain slant of light,” I’ve chosen to place a link to “The Frail” by Nine Inch Nails. I think this instrumental is relevant because there’s a very sparse quality to the music that’s reminiscent of Dickinson’s own writing. The music also has a very somber tone that’s befitting of the poem because it suggests an empty sort of melancholy (especially the end). I hope everyone enjoys listening to it—it’s not at all typical of what I’m guessing is the normal perception of NIN.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zAET4qJysM
Until next time,
Brett
Good evening group!
I'm sorry I'm posting so early before everyone's got their comments online, but I'm leaving early tomorrow and will be gone all weekend.
I think Bretts choice of music fits ”There's a certain slant of light” very well. I was looking for some kind of instrumental myself but didn't find one good enough. I actually have a live version of ”The Frail” and I've listened to it before. I think ”an empty sort of melanchol” as Lauren said describes both the poem by Dickinson as well as the instrumental by Nine Inch Nails.
I hadn't hear “Send in the Clowns” before so I didn't really get the connection between it and ”Because I could not stop for death” when reading Lauren's comments. And I didn't really agree at first by just reading the letter. But after listening and reading the lyrics to “Send in the Clowns” I reread the poem and even though I still feel I don't understand the poem wholly I have something to connect it too now.
By the way, I found another version of the song at Youtube at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH1o4KB2toQ
I've never seen a Broadway musical, but that Judi Dench is amazing! I think you can really hear the detachment Lauren's writing about in the way she sings – and for someone like me who can't sing – it's just amazing!
I'd like to add as a comment to my own second letter that maybe ”melancholy” fits the description better than anxiety. But I hope you understood what I was trying to say anyways..
I'm looking forward to reading all your comments on Sunday when I get back.
Take care everyone & have a great weekend!
Dear Group,
I enjoyed reading everyone’s comments and input to everyone. I noticed how Brett agreed with Heidi about the youthfulness found in “I taste a liquor never brewed.” It seems as though both Brett and I agree with Heidi’s insight about the poem. I also enjoyed reading Brett’s further input about Heidi’s view of the poem, “There is definitely a Romantic sentiment to Dickinson’s poem here, so I think it makes sense that the speaker would be a carefree youth.” In Heidi’s second letter, her opinion of “There’s a certain slant of light” differs from Lauren’s and my own opinions. While Lauren and I thought Dickinson was referring to doubt in her poem, Heidi offers another point of view to what is being referred to.
I listened to Brett’s song “The Frail” by Nine Inch Nails and definitely understood how that song could be related to any Emily Dickinson poem, especially “There’s a certain slant of light.” This particular poem definitely has a somber tone and the song conveys the tone perfectly. I don’t think I’ve heard a song that could sum up the overall attitude of the poem and better. I also looked at Heidi’s sketch of the street scene that she believes represents a scene from “There’s a certain slant of light.” It took me a second to see the drawing clearly, but then I could see how it related to how Dickinson mentions loneliness in her poems. I am glad that I got to see and hear two different interpretations of the same song. Though very different, both capture the essence of Emily Dickinson’s poem.
It was pleasure to be able to share all of our opinions internationally!
Sincerely,
Jennifer Renew
Dear group 5
First of all sorry because I didn’t say anything about the relation between the poems and any song or picture but I didn’t understand what to do really well.
I would like to say about Heidi. F. and the poem "There's a certain slant of light" that I hadn’t think about it before but it’s true that the poem reminds me Gothenburg, I become from Spain that there is a country with many sunny days and reading the poem twice it transmit me a similar feeling as I feel some days here when I haven’t seen the sun for days and how those days could change my point of view of things. Listening the song you name I agree that it could represent some aspect of the poem as the war you named.
I have found really interesting the explanation of Lauren. R. to the last stanza of the “Because I could not stop for death” because I could not understand it before. Now I see that the writer could be talking about a close death, like there you know that is close but you don’t know exactly when it’s going to arrive. About the song I’ve listened to it I think that you have choose a good song for what you want to be focus.
Finally I would like to say that I have found this experience interesting because when I read the poems the first time I understood much less than now.
Best regards
Aloha!
I would first like to say that I found each and everyone’s comments enlightening in some sort of way. I agree with Jennifer (and Brett) in that Brett did an awesome job of choosing “The Frail” for a musical interpretation of “There’s a certain slant of light.” The deep tones on the piano absolutely capture the oppressive gloominess of the poem’s mood, and I like how the notes are nearly completely isolated from any other sound in the song. I find Dickinson’s poem to be one that speaks of loneliness and of being alone; the song’s design conveyed this feeling perfectly. I also think that Brett’s textual analysis of the poem is especially insightful: “Perhaps the light, once gone, is so far in the distance that one can’t possibly comprehend that it was ever there in the first place.” This particular contention sheds so much more light for me (no pun intended, now that I look back on what I’ve just written) on the lines, “Heavenly hurt it gives us / We can find no scar” (5-6). I also appreciated Heidi’s take on what “it” is; as an English major, it’s quite easy to interpose my own thoughts and feelings onto literary works. Maybe it is just the weather—I can certainly relate to this!
Heidi’s song gave me additional perspective for this poem, especially the lyrics:
“Storm.. in the morning light
I feel
No more can I say
Frozen to myself
I got nobody on my side
And surely that ain't right"
I like the parallels between the weather and the light. Very cool. Like Brett’s instrumental song, I think these words do a good job of expressing the isolation the speaker of the poem feels. It is very interesting to see how two different audio interpretations get the same message across. I’d also like to mention that Jennifer’s mermaid drawing was neat to see, especially since it does resemble Dickinson’s own illustrations. I’m studying Children’s Literature right now, so I’m somewhat fascinated by visual representation and the relationships between picture and text. Thanks!
This was a wonderful exercise in both poetic and cultural exploration. Truly a pleasure.
Warmly,
Lauren
Oh, and I would have liked to have commented on Heidi's drawing, but I couldn't get the picture to show up from the link.
Group,
Hello once again. I really enjoyed everyone’s responses and rather interesting alternative representations.
On “Because I could not stop for death,” I think Lauren is absolutely right when she says the final stanza is very ambiguous, particularly the speaker’s assertion that it has been “centuries” since she died (possibly), but each of those centuries has been shorter than the day she realized that her fate was an eternal one. I think this can be taken two ways: the speaker can be saying that you get used to death after a while, or she can be saying that death brings such finality that one cannot fully fathom its eternity. I prefer the latter interpretation because it seems more in line with the gradual decline in hope from the poem (this is best seen in the movement from a hopeful, glorious “immortality” to the empty “eternity” at the end of the poem).
I also think Heidi’s personal connection to her own winter experiences were very interesting in understanding “There’s a certain slant of light.” I believe that her observation that the poem could be about “living through those dark winter days [that] change you” summarizes the poem in that the speaker makes it clear that this “slant of light” (an image that seems weightless) is actually very oppressive and influences everything.
Lauren’s choice of “Send in the Clowns” was very interesting. There were definitely a lot of parallels to Dickinson’s poem. Even the sense of disappointment (“and where are the clowns/there ought to be clowns) matches up nicely to the possible disappointment of the speaker in the poem. The lyrics to the Portishead song were also very interesting, particularly the line about being “frozen to myself,” which captures the sort of paralyzing nature of the light in Dickinson’s poem. Finally, Jennifer’s mermaid picture was neat because it forced me to further consider the mermaids’ role in the poem. We’ve dealt a bit with mermaids in our class this semester (especially in “Prufrock”), and it’s interesting to think of them as sirens or seducers. I’m not sure how that would work in this poem, but perhaps there is a connection.
Once again, I’d just like to say that this has been a very insightful experience. I wish everyone well in their further studies.
Brett
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