Poet And Speaker In Poem 486 example essay topic

'Emily Dickinsons poems are both fairly short lyrical compositions conveying and even sharing the deep thoughts, feelings and state of mind of a single speaker in a clear, informal language. Rearrange a Wifes affection! proclaims the first verse of the poem entitled 1737, although no question mark is present, the following line appears to answer in retaliation to the brisk statement, When they dislocate my Brain! Tightly bound into five stanzas of equal size with the lines of the quatrains also of a similar length, the shape of the composition contributes to the fast delivery of her indignant repudiation for the state of Wifehood. This effect is conveyed through the repetition of exclamation marks and the strongly suggestive rhyme and assonantal slant on the end word of each line in the first stanza, affection! , Brain! , Bosom! and man!

Dickinsons use of five-foot iambic pentameter in this poem, is of a similar pattern to everyday speech and contributes to the upbeat pace of reading and the readers belief that the feelings expressed are real and true. Moreover, her use of alliteration heightens the tale of a painful and melodramatic passion, troth, taught love, leaped burden borne, her big, bandaged secret, a metaphor of pain, from which the only relief is through the grave. Whilst the form of poem 486 shares similarities with 1737, four stanzas divided into quatrains, the second stanza employs five lines. This technique helps to convey a sense of serious thought and contemplation, Let me think Im sure. That this was all. These regular, but brief expressions are followed by dashes, which highlight key phrases, such as live-aloud- a stylistic devise that loosens the stiff formality of punctuation and effect a breathlessness throughout the verse.

Written in the first person, I, the poet and speaker in poem 486 become one and the same. Indeed, the poet dwells on her size throughout the poem, I was the slightestnotelesslittle. Yet her continual profession of smallness, does not reflect her stature, so much as her conscious desire to be small and slight to play along with societies view of her insignificance, and turning it to her own advantage. The poem recaptures the conditions and circumstances of herself, as a poet, and in the second stanza she describes the advantages of her situation. Inconspicuous was what was needed to catch the mint / That never ceased to fall, she shunned The Racket biding her time with my little lamp, and book- which are symbolic of her poetic tools. Dickinsons poem discloses the guarded and secretive life of a persona embarrassed by the noise of a shared community, depicting her living most enjoyably and creatively at night.

In reality she did renounce the social world for the confines of a poetic vocation in her small room, reflecting her true retreat from society. Death is a recurring theme in the poetry of Emily Dickinson and it is in this vein that both of the poems end. The Weary Keeper of my secret takes it to her grave in 1737, whilst in 486, she could die, as the poem tells us she has lived, note less and without significance. Ironically Emily Dickinson only received public recognition and acclaim for her poetry, in the main, following her death.