Emily Dickson Poetry Style Analysis
By Ricky Taylor
Language Style
Personification
Emily Dickinson skillfully uses the literary element of personification as to help the reader compare the subject of the personification's actions and the emotions felt by the narrator as a result. This element is one of the many that help readers make deeper connections to the theme and meaning of the poems.
"I Can Wade Grief"
Dickinson writes "Let no Pebble--smile--"(I Can Wade Grief, 7) as to compare the pebbles with human bystanders, who she does not want to judge her because she is not used to the real happiness that has tripped her up. She also writes " But the least push of Joy/ Breaks up my feet--"(I Can Wade Grief, 5-6). By giving joy a human action it is easier to understand how she is not used to it.
"As Imperceptibly as Grief"
At the ending of the poem she includes "Our Summer has made her light escape/ Into the Beautiful."(As Imperceptibly as Grief, 15) to help explain how graciously summer has left and entered there memories by saying it "lightly escapes", giving Summer a human action. Another line states "As Twilight long begun,/ or Nature spending time with herself/ Sequestered Afternoon"(I Can Wade Grief, 6-8). This lets us see how the narrator feels about how nature is slowly slipping away, and deepens the metaphor of her hope slowly leaving.
"I Measure Every Grief I Meet"
Here, Dickinson explains the affects of the grief of death by saying "Death--is but one--and comes but once--And only nails the eyes"(I Measure Every Grief, 27-28). BY using this personification of Death she accurately describes how the grief of death hits a person and what it does. Personification is also used when saying "That hurt them early--such a lapse/ Could give them any Balm". By asking if the years could give their grief balm, the years are given a human action which helps readers understand what she is wondering will come from time passed.
Tone Shifts
In all three of these poems, Dickinson employs shifts in the tone in order to show how the things being said are not always as they seem. The shift makes the theme switch from one thing to a more accurate other. The first poem changes from "'Twas the New Liquor-- That was all!"(I Can Wade Grief, 8-9 ) and " Power is only Pain-- Stranded , thro' Discipline," (I Can Wade Grief, 10-11), showing the change from a happier tone to the more remorse thought that all must struggle to achieve greatness. In the next the tone shifts from sadness of summer's leaving to the understanding that all things must past when saying "The Summer lapsed away-- Too imperceptible at last"(As Imperceptibly as Grief, 2-3) and later when stating "Our Summer made her light escape/ Into the beautiful" (As Imperceptibly as Grief, 15-16). In the final poem, the tone changes from a somber feeling from thinking of her grief at "I measure every Grief I meet"(I Measure Every Grief I Meet, 1) to a happier tone at the end when she gains comfort for not being alone "A piercing Comfort it affords"(I Measure Every Grief I Meet, 35).
Syntactical Style
Caesura
Caesura is used in almost all of Dickinson's poems, and is employed in order to allow readers to easily understand the emphasis that is placed on certain words and phrases in places where a pause would not normally be used. As this occurs many times in all of her poems, it is a major element that is crucial to the deeper understanding of the topics of Dickinson's poems.
I Can Wade Grief
Dickinson uses caesura to pause at " And I tip--drunken--"(I Can Wade Grief, 6) so that the reader can understand the importance of the word "drunken" in the sentence and see how it relates to the happiness she has found.
As Imperceptibly as Grief
She uses another pause when writing "As Guest that would be gone--"(As Imperceptibly as Grief, 12) to help facilitate the switch from describing the morning coming in to the summer leaving, helping readers understand the switch of subject.
I Measure Every Grief I Meet
Caesura is also used when asking " And whether--could They choose between--/It would not be--to die--"(I Measure Every Grief I Meet, 11-12) to show the importance of the narrator wondering if those who have great grief would still choose to live. This line is very important as it gives deeper information on the grief the narrator also feels.
Thematic Paragraph
A common topic in all of these poems is grief, and how it is affecting the author. In each poem, Dickinson is trying to portray the theme that grief can dealt with and that we can learn to live with it. In I Can Wade Grief, the title itself is evidence that grief can be handled and controlled. In the next poem, As Imperceptibly as Grief, the symbol of summer represents the good things that grief has taken from us, saying Summer has "made her light escape/Into the Beautiful." (As Imperceptibly as Grief, 15-16). This ensures that even what our grief has ruined can still be seen in "the Beautiful", which can be interpreted to mean our memories. We can also find things to comfort us in our time of despair, as does the narrator in I Measure Every Grief I Meet by judging the grief of others and is "fascinated to presume/ That Some--are like [Her] Own--". These lines help us realize that there will always be comfort to find, even in our worst times. Dickinson might be trying to tell us this in order to help others with their own despair by giving them examples of how their grief can be dealt with and overcame.