Dickinson : 1737 And 486 Essay, Research Paper
`Emily Dickinson?s 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 ?Wife?s? 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!??
Dickinson?s 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 ? I?m sure?.That this
was all ?.? These regular, but brief expressions are f
highlight key phrases, such as ?live-aloud-? a stylistic devise that loosens the
stiff formality of punctuation and effects 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 slightest?noteless?little.? 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.? Dickinson?s 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, ?noteless? and without
significance.? Ironically Emily
Dickinson only received public recognition and acclaim for her poetry, in the
main, following her death. ???????????