Emily Dickinson 1

Poem #449

Likes:  I liked that the poem referenced to two people dying for "Beauty" and "Truth," because both beauty and truth are things that can be seen in today's society.  I like how Dickenson described the room that her tomb lain in had an adjoining room; that helped the reader to get a better sense of the physical location of this poem.  I also like how she said that "He questioned softly," this allows me to actually imagine the words coming from his mouth and possibly the mood that he was in.

Dislikes:  I do not like how Dickinson said things in a different manner; for example the man questions the woman as to why she failed, rather than just asking her why she died.  I believe she blurs what she is saying in a sense, or maybe she just does not want to sound so abrupt.  I personally did not like that the poem was about death; I do not believe that death is something that the typical person enjoys reading about. 

Puzzles:  I was confused as to why certain words were capitalized such as "Beauty," "Truth," "Room," "One," "Moss," and "Night."  I assumed that each one of those words must have some significance in the poem, but I was unable to understand what exactly their significance was.  I also did not understand why the man in the poem considered "Beauty" and "Truth" the same because he says that they are "Brethren."  I did not understand what it is that Dickenson wants the reader to get from this poem.

Connections and Motifs:  I found the motifs of beauty, truth, and death as I read this poem.  I believe that Dickenson might be trying to show people that "Beauty" and "Truth" could possibly lead to negative things.  In her case, she made them lead to death.  This poem can also connect to Dickenson's poem #712 because in both poems the main subject is of death, although each poem has their own meaning.

Poem #712

Likes:  I like that the speaker of the poem was okay with the thought of death, it did not seem like it was something that frightened her.  I find personification fascinating, so I like when Dickenson used personification when she said that "We passed the Setting Sun-/Or rather-He passed Us."  I like how Dickenson described this passage of death, because she did not make it seem as if it is something negative at all.  Overall, I thought the poem itself was very interesting and unique, so I liked it.

Dislikes:  I did not like that rhyme only occurred almost randomly, with no set pattern.  For example, the second and fourth line of stanza one have an end rhyme with "me" and "Immortality," but yet in the third stanza the second and fourth line come nowhere close to an end rhyme with "Ring" and "Sun."  I believe that the random rhyme almost made the poem hard to follow.  I also do not like how there are so many symbols used in the poem, like "School," "Children," "Gazing Grain," and "Setting Sun."  I believe that if the reader does not truly take the time to think about the poem and its symbols, then the reader will probably not understand the meaning of the poem and what each symbol stands for.

Puzzles:  Just as I was in poem #449, I was confused as to why certain words were capitalized, even though I know they play some role of significance.  Although I liked the fact the speaker was okay with death, I was also baffled by that because many people are mortified with even the thought of death.  I did not understand why the author chose the certain symbols that she did to represent different times in a person's life.  I was not sure whether or not Dickenson was trying to show the reader that they should be okay with the fact of death, or whether or not she was just simply giving the reader a poem to read with no overall theme that the reader should take from it.

Connections and Motifs:  I found the motif of this poem as contentment and death.  I thought that these were two of the motifs because the speaker seemed to be okay with the fact that she could not stop "Death."  This poem can also connect to Dickenson's poem #449 because they both involve death, and in both poems the speakers do not seem to be upset about death.

Poem #1593

Likes:  I liked that this poem was about a storm that had happened in the speaker's life that she had survived.  I also liked that this poem could possibly have multiple meanings; it may not be a literal storm that the speaker went through, but possibly just a bad time in her life.  I really liked how Dickenson described the wind as a "Bugle" and said that "It quivered through the Grass" because it truly helps the reader to imagine what the wind was really like.  I also like how she describes the tress as "panting Trees," this also helps the reader to truly visualize the scene.  I believe that Dickenson did a really good and effective job trying to get her reader to in fact visualize the scene that she was writing about; her use of imagery definitely promoted her poem.

Dislikes:  I did not like that all the thoughts of the poem were composed into one larger stanza.  I believe that poems are easier to understand, and even read, when they are broken into smaller stanzas.  I did not like the author's repeated use of "And" as a transition; I believe that it became too repetitive and she could have possibly chosen another word so that her audience would not get bored.

Puzzles:  Just as I was in poem #449 and #712, I was confused as to why certain words were capitalized, even though I know they serve some sort of importance.  I was also puzzles as to whether or not the speaker was talking about a literal storm or just a struggle that she was facing at a point in her life.

Connections and Motifs:  I believe that the main motif of this poem is a storm or some type of struggle that the speaker was faced with.  Although this poem does not reference death like poem #449 and #712 do, I still believe that they can connect in some way because they are talking about some sort of darker aspect.  For example, death is the darker aspect in poem #449 and #712, but the storm/struggle is the darker aspect in this poem.