Death is indeed safe from the perspective that nothing in life can hurt or destroy. The dead are "untouched" (2) by everything and nothing. The "meek members of the resurrection" (3) are sleeping, safe and sound, waiting for what awaits them on the other side. The most significant aspect of this stanza is the insinuation that the dead are still waiting for their resurrection, which may, in fact, never occur. This attitude is not unusual for Dickinson, as she explored death and God many times in her poetry, as if she were attempting to make sense of life, death, and religion. The last stanza of the poem demonstrates an even closer inspection of death as the speaker looks at the "grand" (10) years of life, as they pass "Soundless as dots on a disk of snow" (14). The poet realized one of the most important, sobering facts of life there is, which is the fact that regardless of who we are and what we do, life goes on after we die. This last line is similar to many of the poet's last lines, in that death renders all of us the same. The prince is no better than the pauper in the alabaster chamber; they are both waiting for the same thing, which in this poem, feels like nothing. This may be one of her most dark poems because it holds no hope in the afterlife; however, it does reinforce the importance of making the most of every day. The fact that we cannot know what awaits us on the other side of life is enough motivation to enjoy ever moment we have. The poet reconciles her trouble with religion by having faith in herself. In "Some keep the Sabbath going to Church" the poet admits she keeps the Sabbath "With a Bobolink for a Chorister --...
She is comfortable in her home and a bird outside the window serves as a choir and the orchard is her church dome. While some may see this act as a rejection of God, it looks to many others as the poet's grand ability to find God everywhere around her. The poet recognizes she has wings (329) but she is not desperate for a sermon. This poem finds significance today because of our information overloaded society. "Some keep the Sabbath going to Church" touches on the poet's thoughts of an afterlife, where she questions it and focuses on "going" to heaven as a present tense activity as opposed to hoping for something good to happen after she dies. She is fully intent on enjoying her journey.
" typical way in which a poem by Dickinson is structured is by the use of the "omitted center." This means that an initial statement is followed by an apparent lack in development and continuity and the inclusion of strange and seemingly alien ideas. However, these often contradictory ideas and images work towards a sense of wholeness and integrity which is essentially open-ended in terms of its meaning. "Often the
Emily Dickinson and "The World is Not Conclusion" The poems of Emily Dickinson have been interpreted in a multitude of ways and often it is hard to separate the narrator of her works with the woman who wrote them. Few authors have such a close association between the individual and their work as Emily Dickinson. In Dickinson's poetry, the narrator and the poet are often seen as interchangeable beings. Themes that
The study of geology becomes a central underlying theme in many of her works due to the influence of Hitchcock. Dickinson adopted the view that the study of nature should be an intermingled spiritual as well as naturalist journey, and as a result, places strong emphasis on how to explore spiritual and romantic Truth, through the allegory of nature and geology. Dickinson's poetic vision was not to advocate the strong
This poem talks of light in winter and compares it to a cathedral, and says that both kinds are "oppressive." It is not easy to figure out exactly what Dickinson is saying in this poem, but much of her poetry seems to have the belief that organized religion is oppressive, where as nature and intrinsic feelings about God are liberating. Many critics note that a religious crisis was probably the
Emily Dickinson, Keetje Kuipers, and Ruth Stone all deal with the idea of death in their poems "Color - Caste -- Denomination," "My First Lover Returns from Iraq," and, respectively, "Reality." These poets focus on this concept with regard to individuals they loved but appear to be less concerned with the tragic nature of death. Instead, they are apparently interested in concentrating on life in contrast to death and with
(Jones, p. 49). These confessional poems are often "searing in their self-inquiry" and "harrowing to the reader" and typically take their metaphors from texts and paintings of Dickinson's day. Some scholars posit that the "Master" is an unattainable composite figure, "human, with specific characteristics, but godlike." (Jones, p. 49). Recent scholars have posited that Dickinson saw the mind and spirit as tangible, places and that for much of her life
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