We passed the school, where children strove At Recess－in the Ring－
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain－ We passed the setting Sun－
Or rather－He passed Us－
The Dews drew quivering and chill－ For only Gossamer, my Gown My Tippet－only Tulle－
We paused before a House that seemed A Swelling of the Ground－ The Roof was scarcely visible－ The corn ice－in the Ground
Since then－‘tis Centuries－and yet Feels shorter than the Day I first surmised the Horses‘ Heads Were toward Eternity－
In this poem, we can see Emily Dickinson‘s perfect use of metaphors and talent for expressing philosophical ideas by simple images. In the
poem, death is not so terrifying but a civil man who drives the author toward ―eternity‖. The author regard life is just like a journey but she will not stop so ―He kindly stopped for me‖. Emily Dickinson uses ―School, the Field of Gazing Grain, and the setting sun‖ to represent different stages of life, which is a typical example of her using metaphors. ―School, where children strove‖ may symbolize childhood; ―Fields of Gazing Grain‖ adult; and ―Setting Sun‖, old age. ―The Dews‖ symbolize human‘s life, transient and weak. So ―The Dews drew quivering and chill‖ on the journey toward ―House‖ the author thinks a lot and they finally arrive at the grave. In the last stanza, the poetess expresses her philosophical idea again. It seems that although life is transient but after people‘s death they get eternity－“spiritual eternity‖ That is why she feels centuries are shorter than a day .She is already toward ―Eternity‖. Viewing thing in a philosophical way shows Emily Dickinson‘s talent, especially when those philosophical ideas are expressed by simple images.
Another typical example is I felt a Funeral in my brain‖. Compared with the previous two, death in this poem is terrifying. In this poem, Emily Dickinson expresses her fright and fear to death by another technique－dramatic monologue. I felt a funeral, in my brain, And Mourner to and fro
Kept treading－treading－till it seemed
That sense was breaking through－
And when they all were seated, A Service, like a Drum－
Kept beating－beating－till I thought My mind was going numb－
And then I heard them lift a Box And creak across my soul
With those same boots of lead, again, Then Space－began to toll, As all the Heavens were a Bell, And Being, but a Ear,
And I, and Silence, some strange Race Wrecked, Solitary, here－
And then a Plank in Reason, broke, And I dropped down, and down－ And hit a World, at every plunge, And Finished knowing－then－
In this poem, the poetess imagines and describes the situation of funeral, she uses the image of funeral to express her point of view upon
the moment of death. The entire poem is Emily‘s dramatic monologue. In this poem, the word that includes the first person voice appears eight times, such as“I ”and ―my‖. In her mind, although a person is dead, his ―sense‖ still exists; he can hear and feel something. In this poem, she first heads the walk of the mourners. Then she feels there is a ―Service‖, because she hears the drum beating, then people take her to the grave. In this poem Emily Dickinson also expresses the philosophical idea, such as ―As all the Heavens were a bell, And Beings, but an Ear‖ to indicate that sense exists after death. The poetess also expresses her fear, uneasy and sorrow, through the words ―creak, wreaked, solitary plunge‖. Part III B Love
Love is another subject Dickinson dwells on. Some of her love poems treat the suffering and frustration love cause. These poems are the reflection of her own unhappy experience, closely related to her deepest and most private feelings. Many of them are striking and original depiction of longing for shared moment, the pains of separation, and the futility of finding happiness, such as ―If you were coming in the Fall‖ ―I had not minded walls‖ and ―presentiment‖.
If you were coming in the Fall6 is the poetess‘ most famous poem about love. Emily Dickinson‘s desire and disappointment are fully and strongly presented in this poem.
If you were coming in the Fall
I‘d brush the summer by With half a smile and half a spurn As housewives do a fly
If I could see you in a year I‘d wind the months in balls And put them in separate drawers Until their time be falls
If only centuries delayed I‘d count them on my hand Subtracting till my fingers dropped Into Van Die man‘s land
If certain when this life was out That yours and mine should be I‘d toss life yonder like a rind And taste eternity
But now all ignorant of length, of times uncertain wing , It goads me like the goblin bee