Dickinson

I think there is much more to Dickinson’s poetry than meets the eye, so I suppose that would be “simply deceptive.” I once wrote a paper comparing her to Robert Frost, and how even though on the surface, his poems seem light and hers dark, reading into subtext actually shows that the reverse is often true. I’ve thrown a bit of that paper into here now to prove that Dickinson’s poetry isn’t always as dark as it seems, meaning that there is something deceptive about it:

Her poetry seems dark and brooding on the surface, especially when one looks at the suggested titles. Her poem “260 (288)” initially does not seem optimistic. It begins, “I’m Nobody! Who are you?” At first, one would think that the poet is demeaning herself, perhaps dejected with life and feeling unimportant. However, the full poem proves that she is happy with this fact:

How dreary – to be –Somebody!

How public- like a Frog-

To tell one’s name – the livelong June –

To an admiring Bog!

When one is nobody, one can be anybody. A person can change identities as one changes clothes, and this idea can be appealing. An identity can trap an individual, and the lack of identity leaves one free.

            Another of Dickinson’s lighter poems is “314 (254).” In this poem, she discusses hope:

            “Hope” is the thing with feathers –

            That perches in the soul-

            And sings the tune without the words –

            And never stops – at all-

She goes on to say that hope is heard in all situations, and says that “Yet – never – in Extremity, / It asked a crumb – of me.” This is to say that hope does not always take effort. Hope lives even if a person does not devote him or herself specifically to developing it. It will always be there, guiding a person through the most difficult times. These two poems show that Dickinson has a more optimistic side to her poetry.