Emily Dickinson's poem "712" (pg. 487) was interesting in many ways. There are many things I saw interesting, such as the dashes, of course, and also how Dickinson capitalizes (what seems to be) random words throughout her poems. At first, the poem seems dark, talking about death and immortality. As the poem continues on, the narrator seems to be going through their life,
"We slowly drove - He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility -
We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess - in the Ring -
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain -
We passed the Setting Sun -" (pg. 487)
In the first stanza, I felt when she referred to "He," she meant some higher power/spirit/universe, and as she goes on, it's like she is slowly dying and fading away, while at the same time, it's like her life is flashing before her. She passed the school with the children - which could mean that she was looking at a younger version of herself. She "passed the Fields of Gazing Grain" - perhaps this could be a memory, growing up and passing the golden grainy fields. And then "passed the Setting Sun," which maybe is when she finally passed away, but in a soothing, setting sun kind of way. Dickinson continues to write,
"Or rather - He passed Us -
The Dews drew quivering and chill -
For only Gossamer, my Gown -
My Tippet - only Tulle -"
Perhaps the higher power, "He," passed them - taking her soul and bringing it somewhere safe. Dickinson makes it seem cold by writing, "The Dews drew quivering and chill," maybe this was a theme in the poem: cold, dark, death - they all kind of seem to go hand in hand.
Even though the poem seems a little dark, I still liked the flow of the poem and the dashes within the poem. It got me to slow down and enjoy reading the poem, and to think more about what Dickinson is trying to say in the poem. I also find it a little odd, yet intriguing, how she uses all of the dashes in her poems. She seems to use them quite a bit.
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