Emily Dickinson’s “Glowing is her Bonnet”

Emily Dickinson’s “Glowing is her Bonnet”

In Emily Dickinson’s “Glowing is her Bonnet,” the speaker personifies the season of autumn as a brilliantly adorned presence whose departure from the natural world suggests that beauty need not be conspicuous to be cherished and remembered.

Introduction and Text of “Glowing is her Bonnet”

In Emily Dickinson’s “Glowing is her Bonnet,” the speaker is describing the fall season as a beautiful, feminine presence whose brilliant colors attract attention as the season prepares to depart.

The speaker then introduces the daisy as an alternative model of departure. Rather than leaving through a spectacular display, the flower vanishes quietly, yet its disappearance does not go entirely unnoticed. Nature and countless passersby preserve its memory.

Glowing is her Bonnet

Glowing is her Bonnet,
Glowing is her Cheek,
Glowing is her Kirtle,
Yet she cannot speak.

Better as the Daisy
From the Summer hill
Vanish unrecorded
Save by tearful rill –

Save by loving sunrise
Looking for her face.
Save by feet unnumbered
Pausing at the place.

Commentary on “Glowing is her Bonnet”

The speaker contrasts fall’s conspicuous radiance with the daisy’s quiet disappearance. Through this comparison, she is suggesting that genuine beauty need not demand attention to leave a lasting impression.

First Stanza: “Glowing is her Bonnet”

Glowing is her Bonnet,
Glowing is her Cheek,
Glowing is her Kirtle,
Yet she cannot speak.

In the first stanza, the speaker introduces the fall season through a series of images suggesting brilliant colors. The bonnet, cheek, and kirtle all glow, creating an impression of extraordinary radiance.

The bonnet conjures up the colorful foliage that crowns the trees, while the glowing cheek refers to the brilliant reds and other warm colors that characterize autumn’s landscape. The kirtle, an outer garment, completes the picture of a season dressed in magnificent attire.

The repeated word “Glowing” emphasizes the intensity of autumn’s appearance. Nature seems to have dressed itself in a spectacular display of color, attracting the attention of anyone who happens to observe it.  Yet the final line introduces an interesting qualification: “Yet she cannot speak.”

Autumn possesses extraordinary visual beauty, but it does not communicate verbally. Its departure must be understood through the changing appearance of nature.  The speaker thus is personifying autumn as a feminine presence, by employing the familiar human characteristics of clothing and facial features to portray the season.

Second Stanza: “Better as the Daisy”

Better as the Daisy
From the Summer hill
Vanish unrecorded
Save by tearful rill —

The speaker now introduces a comparison between the conspicuous departure of fall and the much quieter disappearance of a daisy from a summer hillside.  The opening word “Better” is especially important because it introduces a preference. The speaker appears to suggest that there is something more appealing about disappearing without attracting widespread attention.

The daisy does not announce its departure through a spectacular display of color. It simply vanishes from the summer hillside, leaving little evidence that it was ever there.

Yet its disappearance is not entirely unnoticed.

The speaker introduces the “tearful rill,” a small stream whose waters suggest the tears of nature mourning the flower’s passing.  The image is particularly appealing because even something as small and seemingly insignificant as a daisy can inspire a response from the natural world.

The speaker thus introduces a distinction between conspicuous beauty and quiet beauty. The daisy does not need to display its attractiveness to command affection or remembrance.

Third Stanza: “Save by loving sunrise”

Save by loving sunrise
Looking for her face.
Save by feet unnumbered
Pausing at the place.

The speaker continues describing the ways in which the daisy’s disappearance may nevertheless be remembered. The “loving sunrise” becomes another participant in the natural world’s affectionate recognition of the flower.

The sunrise is personified as though it has developed an attachment to the daisy and continues looking for its familiar face. This image suggests that even the natural world experiences something resembling loss when a beautiful feature disappears.

The speaker then introduces “feet unnumbered” pausing at the place where the daisy once grew. These countless visitors suggest that the flower has occupied a place in the landscape worthy of attention. The word “unnumbered” emphasizes the potentially unlimited number of individuals who may encounter and appreciate that particular place.

The speaker thus is revealing a charming contrast between the spectacular departure of fall and the modest disappearance of the daisy. Although the flower vanishes without any formal record, it nevertheless leaves an impression upon nature and those who pass by.

The Spiritual Dimension of Beauty and Remembrance

There is an interesting connection between the speaker’s appreciation of the daisy and the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda. In his discussion of cultivating goodness and attractiveness, Paramahansa Yogananda advises:  “Be the beauty that is in a flower, and the attractiveness that is in a pure mind.”

This teaching offers an intriguing perspective on the speaker’s preference for the daisy’s modest beauty. The flower does not need the spectacular display of autumn to possess its own special attractiveness.

Paramahansa Yogananda emphasizes the importance of inward beauty and goodness. The speaker’s comparison invites a similar contemplative musing about the difference between outward display and the quiet qualities that inspire genuine affection.

The daisy may disappear without a formal record, but its beauty has nevertheless attracted the attention of the natural world. Thus, the speaker concludes that something need not be conspicuous to possess lasting significance.

Connections to Earlier Dickinson Commentaries

In my earlier essays on Dickinson’s poems, I have discussed the speaker’s penchant for employing flowers and gardens to suggest spiritual and metaphysical realities.  In “There is another sky,” the speaker creates a garden where flowers remain perpetually beautiful, untouched by the decay that affects earthly gardens. The garden represents a newly created world in which beauty and permanence prevail.

In “When I count the seeds,” the speaker again employs the garden as a metaphor for her creative and spiritual world. The seeds represent the metaphorical beginnings of poems that she plants and carefully cultivates within her fertile imagination.

The daisy in the present poem offers another opportunity to consider the significance of flowers as symbols of beauty and the continuity of existence. Although this particular flower disappears, its influence remains through the affectionate attention it has inspired.

The natural imagery thus provides a connection between this poem and the speaker’s earlier presentations of flowers and gardens as representations of realities that extend beyond ordinary physical existence.

Dickinson Riddles

As in many of Dickinson’s little dramas, the speaker never directly identifies the feminine figure as autumn. Instead, she supplies a collection of images that allows readers gradually to recognize the seasonal reference.

The glowing bonnet, cheek, and kirtle suggest the brilliant foliage that characterizes the season of autumn. The inability to speak reinforces the notion that the speaker is describing a season rather than an actual person, although she has referred to the season as  “her” and “she.”

The daisy introduces an entirely different consideration. Rather than celebrating a spectacular display of natural beauty, the speaker appears to favor the modest flower that disappears without attracting widespread attention.  Yet the daisy is not entirely forgotten. The tearful stream, loving sunrise, and innumerable feet all serve as reminders of its former presence.

The speaker thus fashions a charming little lesson in the relationship between beauty and remembrance. Something need not be spectacular to be worthy of affection, and something need not be recorded to leave an enduring impression.

Ultimately, the speaker’s preference for the daisy’s quiet disappearance reveals an appreciation for modesty over ostentation. Autumn may depart in a blaze of color, but the little daisy leaves behind its own special claim upon the affection of nature and humanity.