Linda's Literary Home

Category: Emily Dickinson

  • Emily Dickinson’s “I gave myself to Him”

    Image: Emily Dickinson - Amherst College - Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 - likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet
    Image: Emily Dickinson – Amherst College – Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 – likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet

    Emily Dickinson’s “I gave myself to Him”

    The speaker in Emily Dickinson’s “I gave myself to Him” is musing on the imbalance that remains even after one has surrendered one’s life to God the Creator.

    Introduction and Text of “I gave myself to Him”

    The speaker in Emily Dickinson’s “I gave myself to Him” is exploring the idea that after having devoted her attention to the Creator by giving herself “to Him,” she finds that the giving of such a gift cannot be mutual.  She suggests the idea that the gift of herself will surely disappoint the Giver and Creator of all things.

    She leaves open the notion there may be some mutual gain because “[s]ome” have “found it” so.  She is likely referring to testimony from the saints who assure their listening audience of the great riches attained by such surrender to God.

    The speaker is likely reassuring herself that such a bargain cannot bring about an occasion to boast, nor can it eliminate the necessity to remain humble.  Her ultimate conclusion may seem pessimistic at first. 

    However, God remains the ultimate authority to which the human heart, mind, and soul must surrender regardless of any emphasis of mutuality in considering gain and loss.  Thus without stating the conclusion directly, the speaker is implying that the human debt to God has to remain insolvent until the soul grasps its relationship to its Creator.

    I gave myself to Him

    I gave myself to Him –
    And took Himself, for Pay,
    The solemn contract of a Life
    Was ratified, this way –

    The Wealth might disappoint –
    Myself a poorer prove
    Than this great Purchaser suspect,
    The Daily Own – of Love

    Depreciate the Vision –
    But till the Merchant buy –
    Still Fable – in the Isles of Spice –
    The subtle Cargoes – lie –

    At least – ’tis Mutual – Risk –
    Some – found it – Mutual Gain –
    Sweet Debt of Life – Each Night to owe –
    Insolvent – every Noon –

    Commentary on “I gave myself to Him”

    The speaker is exploring the nature of her relationship with her Divine Creator, the Heavenly Father, Divine Mother, or God.  Although she professes to have given her life to her Creator or Heavenly Father, she discovers that she still owes a debt that can never fully be repaid.

    First Stanza:  Surrendering Her Life to the Divine 

    I gave myself to Him –
    And took Himself, for Pay,
    The solemn contract of a Life
    Was ratified, this way –

    The speaker begins with a somewhat ambiguous statement that she has given herself to “Him.”  The capitalized, masculine pronoun “Him” indicates she is likely referring to her Creator (God).  Such capitalization is known as reverential or biblical capitalization.  She continues to employ the reverential capital in the second line with the reflexive, masculine pronoun “Himself.” 

    The idea of giving oneself or one’s life to God is hardly a novel one.  The religious and spiritual minded become positively gleeful at the notion of surrendering their lives to their Creator.  So upon first encountering the speaker’s claim, the reader will then wonder what new or fascinating rendition of such a confession might be in the offing.

    The speaker then begins to elaborate.  After surrendering herself to God, the speaker affirms that her life became a reality. Her “contract” offers her “Pay,” or something substantial for her surrender.

    That contract, in fact, “ratified” her existence.  Just as a political contract, such as the American Constitution, had to be ratified, the speaker’s life was ratified or put into existence by affirmation by the contract she made when she gave her life to God.

    Second Stanza:  An Economics (Trade) Metaphor 

    The Wealth might disappoint –
    Myself a poorer prove
    Than this great Purchaser suspect,
    The Daily Own – of Love

    The speaker then admits that the “Purchaser” of her insignificant life might well be disappointed because she may prove to be “poorer” than the Purchaser of her contract might have suspected.

    The “great Purchaser” (God) may find that her ability to offer love may not be up to the standards He might expect.  Of course, she is demonstrating her ability to remain humble because she is well aware that God’s love will always outweigh, outshine, and outpace her own.

    Likely she is simply thinking of or musing on possibilities, as she employs an economics (trade) metaphor with such terms as “wealth,” “Purchaser,” and “Own.”   She cannot know how important this life choice is going to be for her ability to love or to navigate the seas upon which her life’s boat will have to sail.  

    The speaker can only contemplate at this point, although she does know she can be certain that God’s love will always be greater than she could ever afford; the inevitability of such remains a given, a concept that even the most ardent atheist can grasp even if not accept.

    Third Stanza:  Speculating on Her Importance

    Depreciate the Vision –
    But till the Merchant buy –
    Still Fable – in the Isles of Spice –
    The subtle Cargoes – lie –

    The speaker continues to muse and employ a trade metaphor.  She suggests that one must lower expectations until the time has arrived to sell the product.  Although she has, in fact, given her life over to the “Purchaser,” she has continued to speculate about her own importance.  

    Thus she wonders if she might have oversold her own self in the process.  She then suggests that like the precious “Cargoes” that remain in places from which rich spices are harvested, she may have presented herself as a fabulous commodity that is yet to be realized, like those “subtle Cargoes.”  They remain “subtle” until they are delivered.  And until they are delivered they simply rest or “lie” in one place.

    Fourth Stanza:  Equal Loss – Equal Gain

    At least – ’tis Mutual – Risk –
    Some – found it – Mutual Gain –
    Sweet Debt of Life – Each Night to owe –
    Insolvent – every Noon –

    Finally, the speaker seems to come to the notion that the exchange is not all one-sided:  there may be a chance of failure on both sides.  Yet, she asserts that there are those (saints perhaps?) who have declared that such a transaction garners gain on both sides.

    After all, each night when the human body lies down to rest, it owes a debt for its life.  As all debts must be repaid, that same body with a mind, heart, and soul continues to own that debt, which remains “insolvent” in the bright light of day.

    While night time reminds the human ego as it prays to its Creator that it has not created itself, still it must remain aware to Whom it owes its continued existence.  The speaker’s insolvency will remain because the limited human mind and heart can never repay the debt it owes its all-powerful Creator and Benefactor; only the soul can do that.

  • Emily Dickinson’s “‘Why do I love’ You, Sir?”

    Image: Emily Dickinson - Amherst College - Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 - likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet
    Image: Emily Dickinson – Amherst College – Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 – likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet

    Emily Dickinson’s “‘Why do I love’ You, Sir?”

    The speaker of Emily Dickinson’s oddly punctuated poem “‘Why do I love’ You, Sir?” uses logic to demonstrate the reasoning that leads the created soul to experience love for its Creator.

    Introduction with Text of “‘Why do I love’ You, Sir?”

    This unusual Emily Dickinson poem begins with the following oddly punctuated first line: “Why do I love” You, Sir?

    Emily Dickinson’s Editors

    When analyzing the poems of Emily Dickinson’s, it is useful to remember that she did not work with an editor for the purpose of publishing.   Her poems were first edited after her death by Thomas Wentworth Higginson and Mabel Loomis Todd.

    But, unfortunately, their reworking often smoothed out Dickinson’s quirky use of language to the point of crushing the innovation and nuances that made her the unique poet that she was.  Therefore, Thomas H. Johnson restored her poems to the originals as found in the bundles (fascicles) of poems written in her own handwriting. 

    Thus the reader must be aware that Dickinson might have been persuaded to alter some of her quirks for publication, if she had been assured that her meaning would not be changed but instead made clearer by the changes.

    The odd punctuation of this poem, especially the first line, is an example of a Dickinsonian quirk which, no doubt, would have been altered by an editor after close consultation with the poet.  Indeed, it would be fascinating to hear Dickinson’s explanation for placing “Why do I love” in quotation marks, making it appear as a unit of thought that seems to address the second person “You.”

    No one can ever know for certain what significance that odd punctuation might have had for the poet, and it is likely that modern readers may simply dismiss the quotation marks as they begin the poem.

    The poem features four stanzas; the first two are innovative cinquains, the third is an innovative sestet, and the fourth is a Dickinsonian quatrain.  The poem dramatizes the theme of God’s love as mystery.  

    But it also makes it clear that the speaker is simplifying that emotion:  it is merely a natural sequence of events that the created soul will love its Creator.  The complication comes in giving thought to that sequence.  The speaker seems to desire to uncomplicate the issue once and for all.

    “Why do I love” You, Sir?

    “Why do I love” You, Sir?
    Because –
    The Wind does not require the Grass
    To answer – Wherefore when He pass
    She cannot keep Her place.

    Because He knows — and
    Do not You –
    And We know not –
    Enough for Us
    The Wisdom it be so –

    The Lightning – never asked an Eye
    Wherefore it shut — when He was by –
    Because He knows it cannot speak –
    And reasons not contained –
    – Of Talk –
    There be – preferred by Daintier Folk –

    The Sunrise – Sire – compelleth Me –
    Because He’s Sunrise – and I see –
    Therefore – Then –
    I love Thee –

    Commentary on “‘Why do I love’ You, Sir?”

    The speaker of Dickinson’s oddly punctuated poem uses logic to demonstrate the reasoning that leads the created soul to love for its Creator.

    First Stanza:   Unavoidable Love

    “Why do I love” You, Sir?
    Because –
    The Wind does not require the Grass
    To answer – Wherefore when He pass
    She cannot keep Her place.

    The speaker seems to be talking to the Divine Reality (God), calling Him “Sir,” and questioning Him as to why she loves Him. Then the speaker replies with her own answer, “Because — / The Wind does not require the Grass / To answer.”  However, in order to completely respond to this amazing mystery, the speaker finds it necessary to compare her feelings with phenomena of nature. 

    She thus decides to compare her love to the act of love the grass possesses.  The grass simply cannot prevent itself from undergoing its waving motion after the wind has blown through it. 

    The speaker’s love for her Heavenly Father Creator God is just simply natural.  There can be no questioning it.   Of course, she will continue to question and answer.  That’s just the way she rolls!

    Second Stanza:  The Wisdom of Love

    Because He knows — and
    Do not You –
    And We know not –
    Enough for Us
    The Wisdom it be so –

    In the second stanza, the speaker suggests that God as Father along with all she knows about anything, holds the “Wisdom” motivating the love in the soul of the created children for their Creator.   Nothing more is necessary, because everything is enfolded in that love and wisdom.

    Third Stanza:  “Why” Remains Irrelevant

    The Lightning – never asked an Eye
    Wherefore it shut — when He was by –
    Because He knows it cannot speak –
    And reasons not contained –
    – Of Talk –
    There be – preferred by Daintier Folk –

    In the third stanza, the speaker returns to describing phenomena of nature to explicate the “why”:  she reveals that that love eruption is akin to lightning striking the eye.  The eye will never stop to ask “why” it is acting as it does as it closes from the onslaught of  the light’s sudden brilliance.  Intimately coalescing occurrences do not motivate one to ask why.  They just are.  Or it is so obvious that no one has ever in history bothered to question it.   

    The speaker is nevertheless still aware that human minds crave reasons for things and events.   The human mind wants to discuss and declaim about the ineffable, even though the ineffable will never be “contained — / — Of Talk.”   The mind may be likened to “Daintier Folk,” who wish everything to be clarified in words, despite the fact that words often cannot perform that feat.

    By qualifying the mind and others who are not privy to such erudition as simply “daintier,” the speaker manages to suggest that there are those who are merely  incapable of seeing what is right before their eyes.  The employment of such a euphemism renders the speaker both kind and sympathetic and yet at the same time demonstrates her unique talent and deep mental perception.

    Fourth Stanza:  The Logic of Loving One’s Creator

    The Sunrise – Sire – compelleth Me –
    Because He’s Sunrise – and I see –
    Therefore – Then –
    I love Thee –

    The love for God, for this speaker, remains quite uncomplicated:  as the sun rises, her eyes perceive light.  As the Creator creates, the created loves.  To her mind, only the completely daft can question the logic of loving one’s Creator.

    But even without uttering any negativity regarding those who lack such natural understanding, the speaker has demonstrated her stance which remains replete with obvious implications.

  • Emily Dickinson’s “I measure every Grief I meet”

    Image: Emily Dickinson - Amherst College - Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 - likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet
    Image: Emily Dickinson – Amherst College – Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 – likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet

    Emily Dickinson’s “I measure every Grief I meet”

    In “I measure every Grief I meet,” the speaker examines the nature of suffering. The poem is long by Dickinson standards—ten quatrains.  Its theme relates squarely to the Dickinson voice that has become so beloved by her readers.

    Introduction and Text of “I measure every Grief I meet”

    By Dickinsonian reckoning, this poem is quite long.  Of course, her longest poem is “Awake ye muses nine, sing me a strain divine,” the first one that appears in Thomas H. Johnson’s The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson.  But that Valentine message remains an anomaly, which hardly represents the poet’s later accomplishments.

    The theme of “I measure every Grief I meet” squares directly with the Dickinson voice that has become so beloved by her fans.  Death, dying, and grief figure greatly in her canon, yet the sum of her output is nothing other than finding the good, true, and beautiful that human beings are capable of experiencing on this “terrestrial ball.”

    I measure every Grief I meet

    I measure every Grief I meet
    With narrow, probing, Eyes  –
    I wonder if It weighs like Mine –
    Or has an Easier size.

    I wonder if They bore it long  –
    Or did it just begin  –
    I could not tell the Date of Mine  –
    It feels so old a pain  – 

    I wonder if it hurts to live  –
    And if They have to try  –
    And whether  –  could They choose between  –
    It would not be  –  to die  – 

    I note that Some  –  gone patient long  –
    At length, renew their smile  –
    An imitation of a Light
    That has so little Oil  – 

    I wonder if when Years have piled  –
    Some Thousands  –  on the Harm  –
    That hurt them early  –  such a lapse
    Could give them any Balm  – 

    Or would they go on aching still
    Through Centuries of Nerve  –
    Enlightened to a larger Pain  –
    In Contrast with the Love  – 

    The Grieved  –  are many  –  I am told  –
    There is the various Cause  –
    Death  –  is but one  –  and comes but once  –
    And only nails the eyes  – 

    There’s Grief of Want  –  and Grief of Cold  –
    A sort they call “Despair”  –
    There’s Banishment from native Eyes  –
    In sight of Native Air  – 

    And though I may not guess the kind  –
    Correctly  –  yet to me
    A piercing Comfort it affords
    In passing Calvary  – 

    To note the fashions  –  of the Cross  –
    And how they’re mostly worn  –
    Still fascinated to presume
    That Some  –  are like My Own  – 

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBYyOo7kTtg&t=

    Commentary on “I measure every Grief I meet”

    In “I measure every Grief I meet,” the speaker examines the nature of human suffering. The poem is long by Dickinson standards, filling out a whopping ten quatrains.

    First Quatrain:  Special Observant Attention 

    I measure every Grief I meet
    With narrow, probing, Eyes  –
    I wonder if It weighs like Mine  –
    Or has an Easier size.

    The speaker in Emily Dickinson’s “I measure every Grief I meet” from Thomas H. Johnson’s Complete Poem of Emily Dickinson asserts that she scrutinizes every person who has sorrow with especially observant attention. 

    In this poem, “every Grief” provides a metonymic reference to a person who is grieving, of whose sorrow the speaker wishes to determine the breadth and depth. She knows the “size” of her own suffering, and thus she wonders if her fellows take their suffering as seriously as she does. 

    Second Quatrain:  Old Pain 

    I wonder if They bore it long  –
    Or did it just begin  –
    I could not tell the Date of Mine  –
    It feels so old a pain  – 

    The speaker then avers that she has speculated about how much time has passed since the griever’s suffering commenced. She notices that her own suffering has been with her so long that it seems to be as old as pain itself. 

    Third Quatrain:  The Depth of Suffering 

    I wonder if it hurts to live  –
    And if They have to try  –
    And whether  –  could They choose between  –
    It would not be  –  to die  – 

    The speaker then ponders the possibility that the depth of hurt might cause the suffering one to wish for death; she wonders if the sufferers think about or contemplate making the choice between continuing to live in pain and committing suicide. 

    Fourth Quatrain:  The Onset of Complacency

    I note that Some  –  gone patient long  –
    At length, renew their smile  –
    An imitation of a Light
    That has so little Oil  – 

    The speaker reports that from her observations she has detected that some of those people in pain have grown so accustomed to their lot that they “renew their smile,” but their “imitation” smile is as faint as a lamp with “so little Oil.” 

    Fifth Quatrain:  Any Balm in Time? 

    I wonder if when Years have piled  –
    Some Thousands  –  on the Harm  –
    That hurt them early  –  such a lapse
    Could give them any Balm  – 

    The speaker then wonders if after the passage of “[s]ome Thousands” of years, they might finally have recovered from their original hurt; could such a long period of time be “a lapse” that “[c]ould give them any Balm”? 

    Sixth Quatrain: Pain Larger than Love 

    Or would they go on aching still
    Through Centuries of Nerve  –
    Enlightened to a larger Pain  –
    In Contrast with the Love  – 

    The speaker suspects that the suffering might continue, especially if the “pain” grew “larger” than “the Love.” 

    Seventh Quatrain: Waxing Philosophical 

    The Grieved  –  are many  –  I am told  –
    There is the various Cause  –
    Death  –  is but one  –  and comes but once  –
    And only nails the eyes  – 

    The speaker then waxes philosophical in stating that many individuals have suffered and continue to suffer.  Clearly, this speaker knows this fact largely from what she had heard and read.  While the poet was something of a mystic, she does not create omniscient speakers

    The speaker has likely been advised that many reasons exist for so much suffering in the world.  Death is one cause only.  While “death” is thought to happen to each individual only once, this speaker realizes that death “only nails the eyes.”

    Death has no way of removing suffering from the soul.  The mind of the unself-realized person will retain that taint until the sufferer has become God-united.  The real “self” or soul transcends death’s reach, as this speaker understands.

    Eighth Quatrain:  The Causes  

    There’s Grief of Want  –  and Grief of Cold  –
    A sort they call “Despair”  –
    There’s Banishment from native Eyes  –
    In sight of Native Air  – 

    The speaker continues speculating about other causes of pain: “Grief of Want” and “grief of Cold” are two examples; then there are “Despair” and the “Banishment from native Eyes” despite remaining “In Sight of Native Air.” All of these instruments of pain are ancient and ever-present; they can never be eliminated. 

    Ninth Quatrain:  Consolation in Christ

    And though I may not guess the kind  –
    Correctly  –  yet to me
    A piercing Comfort it affords
    In passing Calvary  – 

    The speaker finally realizes that although she cannot ascertain the origin of the pain, she finds a deep measure of consolation from the experience and struggles of the blessed Lord Jesus. 

    Tenth Quatrain:   A Spiritual Duty

    To note the fashions  –  of the Cross  –
    And how they’re mostly worn  –
    Still fascinated to presume
    That Some  –  are like My Own  – 

    As the speaker observes the many styles of crosses people over the centuries have worn and borne, she realizes that suffering is universal and shared.  While such knowledge does not alleviate the suffering, it does demonstrate that there is a divine purpose, and that fact makes the act of bearing grief a spiritual duty, which ultimately leads to divine Bliss.

  • Emily Dickinson’s “Two Butterflies went out at Noon”

    Image: Emily Dickinson - Amherst College - Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 - likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet
    Image: Emily Dickinson – Amherst College – Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 – likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet

    Emily Dickinson’s “Two Butterflies went out at Noon”

    Emily Dickinson possessed the gift of mystic vision, and that vision is displayed brilliantly in this enchanting poem that dramatizes two butterflies embarking on a mystical flight. The poem offers a glimpse into Dickinson’s ability to blend nature with transcendental themes.

    Introduction and Text of “Two Butterflies went out at Noon”

    In Emily Dickinson’s “Two Butterflies went out at Noon” (#533 in Thomas H. Johnson’s The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson), the speaker is dramatizing an imaginary flight of two butterflies that ease out on a amazing journey.

    Emily Dickinson creates a speaker, whose mystical vision is revealed in many of her poems, and this one serves as one of the finest examples of that vision.  Her insightful gift accompanies her gift for creating little dramas that feature snippets of that insight in poetic form.

    Two Butterflies went out at Noon

    Two Butterflies went out at Noon –
    And waltzed above a Farm –
    Then stepped straight through the Firmament
    And rested on a Beam –

    And then – together bore away
    Upon a shining Sea –
    Though never yet, in any Port –
    Their coming mentioned–be –

    If spoken by the distant Bird –
    If met in Ether Sea
    By Frigate, or by Merchantman –
    No notice – was – to me –

    Commentary on “Two Butterflies went out at Noon”

    In Emily Dickinson’s “Two Butterflies went out at Noon,” the speaker dramatizes an imaginary flight of two butterflies embarking on an extraordinary journey.   This poem exemplifies Dickinson’s mystical vision and her ability to craft poetic dramas that explore profound human themes through metaphorical imagery. It is a masterful example of her unique poetic voice.

    First Stanza: Mysterious Arrival

    Two Butterflies went out at Noon –
    And waltzed above a Farm –
    Then stepped straight through the Firmament
    And rested on a Beam –

    The speaker begins with the simple yet intriguing statement, “Two Butterflies went out at Noon.” The butterflies’ sudden appearance is mysterious; they seemingly emerge from nowhere, unbound by any specific origin. 

    Their only marker is time—”Noon”—which suggests a moment of illumination or clarity. This temporal detail invites readers to ponder their symbolic significance as creatures of light and transformation.

    The butterflies “waltzed above a Farm,” an image that evokes grace and harmony. Their movement suggests a carefree dance, embodying the beauty of nature’s fleeting moments. 

    The farm below serves as a grounding contrast to their ethereal presence, emphasizing their transcendence. Yet, their origin remains unknown, adding an air of mystery to their appearance and suggesting they are more than merely the physical beings well-known as butterflies.

    The speaker does not clarify her own location during this observation, leaving readers to wonder whether she is physically present or perceiving them through an inner, mystical,  transcendental vision. 

    After their graceful waltz, the butterflies “stepped straight through the Firmament,” ascending beyond the earthly realm into the heavens. This transition marks their departure from tangible reality into a cosmic or spiritual dimension.

    Once beyond the firmament, the butterflies “rested on a Beam.” The beam could symbolize a ray of sunlight or divine energy, reinforcing their connection to higher realms. 

    This imagery suggests that the speaker’s perception extends beyond ordinary sight; she sees with an inner eye attuned to spiritual truths. The butterflies become metaphors for thoughts or souls—ephemeral entities that transcend physical boundaries.

    Dickinson’s speaker’s metaphorical comparison likens these butterflies to thoughts—mysterious, fleeting, and boundless. Just as thoughts arise spontaneously and traverse unseen realms, so do these butterflies appear suddenly and vanish into intangible spaces with grace and speed. 

    The journey of these special butterflies mirrors the movement of ideas or spiritual insights that come unbidden and often disappear just as quickly.  The nature of flight coincides with the nature of speed and lightness.

    Second Stanza: Ephemeral Thoughts

    And then – together bore away
    Upon a shining Sea –
    Though never yet, in any Port –
    Their coming mentioned–be –

    In the second stanza, the butterflies continue their journey “Upon a shining Sea.” This sea symbolizes eternity or an infinite expanse, reflecting Dickinson’s  life-long fascination with transcendence and the soul’s voyage beyond earthly confines. 

    The imagery evokes a sense of boundlessness, as the butterflies glide effortlessly over this luminous ocean without needing any vessel to carry them.  Just as the soul, and even the mind, may seem to glide effortlessly from thought to feeling and back again.

    The speaker notes that these remarkable butterfly-thoughts never stop at “any Port.” Their journey is uninterrupted by mundane destinations; they pass through existence without anchoring themselves in any fixed location. This detail emphasizes their ephemeral nature—they are not bound by material concerns but remain free to traverse limitless realms.

    The absence of any mention of their arrival further underscores their elusiveness. The speaker suggests that if their presence had been detected in any port along their journey, it surely would have been noted or remarked upon by someone. Yet no such acknowledgment exists, heightening the sense of mystery surrounding their destination and purpose.

    This seamless movement evokes wonder about where these itinerant butterflies will go next. Their path seems guided by an unseen force, reflecting Dickinson’s belief in the unseen powers that govern existence. 

    The butterflies’ journey becomes a metaphor for fleeting thoughts or spiritual revelations—beautiful yet transient experiences that defy capture or explanation.  Even understanding by mental power exists beyond their realm.

    Through this stanza, Dickinson’s speaker invites readers to reflect on the nature of impermanence and the ineffable qualities of spiritual experiences. The shining sea represents both possibility and mystery, a realm where boundaries dissolve and transformation occurs.

    Third Stanza: Evading the Ultimate

    If spoken by the distant Bird –
    If met in Ether Sea
    By Frigate, or by Merchantman –
    No notice – was – to me –

    In the final stanza, the speaker avoids answering where the butterflies ultimately settle, instead emphasizing their elusive nature. She speculates about who might have observed them since their departure but concludes that no one has reported seeing them again. This lack of information reinforces their otherworldly quality—they exist beyond human comprehension or observation.

    The speaker imagines possible witnesses who might have encountered these roaming butterflies: perhaps a “distant Bird” soaring high above or voyagers like frigates and merchantmen traversing vast seas.

    These figures symbolize different perspectives—natural creatures attuned to the skies and human explorers navigating uncharted waters, like Christopher Columbus. Yet even these potential observers provide no reports of the butterflies’ whereabouts.

    This absence of acknowledgment underscores their ethereal quality—they are invisible to ordinary perception and evade even those who might be best positioned to notice them. The butterflies symbolize fleeting thoughts or spiritual entities that traverse unseen dimensions, leaving no trace behind.

    The speaker herself admits that she has no concrete knowledge of their final destination. Even as she entertains these butterfly-thoughts within her mind, she acknowledges their elusive nature—they come and go without leaving tangible evidence of their presence. Only through poetic imagination can she capture and display them for others to experience.

    The speaker’s portrayal of these creatures reflects her longing for transcendence and her fascination with life’s mysteries. The poem becomes a devotional musing on impermanence, beauty, and the soul’s journey beyond the material level of existence.

    A Poetic Meditation on Transcendence

    In “Two Butterflies went out at Noon,” Emily Dickinson creates a speaker, who weaves an intricate tapestry of imagery and symbolism to explore themes of impermanence, transcendence, and spiritual insight. 

    The butterflies serve as metaphors for fleeting thoughts or souls—ephemeral entities that arise mysteriously, traverse unseen realms, and vanish without explanation—the nearly perfect description of the flight of thoughts and soul experience.

    Through her vivid descriptions and enigmatic narrative, Dickinson’s speaker invites readers to reflect on life’s mysteries and embrace the beauty of impermanence. The poem exemplifies her ability to transform simple observations into profound musings on existence, showcasing her unique poetic vision.

    Dickinson’s mystical perspective shines brightly in this work, offering readers not only a glimpse into her imaginative world but also an opportunity to contemplate their own journeys through life’s vast and mysterious landscapes.

    A musical rendition  

  • Emily Dickinson’s “I know a place where Summer strives”

    Image: Emily Dickinson - Amherst College - Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 - likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet
    Image: Emily Dickinson – Amherst College – Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 – likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet

    Emily Dickinson’s “I know a place where Summer strives”

    In Emily Dickinson’s “I know a place where Summer strives,” the speaker personifies summer as a woman who struggles to overcome the coldness of late spring.

    Introduction with Text of  “I know a place where Summer strives”

    The poet especially loved summer, and in this fascinating poem, she allows her speaker to convert summer into a gardener who experiences the obstacles that sometimes accompany the difficult birth of the summer season.  

    Sometimes it seems that it takes great effort or striving to overcome the coldness of late spring in New England, where residents may suffer snow and frost before the warmth of summer blossoms into the promised reality.

    The poem offers a unique look at the arrival of the summer season. The speaker’s personification of summer as a woman tending her garden creates a magnificent drama that occurs every late spring.

    Emily Dickinson’s poem, “I know a place where Summer strives,” consists of three stanzas. Each stanza has the rime scheme ABCB.  The poems is #337 in Thomas H. Johnson’s The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson.

    I know a place where Summer strives

    I know a place where Summer strives
    With such a practised Frost –
    She – each year – leads her Daisies back –
    Recording briefly – “Lost” –

    But when the South Wind stirs the Pools
    And struggles in the lanes –
    Her Heart misgives Her, for Her Vow –
    And she pours soft Refrains

    Into the lap of Adamant –
    And spices – and the Dew –
    That stiffens quietly to Quartz –
    Upon her Amber Shoe –

    Commentary on “I know a place where Summer strives”

    In Emily Dickinson’s “I know a place where Summer strives,” the speaker personifies summer as a woman who struggles to overcome the coldness of late spring.

    First Stanza:  Summer Endeavoring to Become

    I know a place where Summer strives
    With such a practised Frost –
    She – each year – leads her Daisies back –
    Recording briefly – “Lost” –

    In the first stanza, the speaker makes the puzzling claim that she knows “a place where Summer strives.” This remark is startling; one does not think of seasons as having the ability or the need to “strive.”   

    Only people are capable of striving. But in this poem, the speaker is, in fact, dramatizing the onset of summer by personifying Summer as a woman; Summer becomes a gardener who is endeavoring to accomplish the arrival of the summer growing season. 

    Unlike those who find the arrival of each season an automatic transition that is hardly noticeable, this speaker dramatically reveals that sometimes the Summer growing season is won by fits and starts. The speaker says that Summer “strives / With such a practised Frost.”   

    Late spring can remain cold in New England, where Dickinson lived all of her life. So it would seem that summer sometimes had a difficult birth, contending with frost and even snow.  But Summer makes a great effort, and her endeavors result in bringing back the flowers, which seemed lost during the winter. 

    Second Stanza:   A Helping Hand

    But when the South Wind stirs the Pools
    And struggles in the lanes –
    Her Heart misgives Her, for Her Vow –
    And she pours soft Refrains

    The speaker then asserts that for all the difficult attempts at arriving, a situation arises that offers a helping hand to Summer in bringing the season to full bloom. The “South Wind stirs the Pools,” and a summer storm blows up. 

    But Summer then still has some doubt about her success, and she has a promise to keep in delivering summer qualities of warmth and fertility so that seeds in the ground may grow into viable plants for food for people and animals.   But then the rains begin, and Summer does absolutely arrive. All her striving has paid off.

    Third Stanza:  A Fierce Attempt

    Into the lap of Adamant –
    And spices – and the Dew –
    That stiffens quietly to Quartz –
    Upon her Amber Shoe –

    Summer “pours soft Refrains // Into the lap of Adamant”; she strives fiercely to arrive. She brings rain to the plants that will flourish during the growing season, which she had promised.  

    The rains will convert the landscape to a glowing green grassy hue that will illuminate the summer’s growing season.   The Summer as a woman will tend her garden, and she will get mud on her shoes.  That mud will become hardened like “Quartz.”  Thus “Sumner” will sport shoes of “Amber.”

    But happily, all her arduous striving will have succeeded: the flowers will gloriously come back.  The frost will have finally departed, and the summer rains will be moistening the thirsty mouths of the plants.  

    Marvelous spices will result from Summer’s loving care of sun and rain.  And even the gardener’s shoes will wear a beautiful “amber” because she has trampled in the mud caring for all the varieties of plants that help fill her larder for winter.

    Dickinson’s “I know a place where Summer strives” rendered in song  

  • Emily Dickinson’s “I cannot dance upon my Toes”

    Image: Emily Dickinson - Amherst College - Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 - likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet
    Image: Emily Dickinson – Amherst College – Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 – likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet

    Emily Dickinson’s “I cannot dance upon my Toes”

    Famously, the poet Emily Dickinson lived a reclusive life.  She protected her privacy.  In her poetry canon, she often crafted little poetic dramas exploring and exposing the great joy her solitude afforded her. This poem is one of those little dramas.

    Introduction with Text of “I cannot dance upon my Toes”

    Emily Dickinson’s “I cannot dance upon my Toes” offers five stanzas, setting forth the poet’s famous slant rimes and non-traditional rhythms. The speaker is celebrating, with special emphasis, her personal experiences of “Glee.”

    She knows that her readers/listeners will readily perceive her comparison to great performances in dance, theater, and opera.  While her speaker does not link her joyous ecstasy to any particular public performances, she experiences great ecstatic bliss which she deems similar to the feelings heralded by such artistic displays.

    I cannot dance upon my Toes

    I cannot dance upon my Toes –
    No Man instructed me –
    But oftentimes, among my mind,
    A Glee possesseth me,

    That had I Ballet knowledge –
    Would put itself abroad
    In Pirouette to blanch a Troupe –
    Or lay a Prima, mad,

    And though I had no Gown of Gauze –
    No Ringlet, to my Hair,
    Nor hopped to Audiences – like Birds,
    One Claw upon the Air,

    Nor tossed my shape in Eider Balls,
    Nor rolled on wheels of snow
    Till I was out of sight, in sound,
    The House encore me so –

    Nor any know I know the Art
    I mention – easy –Here –
    Nor any Placard boast me –
    It’s full as Opera –

    Commentary on “I cannot dance upon my Toes”

    In Emily Dickinson’s “I cannot dance upon my Toes,” the speaker is creating a colorful poetic drama that examines the amazing joy afforded her through her engagement with solitude.

    First Quatrain:  The Joy of Dancing

    I cannot dance upon my Toes –
    No Man instructed me –
    But oftentimes, among my mind,
    A Glee possesseth me,

    The speaker asserts that she does not have the proficiency to dance as a ballerina would, because she has not received the necessary training and lessons that such dancers need to undergo. However, there are times during which she has the ability to experience indescribable joy of her soul.  She suggests that such joy may be similar to that experienced through ballet.

    The ability to dance upon one’s the toes remains a physical prowess, and very few individuals ever have the ability to reach such a lofty achievement.  Because such ability and talent remain so rare, the speaker assumes that those who have the talent to render such performances must then experience “Glee.”

    Second Quatrain:  Skill That Remains Amazing

    That had I Ballet knowledge –
    Would put itself abroad
    In Pirouette to blanch a Troupe –
    Or lay a Prima, mad,

    The speaker then reports that if she ever had the special talent and physical agility to dance upon her toes, she would experience a fantastic level of “Glee.”  The feeling would allow her to beam her talent as does the best of artists in the art of the ballet.

    She is sure that her amazing skill would put the prima ballerina to shame causing that dancer to become maddened.  The entire company of the ballet would become astonished by her amazing skill.

    The speaker’s exaggeration places emphasize upon her belief that her soul qualities alone are responsible for her actual talent, and she wishes to pay homage to the Divine Essence which bestows on her such abilities. 

    Third Quatrain:  No Fancy Outerwear

    And though I had no Gown of Gauze –
    No Ringlet, to my Hair,
    Nor hopped to Audiences –like Birds,
    One Claw upon the Air,

    In the third quatrain, the speaker reveals that she does not own gowns and gauze, as the famously public celebrity would possess.  She also does not have the ability to sport other fancy clothing as theatrical talent may do.  She also cannot have her hair styled into decorous fashion.  No make-up artists ever visit her to ply their wares. She will wear no ringlets in her hair.

    Because the speaker does not engage in the art of the ballet, she does not have the ability to fully comprehend that specialized art form.  She freely admits that she has never engaged and will never experience the feelings that ballet dancers do as they cavort and prance upon the stage “like Birds” with “One Claw upon the Air.”

    The speaker seems to express a modicum of disdain in describing the ballerinas as birds hopping across as stage with their hands in the air resembling the claw of a bird.  That fascinating image elevates the description as it so colorfully fits the event.

    Fourth Quatrain:  Keeping Life Simple

    Nor tossed my shape in Eider Balls,
    Nor rolled on wheels of snow
    Till I was out of sight, in sound,
    The House encore me so –

    The speaker then offers further images that reveal experiences which she has never had and likely never will experience.  For example, she has never “tossed” her body in “Eider Balls.”  Instead of the fancy, intricate costumes which ballerinas and opera singers wear, this speaker dresses herself in simple clothing. 

    She has never finished a performance by dancing out of sight of the audience.  She has never been called back to the stage by a ardent group of fans as they continue to applaud, prompting her to return to give them an enthusiastic “encore.”

    Fifth Quatrain:  Heavenly Rewards

    Nor any know I know the Art
    I mention –easy –Here –
    Nor any Placard boast me –
    It’s full as Opera –

    This speaker is demonstrating that she resides and thrives far outside of the milieu of ballet dancers.  She suspects that no one with whom she is acquainted would even have an inkling that she has ever become aware that such an art exists. 

    Through intuition, this speaker can comprehend that the value of her work and her ultimate worth are equal to –if, in fact, they do not overtake in value –that of the performances that have received so many accolades of praise.  

    She is convinced that her accolades remain on a mystical level of being.  Therefore, she can dance upon her toes –if only metaphorically and mystically –through her God-given talents reserved especially for her.

    Through this speaker, the poet has paid tribute to her poetic talent and even, at least in her own mind, has elevated her own talent.  In effect, she is averring that she is quite content to be unknown poet.  

    Even having the ability to be a celebrated prima ballerina cannot complete with the joy she experiences through her poetry creation.  Her garden of verse offers her her own stage for performance that makes it possible for her to live a complete life.

  • Emily Dickinson’s “I’ll tell you how the Sun rose”

    Image: Emily Dickinson - Amherst College - Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 - likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet
    Image: Emily Dickinson – Amherst College – Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 – likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet

    Emily Dickinson’s “I’ll tell you how the Sun rose”

    The speaker in Dickinson’s poem “I’ll tell you how the Sun rose” is dramatizing what she knows about the sunrise but then hazards only a dramatic guess about sunset. Her choice for the target of her knowledge transforms the simple of act sunrise into a symbol.

    Introduction with Text of “I’ll tell you how the Sun rose”

    Emily Dickinson’s poem “I’ll tell you how the Sun rose” consists of sixteen lines, featuring her signature slant rimes and a generous sprinkling of dashes. The poem is written as one piece without divisions by stanzas but sections itself topically into four movements.

    The first two movements describe how the sun came up on the particular morning of the speaker’s choosing, while in the second two movements, the speaker is simply dramatizing her suggestion for why she cannot explain how the sun set.

    I’ll tell you how the Sun rose

    I’ll tell you how the Sun rose –
    A Ribbon at a time –
    The Steeples swam in Amethyst –
    The news, like Squirrels, ran –
    The Hills untied their Bonnets –
    The Bobolinks – begun –
    Then I said softly to myself –
    “That must have been the Sun”!
    But how he set – I know not –
    There seemed a purple stile
    That little Yellow boys and girls
    Were climbing all the while –
    Till when they reached the other side,
    A Dominie in Gray –
    Put gently up the evening Bars –
    And led the flock away –

    Commentary on “I’ll tell you how the Sun rose”

    Emily Dickinson’s “I’ll tell you how the Sun rose” is dramatizing what the speaker knows about the sunrise but then hazards only a dramatic guess about sunset.  Interestingly, she is suggesting that she can observe the sunrise but not the sunset.

    First Movement:   Explaining the Unexplainable 

    I’ll tell you how the Sun rose –
    A Ribbon at a time –
    The Steeples swam in Amethyst –
    The news, like Squirrels, ran –

    The speaker announces that she will be explaining to her listeners, “how the Sun rose.”  She then through the employment of metaphor likens the sun’s rays to ribbons that are released a single ribbon at a time.  The colorful sun ribbons of rays are leisurely released, and they hover the ocean to a place where the steeples of churches appear to “sw[i]m in Amethyst.” 

    The sun’s fire then looms upon the blackness, immediately reverting to blue as it takes on a brightness, fully glowing because of the light that the sun has released.   The luminescence of the sun spreads with great haste; thus the speaker compares its speed to the scampering of squirrels, as she calls the event “news.”

    Second Movement:  The Ordinary Made Extraordinary

    The Hills untied their Bonnets –
    The Bobolinks – begun –
    Then I said softly to myself –
    “That must have been the Sun”!

    The speaker now asserts that the hills removed their “Bonnets,” and the birds knowns as “Bobolinks” commenced their singing.  The metaphoric personification of hills with bonnets suggests that all of nature is coming alive again, and the speaker knows this because she sees many colors that may be detected in the faraway hills.  Birds have awakened, and they have begun their many layered chirping.

    The speaker’s reaction is such that it would make it seem she is seeing this event for the first time.  She muses and quotes herself breathlessly, for example, as she exclaims,”‘That must have been the Sun’!”  The speaker is creating her little drama using ordinary items from her environment which she makes extraordinary in her reporting.

    Third Movement:  A Forceful Drama

    But how he set – I know not –
    There seemed a purple stile
    That little Yellow boys and girls
    Were climbing all the while –

    The speaker then envisions her situation to be nearer to sunrise than to sunset.  This idea, of course, is merely fictional, but it offers her the ability to create her drama of how the sun rises.  She knows she cannot explain scientifically such an event, but she can forcefully and dramatically imagine it.

    So in order to explain sunset, she imagines she can see a set of steps that appear purple in color from a distance.  Little Chinese children are climbing on those steps.   Those children are likely just going home from a day of school or tending sheep.

    Fourth Movement:  The Cover of Darkness

    Till when they reached the other side,
    A Dominie in Gray –
    Put gently up the evening Bars –
    And led the flock away –

    The children have climbed to the other side of the stile, an event that signals the sun’s lowest point just as it then vanishes from sight.  A shepherd or perhaps even a churchman secures the gate then leads the flock of sheep or perhaps children away from that area.

    Because darkness is now hovering thick, the speaker cannot offer any images for what may be happening next.  The speaker’s lack of knowledge about sunset is reflected in her word choices which are much less certain than her drama about how the sun rises.  By suggesting that she can tell you all about how the sun rose but not so much about how it set implies the speaker prefers sunrise to sunset.

    The Symbolism of Sunrise

    In Emily Dickinson’s “I’ll tell you how the Sun rose,” sunrise becomes symbolic of life-enhancing positivity: the beginning of the day offers opportunities for living and creating.  Sunset, on the other hand, simply offers the opportunity for sleep.

    The curious active mind is always hankering for more positive opportunities for acting out its desires, for securing a stage for creativity, and for living its need for motion.  That stage is daylight, after the sun rises and throws its life-giving rays upon land and its inhabitants.  

  • Emily Dickinson’s “There’s a certain Slant of light”

    Image: Emily Dickinson - Amherst College - Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 - likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet
    Image: Emily Dickinson – Amherst College – Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 – likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet

    Emily Dickinson’s “There’s a certain Slant of light”

    Dickinson closely observed and investigated her surroundings; she also keenly examined her own feelings then dramatized those feelings in poems.  In “There’s a certain Slant of light,” her speaker is infusing melancholy into her perception of light streaming through a window on a winter afternoon.

    Introduction with Text of “There’s a certain Slant of light”

    Emily Dickinson developed the habit of closely observing as she investigated her surroundings.  The poet then keenly examined and mused upon her own feelings, finally dramatizing those feelings in poems.

    The poet created this speaker in “There’s a certain Slant of light” to reveal a mood of slight melancholy as she muses on a shaft of light streaming in through her window on a winter afternoon.  

    That streaming light through the window seems to tip and tilt, that is, “slant,” in a way that causes the speaker to undergo that sense of melancholy, which is no ordinary gloom but brings with it a spiritual aspect. 

    The speaker creates a little drama based on her intense feeling of spiritual intuition which has been motivated by a simple “Slant of light” streaming in through the window on a cold, winter afternoon.

    There’s a certain Slant of light

    There’s a certain Slant of light,
    Winter Afternoons –
    That oppresses, like the Heft
    Of Cathedral Tunes –

    Heavenly Hurt, it gives us –
    We can find no scar,
    But internal difference,
    Where the Meanings, are –

    None may teach it – Any –
    ‘Tis the Seal Despair –
    An imperial affliction
    Sent us of the air –

    When it comes, the Landscape listens –
    Shadows – hold their breath –
    When it goes, ’tis like the Distance
    On the look of Death –

    Reading of “There’s a certain Slant of light” 

    Commentary on “There’s a certain Slant of light”

    A simple viewing of a shaft of light streaming into the room on a winter day engenders in this speaker a melancholy prompting this little drama.  The spiritual experience thus is rendered in paradox—the ultimate literary device for communicating the ineffable.

    First Stanza:  The Oppression of Tilting Light

    There’s a certain Slant of light,
    Winter Afternoons –
    That oppresses, like the Heft
    Of Cathedral Tunes –

    The speaker begins the drama by asserting that on certain winter afternoons the light shining in through her window comes in at a “certain Slant” and that tilting light “oppresses” her in the way the heavy tones of sacred chants might do. Although light is weightless, to the speaker in this particular mood, it seems heavy enough to oppress her into melancholy.

    A paradox results from the speaker finding the “light” to be as heavy as church music.  Music experienced in church is meant to uplift, not weigh one down.  If something that is meant to uplift does the opposite, then one has to explore the reasons for such oppression.  Why would music that ordinarily produces a spiritual upliftment become an instrument of oppression—that is, something that is heavy?

    Second Stanza:  The Human Craving for Meaning

    Heavenly Hurt, it gives us –
    We can find no scar,
    But internal difference,
    Where the Meanings, are –

    The deeply inspiring sound of “Cathedral Tunes” brings the speaker to a place of “Heavenly Hurt.”  Again, she paradoxically describes her experience:  Heaven is a spiritual place where there is no hurt, no pain, no distress, no oppression—only bliss. 

    The speaker confirms as much as she avers that this “hurt” never results in a “scar.”  And it also leaves no physical mark such as scar because this melancholy is inside of the speaker; it is her soul that has engaged with this music, this light, that has caused this spiritual experience.

    The speaker employs the term, “Meaning”—all human beings on all levels of awareness crave meaning in their lives, and the speaker has become aware of the meaning of an inner life that is more important than the corporeal.  True meaning come from the soul not from the body that changes and dies, nor from the mind that knows nothing but change.

    Third Stanza:  Soul Meaning

    None may teach it – Any –
    ‘Tis the Seal Despair –
    An imperial affliction
    Sent us of the air –

    The speaker then affirms that one cannot be taught this kind of soul meaning. The mystical state of the desire for meaning comes on one unbidden, as casually as taking a breath. “Despair” of the material world often leads one to ask the question, is this all there is to life?

    But the individual becomes a seeker after she begins to entertain such questions.  Divine cravings may be prompted by any outward experience such as light tilting in through a window, but those cravings for spiritual reality can be satisfied only through soul-union, which is Divine Awareness.  The melancholy of spiritual desire is a first step to that Ultimate Awareness.

    Fourth Stanza:  The Nature of Reality

    When it comes, the Landscape listens –
    Shadows – hold their breath –
    When it goes, ’tis like the Distance
    On the look of Death – 

    After the strong spiritual desire for meaning, that is, comprehending the nature of Reality approaches the sensibility of the individual, that individual wished to cease the flux of all phenomena in order to listen—”be still and know that I am God” (KJV, Psalm 46:10).

    This speaker creates her drama by asserting that “Shadows  – hold their breath.”  Shadows holding their breath suggests a depth of quietness that is nearly unfathomable.  A miraculous awareness engulfs the speaker.

    The speaker has discovered that this “heavenly hurt,” this spiritual melancholy, transforms itself into the light of understanding.  Death loses its grip and meaning after such a level of awareness is achieved, no longer grasping the heart and mind of the individual.  

    After death has become merely a distant force, the spiritual aspirant sees more clearly all other forces that operate in her sphere.  The speaker has thus reached that inner Goal.  Death is beaten and given its place to Awareness. 

    The Science and Symbolism of Light

    That a simple “Slant of light” should engender a deep mystic state of awareness in this speaker is quite apt.  Regarding the nature of light, in his spiritual classic, Autobiography of a Yogi [1], Paramahansa Yogananda has explained that the material universe is composed of light.  Many modern discoveries have revealed to humanity that the cosmos is composed of various expressions of one power—light—guided by Divine Intelligence.

    Paramahansa Yogananda has also explained that only differing rates of vibration account for the differing forms that exist throughout the cosmos:

    Modern science has shown that everything in the universe is composed of energy (light), and that the apparent differentiation between solids, liquids, gases, sound, and light is merely a difference in their vibratory rates.

    Also in his autobiography, Paramahansa Yogananda has explained in detail the nature of light, comparing it to other “waves”:

    Among the trillion mysteries of the cosmos, the most phenomenal is light. Unlike sound waves, whose transmission requires air or other material media, light waves pass freely through the vacuum of interstellar space. Even the hypothetical ether, held as the interplanetary medium of light in the undulatory theory, may be discarded on the Einsteinian grounds that the geometrical properties of space render unnecessary a theory of ether. Under either hypothesis, light remains the most subtle, the freest from material dependence, of any natural manifestation.

    The individual who has achieved the realization that “the essence of creation is light” is thus capable of operating the law of miracles.  The term miracle simply applies to any phenomenon whose operation science [2] has yet to discover.  

    What the soul knows through intuition will always be running miles and years ahead of what physical science [3] knows because physical science can explore and examine only the created cosmos not the Creator of that cosmos.  The soul, however, being a spark of the Creator, knows all that the Creator knows—either in fact or in potential.

    Emily Dickinson’s employment of light in this poem thus results from her deep intuitive awareness that light is the building substance of the cosmos.  Therefore, “light” becomes a symbol for that intuition that would continue to guide the poet as she continued to create her  mystical, metaphysical, metaphorical “garden” of poetry.

    Sources

    [1]  Paramahansa Yogananda.  Autobiography of a Yogi.  Self-Realization Fellowship.  Accessed June 3, 2026.
    [2]  Ard Louis.  “Miracles and Science: The Long Shadow of David Hume.”  The BioLogos Foundation.  March 12, 2018.
    [3]  Lisa Zyga.  “Quantum Mysticism: Gone but Not Forgotten.” Phys.org.  June 8, 2009.

  • Emily Dickinson’s “I heard a Fly buzz – when I died”

    Image: Emily Dickinson - Amherst College - Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 - likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet
    Image: Emily Dickinson – Amherst College – Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 – likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet

    Emily Dickinson’s “I heard a Fly buzz – when I died”

    Emily Dickinson’s “I heard a Fly buzz – when I died” dramatizes the speaker’s act of dying, as well as Dickinson’s mystical vision, which corresponds to yogic philosophical and religious teachings.

    Introduction and Text of “I heard a Fly buzz – when I died”

    Emily Dickinson’s “I heard a Fly buzz – when I died” consists of four rimed quatrains with the rime scheme ABCB. Most of the rimes are slant rimes: Room-Storm, firm-room, be-fly. Sprinkled liberally with her signature dashes, the poem displays an appropriate breathless quality. 

    I heard a Fly buzz – when I died

    I heard a Fly buzz – when I died –
    The Stillness in the Room
    Was like the Stillness in the Air –
    Between the Heaves of Storm –

    The Eyes around – had wrung them dry –
    And Breaths were gathering firm
    For that last Onset – when the King
    Be witnessed – in the Room –

    I willed my Keepsakes – Signed away
    What portion of me be
    Assignable – and then it was
    There interposed a Fly –

    With Blue – uncertain stumbling Buzz –
    Between the light – and me –
    And then the Windows failed – and then
    I could not see to see –

    Commentary on  “I heard a Fly buzz – when I died “

    Emily Dickinson’s “I heard a Fly buzz – when I died” dramatizes the speaker’s act of dying.  Even though it is unlikely that the poet had studied any Eastern philosophy as Ralph Waldo Emerson had done, her mystical vision corresponds nearly perfectly to Eastern yogic philosophical and religious teachings.

    First Stanza:  Breathlessness upon Dying

    I heard a Fly buzz – when I died –
    The Stillness in the Room
    Was like the Stillness in the Air –
    Between the Heaves of Storm –

    In the first stanza, the speaker makes the odd assertion that as she was dying, she heard the sound of a fly.   The first instance of the breathlessness of the poem occurs immediately following the announcement, “I heard a Fly buzz.” Such a mundane statement if left unmodified! But the speaker then adds a real shocker, “when I died.” 

    Nothing could be more startling, nothing could be more Dickinsonian. The room at the time of her passing professed an eerie stillness, reminding the speaker of the quiet that settles briefly between the turbulences of a storm. The mention of the fly then hangs without further discussion until the last line of the third stanza. 

    Second Stanza:  Mourning the Passing

    The Eyes around – had wrung them dry –
    And Breaths were gathering firm
    For that last Onset – when the King
    Be witnessed – in the Room –

    The speaker then depicts the people who are beginning their mourning of her passing: her loved ones had cried until they could not cry any longer.   The mourners seemed to hold their breath, waiting for that moment when the soul of the loved one makes its final departure from the body: such a momentous occasion herald’s the Divine Belovèd emissary to be in attendance. 

    The King refers to God’s angel, who will appear to escort the soul from the physical to the astral plane. While the escaping soul will be cognizant of the angel, most of the mourners probably will not be, but they will intuit the presence or “that last Onset,” which prompts the breath to tighten.

    Third Stanza:  Last Will and Testament

    I willed my Keepsakes – Signed away
    What portion of me be
    Assignable – and then it was
    There interposed a Fly –

    The speaker asserts that she has completed her last will and testament, designating which “Keepsakes” should go and to whom; she has assigned to others everything that can be assigned.  Some time has obviously passed between making the will and the moment presently dramatized. 

    The immediate shift from something she must have accomplished earlier suggests the conflating power of the dying process, something like the old expression that one’s life passes before one’s sight at death. And then the “Fly” makes it appearance: “There interposed a Fly.” But she begins a new stanza to portray the importance of the “Fly.” 

    Fourth Stanza:  No Ordinary House Fly

    With Blue – uncertain stumbling Buzz –
    Between the light – and me –
    And then the Windows failed – and then
    I could not see to see –

    The significant final stanza reveals that the fly is not a literal household fly but is a metaphor for the sound of the soul leaving the body. The line “With Blue – uncertain stumbling Buzz” has taken the place of the term “fly.” 

    In nature, flies appear to be black not blue.  However, as the human soul is existing its physical encasement, it experiences the blue that makes up part of the spiritual eye with its outer golden circle which rims the blue inside of which is a pentagonal white star.  The soul must travel through this eye, often referred to as a tunnel by those who have experienced near-death episodes and returned to describe their experience.

    The sound of a bumble bee or “fly,” which is a buzzing sound, is emanated by the coccygeal chakra in the spine.  As the soul journeys up the spine, it begins at the buzz chakra.  In very advanced yogis, the “buzz” sound might be described as the “om” sound.

    With the “Buzz” sound emanating from the departing soul beginning its journey from the coccygeal center, the physical eyesight begins to fail–”then the Windows failed / and then / I could not see to see.”   The speaker’s unusual claim “I could not see to see” underscores the fact that her light of vision is fading, and the final dash represents its total departure. 

    Evidence of Mystical Ability

    Although it is highly unlikely that Emily Dickinson had studied any yogic philosophy or techniques, her accurate descriptions of the process of death as well as her descriptions of experiences after death provide evidence that the poet possessed advanced mystical insight.

  • Emily Dickinson’s “Color – Caste – Denomination”

    Image: Emily Dickinson - Amherst College - Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 - likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet
    Image: Emily Dickinson – Amherst College – Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 – likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet

    Emily Dickinson’s “Color – Caste – Denomination”

    Emily Dickinson’s speaker in “Color – Caste – Denomination” is demonstrating a profound truth about the flaws in human classifications that still today lead to ill-will and even violence toward members of different racial, social class, and religion groups.

    Human Classifications:  Two Views

    Emily Dickinson’s “Color – Caste – Denomination” and Arna Bontemps’ “God Give to Men” take as their theme the issue of the classifications that humanity has through the centuries imposed upon itself.  

    While there are many ways that human beings identity themselves, three common ones are race, class (social status), and religion; thus, Dickinson has labeled the classes “color” (race), “caste” (class, social status), and “denomination” (religion).

    Arna Bontemps in his race conscious piece “God Give to Men” has concentrated primarily on the classification of color (race).  He refers to the skin color for two of the classes—”yellow” and “black”—but then uses the eye color “blue” for the third class.  The poets Emily Dickinson and Arna Bontemps have handled the issue of human classification in two quite disparate ways:  

    (1) Dickinson’s drama serves to unite all human classes, as her speaker insists that each human being is a soul without any of the outward classifications with which humanity has burdened itself.

    (2) Bontemps’ speaker remains squarely focused on the issues that he finds repugnant or venal in each color class, not his own.  As his speaker asks God to give certain gifts to men, he reveals his animosity toward two of his designated classes.  The third class receives rather short shrift in an ironic attempt at humility.

    Dickinson’s ultimate truth is based on the individuality of each human being, while Bontemps relies heavily on racial stereotypes [1], which  serve only to divide, not unify, for not all members of any so-called classification represent the concocted stereotype that attempts to define and describe that classification.

    Text of Emily Dickinson’s “Color – Caste – Denomination”

    The speaker in Emily Dickinson’s “Color – Caste – Denomination” demonstrates a profound understanding regarding the futility of human classifications [2]  based on race, class, religion, and sex.

    The theme of the Dickinson poem is likely influenced by Galatians 3: 28: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” [3].

    Color – Caste – Denomination

    Color – Caste – Denomination –
    These – are Time’s Affair –
    Death’s diviner Classifying
    Does not know they are –

    As in sleep – all Hue forgotten –
    Tenets – put behind –
    Death’s large – Democratic fingers
    Rub away the Brand –

    If Circassian – He is careless –
    If He put away
    Chrysalis of Blonde – or Umber –
    Equal Butterfly –

    They emerge from His Obscuring –
    What Death – knows so well –
    Our minuter intuitions –
    Deem unplausible –

    To view Emily Dickinson’s hand-written copy of this poem, please visit the Emily Dickinson Archive.

    Commentary on Dickinson’s “Color – Caste – Denomination”

    The speaker in Emily Dickinson’s “Color – Caste – Denomination” is demonstrating the futility of humanity’s self-classification that is still today widely and tragically misconstrued and continues to lead to unfortunate struggles and misunderstandings among the peoples of the world.

    First Stanza:  The Delusion of Classification

    Color – Caste – Denomination –
    These – are Time’s Affair –
    Death’s diviner Classifying
    Does not know they are –

    The perspicacious speaker begins with an audacious claim: the human soul possesses no ordinary identities associated with race, class (social status), or religion.  By extension, one would realize that if those common classes are null, so is the classification by sex and/or sexual orientation.

    This speaker perceives that those classifications are merely delusional imaginings, resulting from the mayic realm [4] of the operative pairs of opposites which have their being under time’s sway:  “These – are Time’s Affair.” 

    The fact that these classifications vanish after death demonstrates that they are merely delusive tools, useful only, if useful at all, to the material level of existence.  The soul is “Death’s diviner Classifying,” and Death cannot classify the living.  When Death attempts to classify the soul, it finds that the soul’s purity lacks those limiting qualities that humanity assigns itself.

    Second Stanza:   A Dreamer’s Awareness

    As in sleep – all Hue forgotten –
    Tenets – put behind –
    Death’s large – Democratic fingers
    Rub away the Brand –

    The speaker, desiring to further clarify her claim, then compares “death” to “sleep”—in sleep, the human being forgets his/her race, class, religion, and sex.  These “tenets” are abandoned, and the sleeper, if she dreams, may dream herself a different race, class, religion, or sex, but as long as she dreams those classes will seem to be reality.

    Sleep, like Death, has “large – Democratic fingers” which are capable of erasing the marks of human classifications that circumscribe the individual in ordinary, waking consciousness. The dreamer understands her images and relates to them exactly as she does while awake. 

    Third Stanza:   The Unclassifiable Soul

    If Circassian – He is careless –
    If He put away
    Chrysalis of Blonde – or Umber –
    Equal Butterfly –

    The Circassians [5] comprised a civilization in Diaspora, routed by the Russians and then by the Ottoman Empire. Their classifications would be tenuous at best; thus, their ability to classify themselves would be quite difficult, as many other civilizations have experienced.  Peoples who live in contiguity to conquering peoples have found it difficult to maintain a unified identity; such has also been the lot of the Jewish people [6]. 

    But even the “Circassian” who attempts to identity her classification would find that like a butterfly, whether it be “Blonde – or Umber,” she would still remain “Equal Butterfly.” The speaker is suggesting that the usefulness of names on the material plane can never taint the soul. The soul remains perfectly unclassifiable by mayic limitations. 

    This speaker finds solace in this awareness as do most objective, fair-minded thinkers,  but in 21st century America, those who are financially and emotionally invested in the victimhood concocted through identity politics [7] find such an idea abhorrent, as it leaves them without a favorite issue to exploit for political gain [8].

    Fourth Stanza:  Delusive Limitations of Race, Class, Religion, and Gender

    They emerge from His Obscuring –
    What Death – knows so well –
    Our minuter intuitions –
    Deem unplausible –

    The speaker ultimately is averring through suggestion that each human soul is not “obscured” by any attempt to classify it by the delusive limitations of race, class, religion, or sex.   Death knows this, the speaker again emphasizes. Even the tiniest inference that the human mind makes regarding that futile act of classifying will remain “unplausible.”

    Sources

    [1] Saul Mcleod, PhD.  “Stereotypes In Psychology: Definition & Examples.”  SimplyPsychology.  Updated onJune 16, 2023

    [2] Elizabeth Kolbert. “There’s No Scientific Basis for Race—It’s a Made-Up Label.” National Geographic. The Race Issue.

    [3]  King James Version:   Galatians 3: 28.

    [4]  Paramahansa Yogananda.  “Theory of Maya.”  The Royal Path of Kriya Yoga.  Accessed August 18, 2023.

    [5]   Kipyego Isaac Kipruto.  “Who Are the Circassian People?”  World Atlas.  Accessed May 31, 2026.

    [6] Editors.  “Ancient Jewish History: The Diaspora.” Jewish Virtual Library.  Accessed May 31, 2026.

    [7] David Azerrad, Ph.D.”The Promises and Perils of Identity Politics.” The Heritage Foundation.  January 23, 2019.

    [8] Walter Benn Michaels, Charles W. Mills, Linda Hirshman and Carla Murphy.  “What Is the Left Without Identity Politics?” The Nation.  December 16, 2016.