Summary/Introduction
In my opinion, this poem is one of the most abstract out of all of Dickinson’s poems on the HSC syllabus. This means that you might be able to come up with some creative links to belonging, however be careful that you explain your position carefully with reference to the text.
The persona and another person have died and have been placed in adjoining rooms of a tomb. The persona died ‘for beauty’ and the other person died ‘for truth.’ Both talk with each other through the separating wall until the ‘moss had reached our lips’ and covered their names.
To me, the poem evokes ideas of belonging to self. In particular, dying for beauty means living a life which is true to one’s self and hence the statement ‘And I for truth, - the two are one.' The poem also conjures the idea of belonging to nature of which we are all constituent parts. Our belonging to others and ourselves pales in comparison to our belonging to nature will ultimately envelope us all.
Stanza 1
o The persona ‘died for beauty’ – which means the persona sacrificed themselves to support beauty or in trying to achieve it.
o Enjambment (the running over of a sentence from one line of verse into the next) between the first and second line makes the word ‘scarce’ a pun. The persona was ‘scarce adjusted’ meaning ‘just now adjusted.’ The persona was also scarce, as in rare, in that that it was unusual that someone should die for beauty. That is, the composer is indicating how rare it is to find someone who belongs to themselves. In other words, it is rare to find one who is willing to live in accordance with their ideals and principles.
o The motif of death is established through the repetition of ‘died’ and the word ‘tomb.’ This intermingles the ideas of death (truth?) and beauty.
o The fact that the other person is laid in an ‘adjoining room’ suggests that the persona does not feel a true sense of belonging to others, even in death; there is space separating them, and no direct connection. It is significant that the persona refers to the other person throughout the first two stanzas by using impersonal pronouns such as ‘one’ and ‘he’ thereby further underscoring the lack of connection between the two.
Stanza 2
o The use of the adverb ‘softly’ in ‘questioned softly’ suggests that there is some level of intimacy and connection between the two. This is further illustrated in the paradox that ‘the two are one’ and the collective noun ‘brethren’ furthers this idea.
o The characters are metaphors for the idea of truth and beauty and their intermingling suggests that death and life i.e. truth and beauty, are inextricably linked. That is, the two concepts are symbiotic and an understanding of death is a perquisite to a true understanding of beauty and vice versa. In other words, the idea of death makes us appreciate the beauty in life even more.
o Pun in the question ‘why I failed?’ Failed means died as in expired, but it also means not having achieved a goal. Has the persona chosen belonging to self over material success and even happiness? That is, the pun suggests that belonging to self involves choosing personal integrity (beauty) rather than worldly success.
Stanza 3
o ‘Kinsmen,’ shows the close connection between beauty and truth. This is furthered by the shift in focus from the personal pronoun ‘I’ in previous stanzas to the collective pronouns ‘our’ and ‘we.’
o If we say that beauty represents belonging to ourselves then we can also say that truth is essential to belonging to ourselves. In other words, we must be honest with who we are if we are to have a strong sense of personal identity and connection with self.
o Despite truth and beauty being one, belonging in some absolute sense may be unattainable; ‘they talked between the rooms’ i.e. they remained somewhat separate and not together. This may be linked to the idea that any belonging we feel is ultimately short lived (see the next point).
o The moss covers the names of the characters suggesting that any belonging to ourselves is only temporary (or ephemeral) and that ultimately the only permanent belonging is to nature from which we all stem and which ultimately reclaims us in our deaths.
o 'Our lips' - which enable us to connect, via communication, to others - along with our names and identities, representing our sense of belonging to self, may thus be seen as transient. The paradox is that even belonging to nature is not eternal because after a period of time there is no ‘us’ to belong to anything!
Links to belonging
1. Belonging to Ourselves. Truth and honesty with who we are and what we stand for is essential if we are to ‘die for beauty’ i.e. live a life of integrity and internal belonging. However, this sort of belonging may be rare or ‘scarce’ and furthermore it might be considered to be less significant if we take the long term perspective of nature.
2. Belonging to Nature. The poem is riddled with ideas of death and its ultimate and enduring power. It’s significant that it is the natural moss which covers the lips and names of the characters. We all belong to nature which claims us equally; regardless of how noble our lives have/have not been.
Exercises
a) Group the techniques discussed above (and any others you can think of) under the headings of ‘Belonging to Society’ ‘or ‘Belonging to Nature’. E.g. the ‘personification of nature’ technique would go under the ‘Belonging to Nature’ heading.
b) Using these lists, practice writing a paragraph that links the techniques to insights about belonging.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
This is My Letter to the World - Emily Dickinson
Summary/Introduction
The persona claims to be writing to the world i.e. to society at large. This world is depicted as passive and not willing to contact her; suggesting it has shunned her and that she doesn’t truly belong to it.
Stanza 1
o The ‘letter to the world’ is a metaphor for the persona’s attempt to reach out and find a sense of community and belonging in the world.
o The use of the absolute term ‘never’ in ‘That never wrote to me’ highlights the extent of the persona’s alienation as there is no reciprocity at all in the relationship (between the persona and the world). Nonetheless, the persona reaches out to a dismissive world suggesting that belonging is a deep need for us.
o The persona has a connection and sense of belonging to nature as shown by the use of the noun ‘majesty.’ Firstly, majesty is a term of respect and reverence. Secondly, the word majesty has connotations of a kingdom to which everyone, the persona and the people of the world alike, belong.
o The personification of Nature in line 3 shows the close connection the persona has with it which is further underscored by the adjective ‘tender’ in line 4. The persona, not finding a sense of belonging in society, may nonetheless have found belonging in nature.
Stanza 2
o Extends upon persona’s isolation – she ‘cannot see’ the receiver of the message,
o Continued personification of nature and the repetition of the more casual pronoun ‘her’ shows the persona’s close connection with nature. Everyone, including the persona, is connected through nature which is part of our common humanity.
o The adjective ‘sweet’ used to describe the persona’s countrymen suggests that she does not judge them too harshly. Or, does it suggest that she is attempting to flatter them so as to gain their acceptance?
o Imperative in the last sentence ‘Judge tenderly of me!’ shows the persona’s desire to belong. The exclamation point emphasises the persona’s almost urgent need for belonging.
o Personification of nature again in third line as a female which may connote nurturing – in which the persona may have found a sense of belonging.
Links to Belonging
1. Belonging to society
o Persona does not feel a direct connection with the world. Nonetheless, the persona does feel the need to belong to the world and it seems this need is quite strong. The persona appeals to common humanity for acceptance.
2. Belonging to nature
o The persona, although rejected by the world, has discovered a sense of belonging in nature. Nature is nurturing and accepting to the persona and is also the common denominator between the persona and the world at large.
Exercises
a) Group the techniques discussed above (and any others you can think of) under the headings of ‘Belonging to Society’ ‘or ‘Belonging to Nature’. E.g. the ‘personification of nature’ technique would go under the ‘Belonging to Nature’ heading.
b) Using these lists, practice writing a paragraph that links the techniques to insights about belonging.
The persona claims to be writing to the world i.e. to society at large. This world is depicted as passive and not willing to contact her; suggesting it has shunned her and that she doesn’t truly belong to it.
Stanza 1
o The ‘letter to the world’ is a metaphor for the persona’s attempt to reach out and find a sense of community and belonging in the world.
o The use of the absolute term ‘never’ in ‘That never wrote to me’ highlights the extent of the persona’s alienation as there is no reciprocity at all in the relationship (between the persona and the world). Nonetheless, the persona reaches out to a dismissive world suggesting that belonging is a deep need for us.
o The persona has a connection and sense of belonging to nature as shown by the use of the noun ‘majesty.’ Firstly, majesty is a term of respect and reverence. Secondly, the word majesty has connotations of a kingdom to which everyone, the persona and the people of the world alike, belong.
o The personification of Nature in line 3 shows the close connection the persona has with it which is further underscored by the adjective ‘tender’ in line 4. The persona, not finding a sense of belonging in society, may nonetheless have found belonging in nature.
Stanza 2
o Extends upon persona’s isolation – she ‘cannot see’ the receiver of the message,
o Continued personification of nature and the repetition of the more casual pronoun ‘her’ shows the persona’s close connection with nature. Everyone, including the persona, is connected through nature which is part of our common humanity.
o The adjective ‘sweet’ used to describe the persona’s countrymen suggests that she does not judge them too harshly. Or, does it suggest that she is attempting to flatter them so as to gain their acceptance?
o Imperative in the last sentence ‘Judge tenderly of me!’ shows the persona’s desire to belong. The exclamation point emphasises the persona’s almost urgent need for belonging.
o Personification of nature again in third line as a female which may connote nurturing – in which the persona may have found a sense of belonging.
Links to Belonging
1. Belonging to society
o Persona does not feel a direct connection with the world. Nonetheless, the persona does feel the need to belong to the world and it seems this need is quite strong. The persona appeals to common humanity for acceptance.
2. Belonging to nature
o The persona, although rejected by the world, has discovered a sense of belonging in nature. Nature is nurturing and accepting to the persona and is also the common denominator between the persona and the world at large.
Exercises
a) Group the techniques discussed above (and any others you can think of) under the headings of ‘Belonging to Society’ ‘or ‘Belonging to Nature’. E.g. the ‘personification of nature’ technique would go under the ‘Belonging to Nature’ heading.
b) Using these lists, practice writing a paragraph that links the techniques to insights about belonging.
Belonging Essay - Dickinson and Miethke
OK guys, here's a draft of a belonging essay (using two texts) I recently wrote. Hopefully, it will give some of you some ideas. Remember that this module is essentially about showing the marker 1) Your understanding of what the texts say about belonging 2) The way (i.e. the techniques used) to convey the ideas in 1. See if you can see this pattern coming out in the body paragraphs below. Good luck! :)
Whilst belonging is essential to our happiness and wellbeing there are many forces that can undermine our sense of belonging. Firstly, in the poem ‘The Sweetest Noise,’ Emily Dickinson describes the way that death can fracture the belonging we find in relationships. Secondly, in the short story ‘Sticks and Stones,’ Anne Miethke comments on the way not belonging to our peers can undermine our sense of belonging to ourselves leading to many inimical effects. In both texts, belonging is shown to be both important and yet fragile and susceptible to natural and human forces.
The Sweetest Noise shows how we all belong to the natural world and are collectively susceptible to the cycles of death and rebirth. Dickinson describes the sound of birds in the evening and how, although sweet sounding, they remind her of people she has lost in her life. Using the extended metaphor of ‘magic’ and ‘sorcery,’ Dickinson shows how the alienating process of death is, like magic, somewhat inexplicable and inscrutable. The persona repeats the collective pronouns ‘us’ and ‘we’ six times in the poem which emphasises that this experience is a collective one for us all, as we all belong to nature. The allusion to the deadly ‘siren throats’ and the emotive word ‘deplore,’ shows how painful the alienating force of death can be and the double entendre of the word ‘dear’ in the third stanza underscores firstly, the value of the people that we may lose to death and secondly, the way the full effect of death’s severance of belonging is only appreciated once the people have left us. The emotive adjective ‘cruelly’ emphasises the loss of belonging.
Dickinson’s extended metaphor of seasons throughout the poem: ‘summer,’ ‘spring’ and the ‘March and April line’ is apt to describe the way in which loss of belonging is, like the cycle of the seasons, inevitable. The last stanza shows that belonging is a double-sided coin in that we may find joy and happiness in the relationships we form with others, but we may also feel great pain and loss once those connections are severed. In the final line, Dickinson uses the metaphor of the ear and the heart to express her wish that she could appreciate the beauty of nature without being painfully reminded of the way it can inexplicably destroy our belonging to the people we love.
It isn’t only nature that can destroy our sense of belonging. In Sticks and Stones, Ann Miethke tells the story of a young girl Nola who is alienated from her peers as they constantly tease her about her weight. The use of onomatopoeia ‘tick tick’ shows the way in which Nola’s sense of belonging is eroded over time. The alliteration of ‘cruelly cutting’ emphasises the effect that the social ostracism is having on Nola – a physical effect on Nola’s personal well-being. The imagery of the ‘twisting agonising knife’ extends the cutting metaphor and underscores the harmful effects of Nola’s exclusion. Miethke says that Nola becomes a ‘melted pat of butter’ showing that not belonging to her peers has led to her having no internal sense of identity and structure. That is, the external alienation from her peers has led to Nola’s internal alienation from herself.
The structure of the story oscillates between external accounts of the children’s jubilant teasing with sombre descriptions of Nola’s deteriorating internal state. This conveys the way in which the intensity of the children’s alienating taunts are paralleled with Nola’s increasingly fragile state of mind. Miethke thus illustrates the connection between the external belonging to our peers and our internal belonging to ourselves.
Both Dickinson and Miethke reflect on the forces that can lead to our alienation. Dickinson shows the way in which nature severs our sense of belonging to others through the universal force of death. Dickinson’s references to, and metaphors of, nature show that such loss of belonging is part of human existence and that it may sometimes be difficult to appreciate nature’s beauty without being reminded of its alienating power. Miethke shows how humans may similarly act to alienate each other and how loss of an external sense of belonging to our peers can ultimately lead to a loss belonging to ourselves.
Whilst belonging is essential to our happiness and wellbeing there are many forces that can undermine our sense of belonging. Firstly, in the poem ‘The Sweetest Noise,’ Emily Dickinson describes the way that death can fracture the belonging we find in relationships. Secondly, in the short story ‘Sticks and Stones,’ Anne Miethke comments on the way not belonging to our peers can undermine our sense of belonging to ourselves leading to many inimical effects. In both texts, belonging is shown to be both important and yet fragile and susceptible to natural and human forces.
The Sweetest Noise shows how we all belong to the natural world and are collectively susceptible to the cycles of death and rebirth. Dickinson describes the sound of birds in the evening and how, although sweet sounding, they remind her of people she has lost in her life. Using the extended metaphor of ‘magic’ and ‘sorcery,’ Dickinson shows how the alienating process of death is, like magic, somewhat inexplicable and inscrutable. The persona repeats the collective pronouns ‘us’ and ‘we’ six times in the poem which emphasises that this experience is a collective one for us all, as we all belong to nature. The allusion to the deadly ‘siren throats’ and the emotive word ‘deplore,’ shows how painful the alienating force of death can be and the double entendre of the word ‘dear’ in the third stanza underscores firstly, the value of the people that we may lose to death and secondly, the way the full effect of death’s severance of belonging is only appreciated once the people have left us. The emotive adjective ‘cruelly’ emphasises the loss of belonging.
Dickinson’s extended metaphor of seasons throughout the poem: ‘summer,’ ‘spring’ and the ‘March and April line’ is apt to describe the way in which loss of belonging is, like the cycle of the seasons, inevitable. The last stanza shows that belonging is a double-sided coin in that we may find joy and happiness in the relationships we form with others, but we may also feel great pain and loss once those connections are severed. In the final line, Dickinson uses the metaphor of the ear and the heart to express her wish that she could appreciate the beauty of nature without being painfully reminded of the way it can inexplicably destroy our belonging to the people we love.
It isn’t only nature that can destroy our sense of belonging. In Sticks and Stones, Ann Miethke tells the story of a young girl Nola who is alienated from her peers as they constantly tease her about her weight. The use of onomatopoeia ‘tick tick’ shows the way in which Nola’s sense of belonging is eroded over time. The alliteration of ‘cruelly cutting’ emphasises the effect that the social ostracism is having on Nola – a physical effect on Nola’s personal well-being. The imagery of the ‘twisting agonising knife’ extends the cutting metaphor and underscores the harmful effects of Nola’s exclusion. Miethke says that Nola becomes a ‘melted pat of butter’ showing that not belonging to her peers has led to her having no internal sense of identity and structure. That is, the external alienation from her peers has led to Nola’s internal alienation from herself.
The structure of the story oscillates between external accounts of the children’s jubilant teasing with sombre descriptions of Nola’s deteriorating internal state. This conveys the way in which the intensity of the children’s alienating taunts are paralleled with Nola’s increasingly fragile state of mind. Miethke thus illustrates the connection between the external belonging to our peers and our internal belonging to ourselves.
Both Dickinson and Miethke reflect on the forces that can lead to our alienation. Dickinson shows the way in which nature severs our sense of belonging to others through the universal force of death. Dickinson’s references to, and metaphors of, nature show that such loss of belonging is part of human existence and that it may sometimes be difficult to appreciate nature’s beauty without being reminded of its alienating power. Miethke shows how humans may similarly act to alienate each other and how loss of an external sense of belonging to our peers can ultimately lead to a loss belonging to ourselves.
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