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Poem Explication
Emily Dickinson as a poet has had the ability to create an emotional connection between a reader and the contents of her poem. In this particular one titled, After great pain, a formal feeling comes, she simulates the observation of a time after death. To some extent, her writing appears as though her poems describe complex feelings that follow the occurrence of a traumatic event at a firsthand experience. The poem does not identify any particular setting because it is portrayed through an individual going through an emotional shock in a variety of occasions. However, the main theme is that of sadness upon the departure of a person, the grief of the loss and the looming certainty of everyone else’s eventual death. As a result, the poet mentions the wonders of the afterlife and the confusion when she states that “…Of Ground, or Air, or Ought” (Dickinson and Vender, Line 6)’ in reference to the dead person’s next life.
The use of systematic alliteration of her syllables by using both stressed and unstressed rhythms also plays a major role in the creating of a different effect in each stanza. For instance, she uses a random combination of ten, eight, six and four syllables but the first stanza retains the ten stanzas. This creates the musicality and rhythmic evolution of the poem that makes it presentable and entertaining. Further, there is sufficient use of imagery as a literary device especially when Emily explains that there is Quarts still growing on ground even as one dies in line eight and nine. This is a depiction of her perception that there is life after death and a reminder to the reader of the actual feeling of death and the painful process of letting go. Her use of an iambiatic pattern especially in conjunction with the couplets as illustrated in the use of “Bore?” instead of “Before” shows that the poet is determined to maintain the poetic rhythm and pattern. Overall, Instead of focusing on the “heart” and the “nerves” as the organic parts of death, she is concerned of the inorganic aspects because they are much easier to equate emotions based on what they represent. This is as seen in the use of, “Ground, Air, and Quartz.” in a line with the assumption that each individual word carries meaning when associated to death.
Further, the poet uses the word “wood” to describe the construction of a coffin, which is accompanied by lines ten to thirteen that suggest that dead people remember things (Dickinson, and Vender, Line 10 and 13). The whole case is a contradiction of a feeling caught between life and death because the poet raises the question whether frozen dead people have such abilities. This shows that the tone of the poem continues being somber and heartbreaking as it should be to skillfully deliver the appropriate theme of the poem.
In addition to this instance, the use of words
such as “Snow”, “Cold”, and “Chill” enables the reader to connect to the
numbness of loss and the feeling of desperation and grief as the main point of
the poem. Emily has used a lot of emphasize in capitalizing some of the vital
words to the poem such as the ones above and the word “Hour” which if interpreted could mean that the poet is
concerned about the predictability and timelessness of death. Generally, she has
created the complete atmosphere of emotional distress detailed enough to gain
the complete attention of the reader.
Works Cited
Dickinson, Emily, and Helen Vender. Dickinson: Selected Poems and Commentaries. , 2012. Print.