What always surprised me about Dickinson’s poems was the way she handles meter and slant rhyme. We have talked before that she primarily uses iambic meter, which she does for the most part. However, sometimes she breaks the pattern with an anapest or a dactyl and it always makes me pause when I read her poems (I am curious to know if anyone else is having a similar experience). From what I have read online, it seems that her poems often follow the hymn and ballad meters. While hymns have to be iambic, the ballad allows for variation in meter, which I think Dickinson masterfully exploits by combining it with slant, eye, and other types of less “traditional” rhymes. And I think that combination and the way she breaks expectations are what makes me slightly uncomfortable (in a good way). But all of this also makes me curious why some times she chooses a perfect meter and rhyme and others opts for a more diverse structure, and if there is a certain pattern of theme or topic that affects her choice. 

As an example, here is poem #80 that we discussed in class:

I hide myself – within my flower,

That fading from your Vase –

You – unsuspecting – feel for me –

Almost – a loneliness –

The first three lines are in iambic meter, so it makes you want to apply it to the fourth line as well, making it sound like “All most.”

Forgot to add that I really love the way she uses dashes, and I almost feel like sometimes she uses them as unstressed syllables.

Anastasia’s CS for March 23
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