Laura Roman’s March 22nd and March 25th CW

March 22nd:

I am really excited to finally get into the meat of Emily Dickinson’s poetry! Something that I notice right away reading through these poems is that she has an interesting notion to constantly refer to specific birds or bees whenever she describes nature. I am not really sure what to think of it right away (as to whether or not the themes of mentioning them in each poem are similar or different), but I do believe that the way this imagery is used in poem 68 gives them an active role in the life death cycle. For instance, when Emily Dickinson says “Birds – Hours – the Bumblebee” (43), it reminds me a lot of how birds are often feeder species while bees are ones who provide life (or food in this case) through pollination. Another poem that interests me greatly is poem 62 where Dickinson describes a stem of a plant as “…opon [something’s] breast.” I wonder what the purpose of specifically mentioning a stem in an area as intimate and tender represents. It is still something I am pondering myself. I am interested to hear any thoughts on the matter.

March 25th:

One of the poems that interested me the most for this reading was poem 310. I interpreted more as Dickinson’s way of declaring her stance against religion (I am not sure if it is a stance or not but regardless it is against the religious status quo) by explaining how she discovered her own heaven on Earth. She first explains how “The Apple on the Tree,” a potential reference to the garden of Eden, is “hopeless” like how “Heaven” is to her (137). To compare an event that many would consider one of man’s worst sins which makes him hopeless to the concept of an eternal afterlife makes it clear that Dickinson is not faithful to this concept. Additionally, she expresses how “Behind the Hill – the House Behind – There – Paradise – is found!” (137) which implies that this “paradise” many seek after death already exists on Earth and she is trying to present it to a particular audience, perhaps God. I am not sure if this house she is referring to is her family’s due to its specific description of how it is “behind a hill.” Perhaps it was a reference to Susan’s house or the concept of a home in general to someone which fills one up with warm feelings of belonging.