C.+Wang

 = = Emily Dickinson was perhaps one of the best-known and most accomplished female poets in America. Dickinson was born to a religious, upper class family in 1830. She had a normal childhood in Amherst, Massachusetts, and she was raised in a wealthy and prominent family since her father was a lawyer and as well as one of the most respected citizens in the town. Because Dickinson’s father was a conservative leader of the church, Dickinson grew up attending the Congregational Fist Church of Christ regularly. Dickinson later attended the Amherst Academy. As most women of her time, Dickinson was expected to marry and have a family; however, she completely isolated herself from society at the age of 24. There are many possible reasons of why Dickinson secluded herself from the world, and one reason was that she had a broken heart because of unsuccessful love relationships. First of all, Dickinson had fallen in love with a married lawyer, who died of tuberculosis. Then it was also suggested that Dickinson had fallen in love with another married man, a minster, but he moved to San Francisco in 1862. Finally, it was suggested that Dickinson was in love with her sister-in-law, Susan Gilbert. Perhaps because of depression from these unsuccessful relationships, Dickinson isolated herself from society and people. Ironically, Dickinson always wore white, symbolically foreshadowing the bride that she will never become. Dickinson restricted herself by being in solitude in her parents’ house, and she mainly preoccupied herself by doing household work and writing poetry. Occasionally, Dickinson sent people her poems as gifts along with deserts. At the time when Dickinson became isolated, she asked Thomas Wentworth Higginson, a local journalist and anti-slavery activist, for advice with her poetry. Higginson’s response was one of praise as well as criticism. Higginson stated that Dickinson’s poems needed “surgery,” and he advised her not to publish her poems because of the form and the subject matter. Perhaps it is because of this experience that Dickinson only published seven poems during her lifetime. However, it is not until after Dickinson’s death in 1886 did most of her poems were discovered. = =
 * Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) **

“If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can ever warm me, I know that is poetry.”  -Emily Dickinson

= = = = = = “If I can stop one heart from breaking” **
 * 

**If I can stop one heart from breaking,**
 * I shall not live in vain;**
 * If I can ease one life the aching,**
 * Or cool one pain,**
 * Or help one fainting robin**
 * Unto his nest again,**
 * I shall not live in vain . **

   Although this poem only consist a total of seven lines, the readers can feel the powerful emotions that penetrate through the words. The line “I shall not live in vain” is repeated twice throughout the poem for emphasis. Also, this line serves as the underlying theme for the poem because Dickinson opens and closes the poem with this line; therefore, leaving the idea that we should not live in vain in the reader’s mind. According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, the word “vain” means to have no real value or to be idle and worthless. Living one’s life in vain suggests that one will lead an empty, fruitless life that has no significance at all. Dickinson states in the poem that “if I can stop one heart from breaking” and “if I can ease one life the aching, or cool one pain, or help one fainting robin unto his nest again,” then “I shall not live in vain.” The syntax demonstrates a cause and effect relationship because the sentence structure suggests that if something is done then this event will happen. The word “if” is used, and I think this is significant is because it further supports the cause and effect relationship that is embedded in the syntax because the word “if” is a conjunction used to indicate a circumstance that has to exist in order for another event to happen. Furthermore, the word “if” creates doubt and uncertainty. Therefore, Dickinson almost creates a sense that one has to be able to help others for one’s life to have a purpose. However, I don’t think Dickinson was emphasizing the idea that one’s life will have no meaning if one didn’t help others; instead, I think she meant that one will not waste one’s life away if one did something significant, for example, like helping others. Dickinson writes that by helping a “fainting robin” into his nest one will not live in vain; therefore, the significance of one’s life is not based on the great deeds one has accomplished, instead, it is based on one’s motivation and the seemingly insignificant acts one does while it is not noticed by others. The poem, “If I can stop one heart from breaking,” shows the readers a different side of Dickinson. Dickinson gives life a purpose, and I think this poem is important to understand to be able to really know Dickinson’s character is because Dickinson did not consider being unknown and secluded unsuccessful and wasting her life and talents away. By reading the poem, it seems to suggest that Dickinson embraced the idea that seemingly insignificant acts is what matters the most in life because it is from the heart, and readers can see this demonstrated in her life by the fact that she often sent her poetry along with deserts to her friends on occasions. == ** Definition for “vain:” ** [] == 

"I’m nobody! Who are you?” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> I’m nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too? Then there’s a pair of us-don’t tell! They’d banish us, you know.

How dreary to be somebody! How public, like a frog To tell your name the livelong day To an admiring bog! **

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14pt;">In “I’m nobody! Who are you?” Dickinson addresses the issue of popularity and reclusiveness. In the first two lines of the poem, the narrator’s identity is established as a “nobody,” and two questions are posed about the identity of the other person the narrator meets. The narrator first curiously asks the person he meets “who are you,” then the narrator seems to have a realization and asks the person that if he is also a “nobody.” I think the narrator subconsciously wanted this person he meets to be a “nobody” also because it is not natural to ask other people questions such as “are you nobody, too?” Then the narrator gives a warning to the person to not tell anyone because they will get “banished.” Perhaps the reason why they will get banished is because once the two “nobodies” meet and are together, they are not considered “nobodies” anymore because they each have somebody by their side. Also, perhaps the narrator is satisfied with his status and did not want his solitude to be disrupted. The narrator admits that he is an outsider to society in the first stanza, and he seems to embrace that idea. The narrator seems to be comfortable as well as confident of being a “nobody” because he states his identity with authority and excitement, and Dickinson illustrates this by using an exclamation mark after the narrator states “I’m nobody.” The tone of the first stanza is very playful and childish. It almost seems like a little boy is staring at the other little boy he just met with innocent eyes asking who he is and pointing his finger to make a hush sound and saying, “don’t tell!” The tone of the second stanza changes drastically from the first stanza, and the tone becomes more serious. The narrator seems very confident with his identity when he states that it is “dreary” to be “somebody.” The word “dreary” has a negative connotation, and it suggests boredom and monotony. It is ironic that Dickinson describes being “somebody” as “dreary” because having an identity usually suggests that person was noticed by others. Then the narrator makes a comparison between being “somebody” to being like a frog. A frog croaks all day long, but its croaking is only “admired” by the bog, which is the environment that surrounds the frog. I think Dickinson is emphasizing the point that even though some people are popular and known in society, the admiration they receive is nonetheless from a distant, detached public. The frog receives praise from the bog, which symbolizes society, instead of a friend. Therefore, the frog is actually very lonely in reality because the relationships the frog forms is very impersonal. Through this comparison, Dickinson reiterates how being a “somebody,” a noticed and known person, is not as great as it seems; therefore, true relationships and friendships are far more important and valuable than achieving admiration and fame in society. “I’m nobody! Who are you” is a poem that sheds light on Dickinson’s personal views and feelings on her own reclusiveness. Dickinson lived in solitude since the age of 24 and she kept herself occupied by doing household and garden works. Also, she wrote poetry based on private observations. From this poem, it can be concluded that Dickinson did not consider fame the most important thing in life and she did not care about how others and society viewed her lifestyle; instead, she valued true friendships and understood the fact that having true companionship is far more important than being “admired” by strangers.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">

<span style="font-family: 'Harlow Solid Italic'; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msobidifontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msobidilanguage: AR-SA; msofareastfontfamily: SimSun; msofareastlanguage: ZH-CN; msofareastthemefont: minor-fareast;"> “Hope is the thing with feathers” ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">media type="youtube" key="wADXi5kS_8o" height="341" width="425" align="right" That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all,
 * Hope is the thing with feathers

And sweetest in the gale is heard; And sore must be the storm That could abash the little bird That kept so many warm.

I’ve heard it in the chilliest land, And on the strangest sea; Yet, never, in extremity, It asked a crumb of me. **

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> In “Hope is the thing with feathers” Dickinson uses an extended metaphor to paint a picture for the readers so an abstract feeling, hope, can be grasped and felt. Dickinson defines what hope is and where hope is found in the first two lines of the poem; she states “hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.” Hope is compared to a bird, the “thing with feathers,” and this metaphor is a brilliant comparison because it conveys the image that the feathers of hope will support and fly one up and away from the old and bring one to a new beginning just like how the feathers of a bird will support and allow the bird to fly. Dickinson also states that hope resides in one’s soul just like a bird perches on a branch; therefore, Dickinson illustrates the idea that hope is found within oneself instead of in other people and materialistic possessions. Next, Dickinson compares eternal hope to the bird’s continuous song; it states in lines 3 and 4, “and sings the tune without the words, and never stops at all.” Similar to waking up to the cheerful, sweet songs of birds in the morning every day, hope always resides in the soul and it is there when one needs to be encouraged and comforted. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In the second stanza, Dickinson continues to use the imagery of a bird to depict hope. However, Dickinson changes the tone from encouragement in the first stanza to reprimand in the second stanza. Dickinson states that the greatest hope is shown when one is in the midst of a windstorm, and she rebukes the windstorm for even trying to “abash” the bird “that kept so many warm.” The word “abash” literally means “to destroy the self-possession or self-confidence of” according to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Therefore, Dickinson is metaphorically conveying that people or circumstances cannot or should not destroy one’s confidence and possession of eternal hope. In the final stanza, the tone changes again to one of hope and encouragement. Dickinson states in lines 1 and 2 that “I’ve heard it in the chilliest land, and on the strangest sea,” and this suggests that hope is everywhere. Hope is found in the coldest places and the most turbulent places. Symbolically, it can be concluded that hope does not abandon one even in the most extreme situations if one has the desire to hope. On the other hand, if feathers insulate the bird, then the feathers of hope also keeps one warm while one is struggling in the “chilliest land.” Finally, the last two lines offers reassurance to the readers because it tells the readers that hope is a free gift because “it [never] asked a crumb of me.” Because hope seems so great and often great things come with great prices in real life, Dickinson reassures the readers by stating that one cannot buy hope because it is already in the soul and if one allows the little bird of hope to fly, the song of hope will never end. “Hope is the thing with feathers” is one of Dickinson’s earlier poems, and I think it shows Dickinson’s attitude towards life at the time period when she wrote the poem. Dickinson suffered from three unsuccessful love relationships, and this poem might suggest that even though she retreated from society because of a broken heart, she still had hope in her heart and believed that the feathers of hope will keep her warm even in the “chilliest land” and “strangest sea.”

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Definition for “abash:”** []

** If you were coming in the fall,  ** If I could see you in a year, ** ** If certain, when this life was out, ** ** But now, all ignorant of the length **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Harlow Solid Italic'; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">“If you were coming in the fall” **
 * I’d brush the summer by **
 * With half a smile and half a spurn, **
 * As housewives do a fly. **
 * I’d wind the months in balls, **
 * And put them each in separate drawers, **
 * Until their time befalls. **
 * If only centuries delayed, **
 * I’d count them on my hand, **
 * Subtracting till my fingers dropped **
 * Into Van Diemens land. **
 * That yours and mine should be, **
 * I’d toss it yonder like a rind, **
 * And taste eternity. **
 * Of time’s uncertain wing, **
 * It goads me, like the goblin bee, **
 * That will not state its sting. **

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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14pt;">In “If you were coming in the fall” Dickinson addresses the theme of love and separation. Throughout the poem, the separation between two lovers is addressed and the time span of their separation increases gradually from fall to a year to centuries and finally to eternity. The narrator is assumed to be a woman because she uses very feminine metaphors and imageries relating to household tasks. There are five stanzas in the whole poem, and the first four stanzas all start with the word “if.” The word “if” suggests doubt and uncertainty; therefore, the narrator hopes that she will see her lover but she is unsure when they will be reunited. In the first stanza, the narrator demonstrates her longing to see her lover by stating that she will “brush the summer by with half a smile and half a spurn as housewives do a fly.” The sense of eagerness is shown through the use of the word “spurn,” which means “to reject with disdain or contempt” according to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Summer is a season of growth and liveliness while fall is a season of bountifulness and maturity. Literally, the narrator states that she wants fall to come and summer to go away if her lover is coming, but there are two figurative meanings as well. First of all, the narrator seems to wish the pinnacle of her life away by entering into the season of abundance. This is significant because the narrator can be referring to the fact that she is ready to see the fruit, the reunion, after all the growth, the separation. However, it can also figuratively mean that the narrator is willing to give up the best time of her life and begin the season of old age just to be united with her lover. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">In the second stanza, the time span of the absence of the lover turns from a season to a year. Instead of addressing the whole year as one time span, the narrator divides the year into months and represents them with individual balls that are separately stored in drawers. I think Dickinson used this metaphor to demonstrate the narrator’s patience and in a sense to keep the narrator occupied during her wait by giving her control over her feelings since months seems to be shorter than a year. Furthermore, the third stanza introduces another time span, centuries. The gradual sense of the “delayed” arrival of the lover becomes more and more apparent. However, the narrator still does not give up hope and it is evident when Dickinson uses the word “delayed,” which suggests that the lover will come eventually even if he is as far as “Van Diemens land.” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman';">In the fourth stanza, the narrator introduces the concept of eternity by stating that she would rather die if that means that they will be reunited. Dickinson compares the narrator’s life to a “rind,” which is a “tough outside layer of fruit.” This is significant because it conveys the idea that the narrator’s physical state is calloused and hardened from the wait, but her joyful spirit is protected by her physical body. Finally, the last stanza provides a sharp contrast from the previous stanzas by starting with the word, “but;” therefore, introducing a new thought. In the previous stanzas, the narrator was thinking about what would happen if her lover returns and all the possibilities were hypothetical. However, the narrator now deals with her reality, the real wait that she faces daily. Because the narrator is uncertain of the time she has to wait for her lover to return, she is in a constant state of distress. Dickinson uses the metaphor of a “goblin bee,” and it is frightening because a bee will sting. However, the wait is more frightening because of all the unknowns of the future leaves the narrator anxious, dreary, and doubtful. Dickinson did not have successful love relationships in her life. She fell in love with two married men, one died of tuberculosis and one moved to San Francisco. Therefore, it is interesting to wonder if the poem, “If you were coming in the fall,” is based on her own feelings since she wrote poems based on private observations and none of her poems were intended for publication.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman';">**Definition of “spurn:”** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">[]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman';">Definition of “rind:” **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> []

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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman';">Robert Frost was born in 1874 in California and he lived there until his father passed away when he was eleven. Then the family moved to New England and his mother supported the family by teaching school; consequently, Frost often identifies himself with New England. Frost married Elinor White, and he attended Dartmouth College and Harvard occasionally and worked a variety of jobs for the next twenty years. However, Frost took his family, including his four children, to England in 1912, and he worked on his poetry and found a publisher for his first book, //A Boy’s Will//. Ezra Pound reviewed his book excitedly and helped Frost to publish his second book, //North of Boston//, in 1914. The book received good reviews from many critics in America and England, and Frost returned to New England because of the book’s success. Frost enjoyed success and prosperity through the sales of his books and papers as well as lecturing at colleges. However, the late success did not mask the early hardships Frost experienced. Furthermore, Frost had to live with the tragedies that fell upon his children: a son committed suicide and a daughter had a mental collapse. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman';">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Harlow Solid Italic'; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Robert Frost (1874-1963) **

"A poem begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness." -Robert Frost

<span style="font-family: 'Harlow Solid Italic'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">**

“ Fireflies in the Garden ”  ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">
 * Here come real stars to fill the upper skies,

And here on earth come emulating flies,

That though they never equal stars in size,

(And they were never really stars at heart)

Achieve at times a very star-like start.

Only, of course ****, they can't sustain the part. **

Robert Frost’s poem, “Fireflies in the Garden,” juxtaposes the themes of genuineness and imitation through a simple observation of fireflies and stars. Literally, Frost is observing how even though fireflies appear to be like the stars in the sky in the way they shine and twinkle, they will never achieve the same effects as the true stars because they can’t measure up to the stars’ standards. The genuineness in the poem is represented by the “real stars” that “fill the upper skies” while imitation is represented by the “emulating flies” here “on earth.” Where the stars and fireflies are located demonstrates a clear division between the heavens and the earth, and it is significant that there is a division because it shows the supremacy of the real and the illegitimacy of the fake or pretend. The word “emulating” is used very powerfully in the poem because it initiates the start of the negative aspects of the fake, or the fireflies. To emulate is to “to strive to equal” or “to imitate” according to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Frost states that the fireflies will “never equal stars in size” and “they were never really stars at heart.” The idea that one will never be as good as the person one imitates might seem harsh and brutal, but Frost immediately offers an explanation or reason for this cause. Frosts states that the reason fireflies will never be as good as stars is because they are trying to mold themselves into stars. However, on the inside, they are still fireflies. Therefore, it does not matter how hard one tries to imitate and mold oneself into someone else, it will always be unsuccessful because everybody has his or her own unique identity. Furthermore, Frost suggests that sometimes one can mirror the person that one is trying to imitate so well that it is hard to tell the two people apart, but one will still eventually burn out at the end. Frost states in the poem that the fireflies “can’t sustain the part,” and this line conveys the idea that fireflies cannot possibly be compared to the heavenly stars that are always shining so brightly because the fireflies’ little light will burn out very quickly. Personally, I don’t think Frost is suggesting that the fireflies are arrogant and conceited for trying to compare themselves to the stars; I think Frost is stating that the fireflies will not be able to fill the shoes of the stars to benefit the fireflies because it is them who will burn out at the end. I think the underlying theme of this poem is to urge the readers to be yourself instead the mold of someone else because everyone is significant. Sometimes imitating others might cause greater failures than when one just be who he is in reality. Frost is urging his audience to be genuine to themselves and live in a way so the true self will shine through. I think this poem applies to Frost’s career as a poet because it shows that he did not conform and try to imitate other successful and well-known poets, instead, Frost valued originality and creativity.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Definition for “emulate:” []**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">**The movie’s title was adopted from Frost’s poem, “Fireflies in the Garden.”**

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