As Imperceptibly as Grief

As Imperceptibly as Grief

1. context and poet's intentions

   • american poet
     • alot of her friends died young and her bedroom overlooked the cemitary.
       • these deaths made her question religeon even more
         • they had a large impact upon her writing
           • many of her poems deal with the theme of death.
     • was influenced by romantic poets.
       • started writing as a teenager
   • 1830 - 1886
   • father was lawyer, family well off.
     • her brother and sister encouraged her to read and write.
       • her sister published the poems after Emily died.
     • mid 1850's she stayed home to look after her mother
       • she found it difficult to fit in with the community
         • she couldn't commit herself to religeon.
   • this poem laments the passing of summer
     • it suggests summer slips away almost unnoticed leaving us mourning.
       • images of 'dusk' and 'twilight' link darkness to isolation
         • however, at the end hope is conveyed as summer is described as 'escaping into the beautiful'.

2. subjects and themes

   • passing of time.
     • passing of time is shown by day drawing to a close and the change of seasons
     • passing of summer linked to grief
       • she suggests time is gradual and smooth, and that we don't notice the summer lapsing away until it is gone.
     • death
       • she became preoccupied with death when some of her friends died. she knew it was inevitable. her religeous doubts left her unsure of heaven
   • changing seasons represent human lives.
     • summer linked to fullness of life.
     • autumn is old age
     • winter is death
   • depression.
     • warmth of summer = lost happiness.
       • dusk = darkness of depression
     • 'even keel' = mental wellbeing
       • a boat without a keel is reffered to
         • this implies the boat could tip over or loose balance at any moment.
           • the boat is also a symbol of the church so an alternative interpretation would be this meant a loss of faith
         • lack of balance and direction

3. key images

   • summer slipping away almost unnoticed.
     • linked to easing of grief over time, human emotion and loss.
   • twilight represents decline.
     • afternoon also represents decay and time passing
     • darkness of dusk represents sadness or dying.
   • nature depicted as a person who spends the afternoon alone, she's lost the company of sun. company of sun could represent the lost relative.

4. structure and form

   • the form of Dickenson's poems was often changed as her form didn't follow common conventions
     • this makes it difficult for us to know if they're exactly how she intended
   • she experimented with punctuation
     • alot of dashes and explanation marks.
       • dashes show changes in thought? or maybe links and connections between ideas.
       • maybe dashes note where readers should pause
   • often uses half rhymes. - full rhymes imply harmony so half rhymes could imply a lack of harmony
   • time passing reflected by steady rhythmn.
     • 8 syllables, then 6 syllables. mirrors the way time moves endlessly onwards.
   • tone flicks between positive and negative
     • summer is linked to grief in beginning then towards the end it is liked to 'into the beautiful'
     • this implies life has the ability to bring us positivity and hapiness, as well as negativity and sadness.

5. literacy techniques

   • personification
     • nature and summer
       • both presented as female
         • mataphoric?
           • nature = herself?
           • summer = death of a loved one?
   • alliteration
     • 'dusk drew in'
       • combined 'd' sounds draw our attention to the dusk.
       • draws upon themes of finality and death
   • enjembment
     • 'or nature spending with herself suquested afternoon'
       • supports rhythmn and is extremely smooth
         • representative of passing of time.
     • drawn out across two lines, reflecting long lonely afternoons