ED-LarryB

853.1864.She staked Her Feathers – Gained an Arc –

She staked Her Feathers – Gained an Arc –
Debated – Rose again –
This time – beyond the estimate
Of Envy, or of Men –

And now, among Circumference –
Her steady Boat be seen –
At home – among the Billows – As
The Bough where she was born –
………………………………………………………………………………….

My biographical interpretation of ‘She staked Her Feathers – Gained an Arc -’, F853:

Stanza 1

She staked Her Feathers – Gained an Arc –
Debated – Rose again –
This time – beyond the estimate
Of Envy, or of Men –

S1.

Before 1860, ED thought she had dedicated her life to composing great poems, but her four-year correspondence with “Master” and his fateful visit that summer almost sidetracked her life’s “Arc”. She fought hard to escape her worship of older men, her father obsession, then she spread her wings and rose again, this time beyond the “estimate of Envy, or of “Men”.

 

Stanza 2.

And now, among Circumference –
Her steady Boat be seen –
At home – among the Billows – As
The Bough where she was born –

S2.

And now she soars the outer boundaries of poetry, her boat steady while she composes poem forms no one has ever seen before, breaking all the rules, “At home – among the Billows”, confident she has recovered “The Bough where she was born –” to be.
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I think this poem, ‘She staked Her Feathers – Gained an Arc’ is ED’s description of the “arc” of her life from [1] before Wadsworth’s visit, [2] during and for two or three years after his “visit” to Amherst, and [3] the remainder of her life.

I think ‘Struck, was I, not yet by Lightning—’, F841, marks the watershed moment when ED decided to swear off any distraction from her initial life purpose, composing great poetry.

I think poems F843, F844, F845, F847, F848, F850, and F851 form a septet of rededication to using her remaining days to compose world-class poems. Whether that happens, we can judge from her remaining poems, F851-F1789. It will be hard for her to improve on the impropriety of her past poems.

For those reasons, I think F841 is the most important poem ED composed during the first 34 years of her life.
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852.1864.It was a Grave, yet bore no Stone

It was a Grave, yet bore no Stone
Enclosed ’twas not of Rail
A Consciousness it’s Acre, and
It held a Human Soul –

Entombed by whom, for what offense
If Home or Foreign born –
Had I the curiosity
’Twere not appeased of men

Till Resurrection, I must guess
Denied the small desire
A Rose upon it’s Ridge to sow
Or take away a Briar –
………………………………………………………………………….

I think this poem is ED’s religious inquiry into what captor is preventing her from learning whether there is an afterlife. If she can’t know the answer while she’s alive, she can at least believe that Jesus was resurrected. as the Scripture says.
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My interpretation of ‘It was a Grave, yet bore no Stone’:

Stanza 1

IIt was a Grave, yet bore no Stone
Enclosed ’twas not of Rail
A Consciousness it’s Acre, and
It held a Human Soul –

S1

I was in Limbo, without a gravestone. I was trapped, but not by any iron railing. I was conscious, and I had a soul.

 

Stanza 2

Entombed by whom, for what offense
If Home or Foreign born –
Had I the curiosity
’Twere not appeased of men

S2

Who was holding me captive? For what offense? Was my jailer born here or in a foreign country? I had the curiosity, but my curiosity was not appeased by anyone.

Stanza 3

Till Resurrection, I must guess
Denied the small desire
A Rose upon it’s Ridge to sow
Or take away a Briar –

S3

Until Resurrection, I can only guess who my captor was. Until then, I’m denied even my small desire to sow a rose on Jesus’s brow or take away his crown of thorns.
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There are three variants of F852: Variant A is only the first line because ED sent Variant A to her cousin, who copied the first line into a list of poems, then ED’s manuscript vanished.

The variant used in The Prowling Bee’ is Variant C, “about 1865”. There is one difference between Variants B and C:

Line 8: ’Twere not appeased of “Man” {Men}.

I prefer “Man” over “Men” because ED’s referring to collective “Man”, not plural “Men”.

ED suggested an alternate phrase for Line 12, the last line of Variant C:

“Or take away a Briar” {“palliate a Briar–” }

I prefer her original phrase, “take away”, because she wants to remove the Crown of Thorns that Romans put on Jesus’s head and “sow a rose” instead.
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851.1864.“I want” – it pleaded – All it’s life –

“I want”—it pleaded—All its life—
I want—was chief it said
When Skill entreated it—the last—
And when so newly dead—

I could not deem it late—to hear
That single—steadfast sigh—
The lips had placed as with a “Please”
Toward Eternity—
……………………………………………………………………………..

ED had no alternative words or phrases.
……………………………………………………………………………….

Anthony Madrid on The Prowling Bee [TPB] nailed this poem, F851, so I paraphrased his interpretation [downloaded 7/13/2026; brackets are mine, LarryB]:

Stanza 1.

“I want”—it pleaded—All its life—
I want—was chief it said
When Skill entreated it—the last—
And when so newly dead—

S1.

“I want”, [I] pleaded all [my] life. I want was chiefly what [I] said, when [I] begged for skill, on [my] last day, and even when [I] was newly dead.

 

[Stanza 2]

I could not deem it late—to hear
That single—steadfast sigh—
The lips had placed as with a “Please”
Toward Eternity—

S2

I could not deem that plea too late when I heard that single-minded [final] sigh that [my] lips had emitted, like the word “Please” aimed at eternity . . . .
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ED loves to trick readers with riddles, such as Line 3, “When Skill entreated it —”. ED requires her readers to know her tricks well enough that they understand Line 3 is inverted and really means “When my soul begged for skill”. [EDLex Def. 1d of “entreated” is “begged”].

ED played the same prank on naive readers in Line 1 of the preceding poem, ‘Defrauded I a butterfly’.
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ED intended “I” and “it” to be nominative case, i.e., the subject and its referent pronoun in Line 1, and “Skill” is accusative case, or direct object.

“I” is ED’s soul and “it” is the possessive pronoun for “I”. “I” begs the “Skill” (accusative case, direct object) to write great poetry. [Hope I got that right.]
…………………………………………………………………………………………………..

850.1864.Defrauded I a Butterfly –

Defrauded I a Butterfly –
The lawful Heir – for Thee –
……………………………………………………………

ED offered no alternative words or phrases. However, I think she pulls a favorite prank by inverting the real meaning of Line 1: “A butterfly defrauded I / The lawful heir – for Thee”. It also helps to know that ED capitalized pronouns, such as “Thee” in Line 2, only for God and Wadsworth.
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Interpretation

You defrauded me, Wadsworth, / Just like this butterfly that looks like a moth defrauded me. In 1860, you visited me in the trappings of a minister and then seduced me like the wolf you really are.
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Background

ED is still fuming about Wadsworth walking with her at dusk in the Dickinson apple orchard (at her suggestion), and then plying her with honeyed words of love until, after dark in a remote corner of the orchard, she gave in. After their walk, he took his departure, and as they said goodbye, in ED’s words, they looked deep into each other’s eyes:

F841

Stanza 6

“Best—at Setting—as is Nature’s—
Neither witnessed Rise
Till the infinite Aurora
In the other’s eyes.”

 My interpretation of Stanza 6:

 Just as a sunset is most inspiring as the Sun sinks behind the horizon, the best part of our summer day was as he was leaving. Neither spoke, but we peered deep into each other’s eyes and saw an infinite sunrise.
……………………………………………………………….

 

The Amherst train station was one block east of “Homestead” on Main Street, which made Wadsworth’s escape easy. No doubt, he hopped on the night train to Northampton, MA, 12 miles SW of Amherst, where he was visiting his old seminary roommate, James Clark, and I suspect the next morning he caught the Philadelphia train for the 250-mile trip south to home. Judging from the many poems ED wrote after her summer 1860 seduction in which she wonders if Wadsworth is alive or dead, I suspect he never again responded to her letters. By many, I mean 931 poems, 52% of her lifetime productivity, were composed during 1861-1865.Here’s one example:

 

F349, ‘He touched me, so I live to know’, “about summer 1862” (Franklin 1998)

He touched me, so I live to know
That such a day, permitted so,
I groped upon his breast –

It was a boundless place to me
And silenced, as the awful Sea
Puts minor streams to rest.

And now, I’m different from before,
As if I breathed superior air—
Or brushed a Royal Gown—
My feet, too, that had wandered so—
My Gypsy face—transfigured now—
To tenderer Renown—

Into this Port, if I might come,
Rebecca, to Jerusalem,
Would not so ravished turn—
Nor Persian, baffled at her shrine
Lift such a Crucifixial sign
To her imperial Sun.
………………………………………………………………………………

Well, almost “never”:

That 1860 evening at Homestead was not the last time ED saw Wadsworth. He visited her again during summer 1880 after receiving her four-line invitation (F1485, late 1878):

“Spurn the temerity —
Rashness of Calvary —
Gay were Gethsemane
Knew we of Thee —”

This time he did not RSVP but simply showed up at her front door after giving an invited sermon at James Clark’s church in Northampton, MA. This visit took courage, both for ED when she invited him and for Wadsworth when he knocked on her door without sending an RSVP:

It took courage on his part to visit after 20 years, but the tone of ED’s invitation suggested she had forgiven him.

“The last time he came in Life, I was with my Lilies and Heliotropes, said my Sister to me, “the Gentleman with the deep voice wants to see you, Emily,” hearing him ask of the Servant.

“Where did you come from,” I said, for he spoke like an Apparition. “I stepped from my Pulpit  from to the Train” was [his] simple reply, and when I asked “how long”, “Twenty Years” said he with inscrutable roguery – but the loved Voice has ceased.”

Letter JL1040 to Charles Clark, April 15, 1886, one month before ED died. Wadsworth died on April 1, 1882.

PS: “Calvary” was ED’s codeword for Wadsworth and “Gethsemane” was her codename for herself.

849.1864.By my Window have I for Scenery

Variant A’ of ‘F849’, as published by Franklin (1998). The “A” is Franklin’s customary name for the first known variant of a poem. Variant A is the only known manuscript of this poem, which I call ‘Version 1′:

By my Window have I for Scenery
`Just a Sea — with a Stem —                                                                If the Bird and the Farmer — deem it a “Pine” —
The Opinion will serve — for them —

It has no Port, nor a “Line” — but the Jays                       L5
That split their route to the Sky —
Or a Squirrel, whose giddy Peninsula
May be easier reached — this way —

For Inlands — the Earth is the under side —
And the upper side — is the Sun —                                L10
And its Commerce — if Commerce it have —
Of Spice — I infer from the Odors borne —

Of its Voice — to affirm — when the Wind is within —
Can the Dumb — define the Divine?
The Definition of Melody — is —                                   L15
That Definition is none —

It — suggests to our Faith —
They — suggest to our Sight —
When the latter — is put away
I shall meet with Conviction I somewhere met       L20
That Immortality —

Was the Pine at my Window a “Fellow
Of the Royal” Infinity?
Apprehensions — are God’s introductions —
To be hallowed — accordingly —                           L25

……………………………………………………………………………………….

In her manuscript of F849A, ED suggested five alternate words/phrases for five of her original words. In Version 2 of this poem, I’ve put these alternates in {curly brackets} beside the originals.

Also in Version 2, I use [regular brackets] around my guesses of the antecedents of vague pronouns and around my explanatory note.

Below each of ED’s stanzas is my prose interpretation of that stanza:

‘By my Window have I for Scenery’, F849A, Version 2:

Stanza 1

By my Window have I for Scenery
Just a Sea — with a Stem —
If {Grant} the Bird and the Farmer — deem it a “Pine” —.
The Opinion will serve {do}— for them —

S1 interpretation

Outside my second-floor bedroom window at Homestead stands an eastern white pine whose limbs sway in the wind like the billowing waves of a “Sea”. If a bird or a farmer wants to call it a pine, that’s fine for them, but not for me.

Stanza 2

It [the sea with a stem] has no Port, nor a “Line” [to tie to a dock] — but the Jays —
That split their route to the Sky {Ply between it, and the Sky} —
Or a Squirrel, whose giddy Peninsula [branch in another tree]
May be easier reached {better attained, easier gained} — this way —

S2 interpretation

My Sea Pine has no port, nor a Line to tie a ship to a dock, but Jays must fly around it on their route to the Sky, and a Squirrel, on its way to its nest on a limb of another tree, uses one of Sea Pine’s swaying Peninsulas [branches] as a shortcut home.

Stanza 3

For Inlands — the Earth is the under side —
And the upper side — is the Sun —
And its Commerce — if Commerce it have —
Of Spice — I infer from the Odors borne —

S3 interpretation

In my side yard my Sea Pine roots in the Earth, and above it shines the Sun. It sheds a haunting fragrance that wafts on the wind. The fragrance, distilled, is perfume of Commerce, if Commerce there be, of merchantmen filled with an aromatic load.

Stanza 4

Of its Voice — to affirm — when the Wind is within —
Can the Dumb — define {divulge} the Divine?
The Definition of Melody — is —
That Definition is none —

S4 interpretation

When Wind blows through Sea Pine’s branches, it affirms the mystic music, the melody of the spheres. Can the Dumb define Divine? Sea Pine’s Definition of Melody is – that Definition is none.

Stanza 5

It [Sea Pine’s voice]— suggests to our Faith —
They [sign language of the “Dumb”] — suggest to our Sight* —
When the latter [Sight] — is put away
I shall meet with Conviction [that] I somewhere met
That Immortality [before] —

S5 interpretation

Sea Pine suggests to my Faith, the Dumbs’ sign language suggests to my Sight*, that when I and my hearing die, I believe with Conviction I will again hear the Music of the Spheres, which is Immortality. [Several times in my younger days I heard the Music, often while watching a sunset out my west window. I haven’t the skill to describe how powerful it sounded, but it convinced me that life is worth living, which saved my life during the months after Wadsworth moved to the west coast.]

Stanza 6

Was the Pine at my Window a “Fellow
Of the Royal” Infinity?
Apprehensions — are God’s introductions —
To be hallowed — accordingly —

S6 interpretation

Is Sea Pine at my Window an angel, a “Fellow of the Royal” Infinity? Uncertainties [EDLex Definition 2 of “Apprehensions” are God’s introductions and to be hallowed accordingly.
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Here are my preferences of published and alternate words/phrases and my reasons, listed by line number:

3. Original word “If” because “Grant” doesn’t make sense to me
4. Alternate word “do” because it’s stronger than “serve”
5. Original phrase “That split their route to the Sky” because it focuses on the Sea Pine, while “Ply between it, and the Sky” does not,
6. Original phrase “easier reached” because it’s direct, while “better attained” or “easier gained” are not,
7. Original word “define” because it’s stronger and rhymes with “Divine”.

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Dickinson vs. Keats,
Melody and Beauty:

F849A, Lines 15-16, early 1864, to ED’s  ‘Ebon Box’

“The Definition of Beauty is
That Definition is none—”

In F849, when ED writes “Melody” she means mystic melodies “of no tone”, referring to Keats’ ‘Ode’:

“Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard
Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;
Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear’d,
Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone”

 

F797A, Lines 1-2, early 1864, to Sue

“The Definition of Melody — is —
That Definition is none —”

In F797, when ED writes “Beauty”, she’s referring to Keats’ ‘Ode on a ‘Grecian Urn’:

“Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.”

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*American Sign Language (ASL) originated in 1817 when educator Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Deaf French instructor Laurent Clerc founded the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut.

848.1864.Who Giants know, with lesser Men

Who Giants know, with lesser Men
Are incomplete, and shy—
For Greatness, that is ill at ease
In minor Company—

A Smaller, could not be perturbed—
The Summer Gnat displays—
Unconscious that his single Fleet
Do not comprise the skies— ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

ED suggested two alternate phrases, {in curly brackets}:

Line 3: “For Greatness, that is ill at ease” {“ill composed}”

I prefer ED’s original phrase because it’s familiar and easy to understand;

 

Line 4: “In minor Company” {“With other quality}”

I prefer ED’s original phrase because it exemplifies ED’s judgmental trait, pejorative but honest. “With other quality“ is vague, even by ED’s standards.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

My prose biographical interpretation of F848:

Who Giants know, with lesser Men
Are incomplete, and shy—
For Greatness, that is ill at ease
In minor Company—

S1

If you know a genius, you will find them unsocialized and shy. Geniuses feel uncomfortable when associating with less gifted souls.

 

Stanza 2

A Smaller, could not be perturbed—
The Summer Gnat displays—
Unconscious that his single Fleet
Do not comprise the skies—

S2

A person who is average would not be uncomfortable in the presence of genius because they would have no comprehension of how far beyond average thinking that genius goes. An average person thinks their little-town universe is all there is in life.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

ED is speaking of what she knows. Her sister, Vinnie, said Emily” had to think – she was the only one of us who had that to do. Father believed; and mother loved; and Austin had Amherst; and I had the family to take care of.” (Bingham 1967).

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Reference

Bingham, M T. 1967. Emily Dickinson’s home: The early years as revealed in family correspondence and reminiscences.  Pp. 413-414.

847.1864.Her final Summer was it—

Her final Summer was it—
And yet We guessed it not—
If tenderer industriousness
Pervaded Her, We thought

A further force of life
Developed from within—
When Death lit all the shortness up
It made the hurry plain—

We wondered at our blindness
When nothing was to see
But Her Carrara Guide post—
At Our Stupidity—

When duller than our dullness
The Busy Darling lay
So busy was she—finishing—
So leisurely—were We—
………………………………………………………………….

ED suggested one alternate line, three alternate words, and one alternate phrase. I prefer:

L2. Alternate line, “Yet we suspected not”, because the original Line 2, “And yet We guessed it not,” began with “And”, which feels weak, while “Yet” sounds strong, signifies time, and implies “however”

L5. Alternate word, “Fund” , over the original word “Force” because fund implies an amount of something, in this case time, and it’s running out.

L4 and L5 enjamb Stanzas 1 and 2:

“We thought / A further Fund of Life”

L7. Alternate word “limit” over original “shortness” because the woman’s “Fund” of life [Line 5] is limited [Line 7].

L7 Alternate word, “brevity” in place of the phrase “shortness up” because it’s one word in place of the clunky phrase.

I use these preferences {in curly brackets} in my stanza by stanza interpretation of the poem:

Stanza 1

Her final Summer was it—
{Yet we suspected not}
If tenderer industriousness
Pervaded Her, {We thought

S1.

During summer, she knew she was dying but didn’t tell us. She seemed more industrious than usual putting her affairs in order. We thought

Stanza 2

A further} {Fund} of life
Developed from within—
When Death lit all the {brevity}
It made the hurry plain—

S2

she had found a fund of life deep inside her, so we were surprised when she visibly began to die. That explained why she had been hurrying.

 

Stanza 3

We wondered at our blindness
When nothing was to see
But Her Carrara Guide post—
At Our Stupidity—

S3

We wondered at our blindness, but she showed us nothing that would make us suspect her death was near. Her face was calm as Carrara marble. We can’t believe we were so blind to the truth.

 

Stanza 4

When duller than our dullness
The Busy Darling lay
So busy was she—finishing—
So leisurely—were We—

S4

Even when she began to fade we could not believe the end was near. We took our time when she asked for help and now regret our leisureness. On her deathbed she finished her final legal documents and gave instructions for her funeral.
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