ED-LarryB

860.1864.No Notice gave She, but a Change—

No Notice gave She, but a Change—
No Message, but a Sigh—
For Whom, the Time did not suffice
That She should specify.

She was not warm, though Summer shone
Nor scrupulous of cold
Though Rime by Rime, the steady Frost
Upon Her Bosom piled—

Of shrinking ways—she did not fright
Though all the Village looked—
But held Her gravity aloft—
And met the gaze—direct—

And when adjusted like a Seed
In careful fitted Ground
Unto the Everlasting Spring
And hindered but a Mound

Her Warm return, if so she chose—
And We—imploring drew—
Removed our invitation by
As Some She never knew— 

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A biographical interpretation of F860, ‘No Notice gave She, but a Change—‘:

Stanza 1.

No Notice gave She, but a Change—
No Message, but a Sigh—
For Whom, the Time did not suffice
That She should specify.

S1.

I gave no indication of why I changed, but change I did. I left no poems explaining why, but had you been in the hallway outside my bedroom door, you would have heard a sigh. For whom the sigh, I had no time to tell.

 

Stanza 2.

She was not warm, though Summer shone
Nor scrupulous of cold
Though Rime by Rime, the steady Frost
Upon Her Bosom piled—

S2.

Though it was summer, I felt cold, but I didn’t care. The cold felt like layer upon layer of rime ice piling deeper and deeper on my bosom.

 

Stanza 3.

Of shrinking ways—she did not fright
Though all the Village looked—
But held Her gravity aloft—
And met the gaze—direct—

S3.

I wasn’t afraid of gradually withdrawing into my father’s house, though all Amherst thought me strange. I kept my cool and met their gaze with my gaze — direct!

 

Stanza 4.

And when adjusted like a Seed
In careful fitted Ground
Unto the Everlasting Spring
And hindered but a Mound

S4.

And when I intentionally withdrew into the house my grandfather carefully built and then named ‘Homestead’, I wanted to die. I wanted my soul to fly straight into God’s Everlasting Spring, but, unfortunately, my spirit was hindered by but a Mound.

 

Stanza 5.

Her Warm return, if so she chose—
And We—imploring drew—
Removed our invitation by
As Some She never knew—

S5.

If I had wanted to return to a warm relationship with Amherst acquaintances, I could have, but I didn’t. I removed my invitations for visitors by acting like I had never known them.
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As far as I know, ‘The Prowling Bee’ blog [TPB] is the longest running and finest explication of each poem in Emily Dickinson œuvre on the internet. Emily Dickinson’s poems [ED’s poems] are in Franklin’s (1998) best guess at chronological order, based on her handwriting. For example, the current poem is F860, and Franklin dates it as “about early 1864”.

The current moderator of TPB is Adam Wade DeGraff, who explicates new poems at a prodigious rate. Adam commented on F860 on December 14, 2025, and in his comment he asked an astonishing question. Here is Stanza 4 and Adam’s question:

Stanza 4

“And when adjusted like a Seed
In careful fitted Ground
Unto the Everlasting Spring
And hindered but a Mound”

Adam’s comment and questions begin with Line 16, “And hindered but a Mound”:

“First you think the woman has died so she “hindered” the earth. But it’s weird because a mound isn’t a mound until the woman is put into it. So how does she hinder the mound? It’s not going into the earth that hinders the mound but springing out of it. The idea here is that “She” hinders the mound as the seed sprouts, metaphorically, from the earth.

“Still, one wonders what this line is doing here. What else could Dickinson possibly mean by “mound”? The first meaning is a burial mound, but why call attention to a burial mound being hindered? Could mound be a slant allusion to pregnancy? Has the narrator, the dead living woman, somehow hindered a pregnancy, or had her pregnancy hindered? The clues point to a possibility.”

Adam, I think correctly, identifies the “dead” woman as Emily Dickinson, so [take a deep breath] Adam is asking if Emily Dickinson was ever pregnant:

“Could “mound” be a slant allusion to pregnancy? Has the narrator [ED], the dead living woman [ED], somehow hindered a pregnancy, or had her pregnancy hindered? The clues point to a possibility.”

 Adam is not the first to ask this question.
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859.1864.Who Court obtain within Himself

Who Court obtain within Himself
Sees every Man a King—
And Poverty of Monarchy
Is an interior thing—

No Man depose
Whom Fate Ordain—
And Who can add a Crown
To Him who doth continual
Conspire against His Own
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An interpretation of F859, ‘Who Court obtain within Himself’:

Stanza 1.

Who Court obtain within Himself
Sees every Man a King—
And Poverty of Monarchy
Is an interior thing—

S1.

A democratic person sees all men as equal, everyone a king, and lack of magnanimity toward all is an inner impoverishment.

 

Stanza 2.

No Man depose
Whom Fate Ordain—
And Who can add a Crown
To Him who doth continual
Conspire against His Own

S2.

No one can be dethroned because everyone has infinite intrinsic value, and who can place a crown on anyone who continually denies his value as no more or less than that of everyone.
…………………………………………………………………………………

Has ED been reading Walt Whitman? Or the Declaration of Independence, US Constitution and Bill of Rights?

Wish our current president saw things this way.
…………………………………………………………………………

 

 

857.1864.She rose to His Requirement – drop

She rose to His Requirement – dropt
The Playthings of Her Life
To take the honorable Work
Of Woman, and of Wife –

If ought She missed in Her new Day,
Of Amplitude, or Awe –
Or first Prospective – or the Gold
In using, wear away,

It lay unmentioned – as the Sea
Develope Pearl, and Weed,
But only to Himself – be known
The Fathoms they abide –
……………………………………………………………………………………………

Franklin (1998) dates this poem as “about early 1864”.

In early 1864, ED was 33. She imagines what her life would be if she had married:

Here’s my full biographic interpretation of F857:

Stanza 1.

She rose to His Requirement – dropt
The Playthings of Her Life
To take the honorable Work
Of Woman, and of Wife –

S1.

She” married and began filling her husband’s requirements. She “. . . dropt / The Playthings of Her Life / To take the honorable Work / Of Woman, and of Wife –”.

Stanza 2.

If ought She missed in Her new Day,
Of Amplitude, or Awe –
Or first Prospective – or the Gold
In using, wear away,

S2

If she happened to miss the amplitude and awe of her bygone poem days, time slowly wore away her longing, which . . . [Stanza 2 & 3 enjambed]

Stanza 3

It lay unmentioned – as the Sea
Develope Pearl, and Weed,
But only to Himself – be known
The Fathoms they abide –

S3.

lay unmentioned, fathoms below the surface of sea. It was as if her genius were coated with pearls and weeds, and only she knew how deep her poems were.
……………………………………………………………………………………..

In my comment above I wrote “only God would know what she was capable of leaving”, and, later, I wrote “only she knew how deep her poems were”. Sometimes an atheist believes God and ED are one and the same.
………………………………………………………………………………..

The last stanza of the previous poem, F856, posed a question:

{‘Tis} fitter {I will} be—{by} Want—
Enlightening so well—
I know not which, Desire, or Grant —
Be {chiefest} beautiful—

I interpret this as:

“I’ll be a better poet as a result of sacrificing an ordinary life, but I don’t know which, desire for wealth and love or achieving poetic immortality will be the most beautiful.”

[Words in {curly brackets} are ED’s alternatives that I prefer over the usual published version.]

I think F857 answers that question with its last stanza:

“It lay unmentioned – as the Sea
Develope Pearl, and Weed,
But only to Himself – be known
The Fathoms they abide –”

For ED, “The Playthings of Her Life” are her poems. Note the capitalization of every word: Poems are not “Playthings” for her or for us. I think F857 is unveiled sarcasm of what wifehood would mean for Emily Dickinson: the end of mystical beauty in her life and the opportunity for immortality in her poems. “No Thanks!” she shouts.

If ED were to put away “The Playthings of Her Life”, her dreams would be like pearls and weeds buried under so many fathoms of water that only God would know what she was capable of leaving to us, her readers.
………………………………………………………………………………………….

The spelling “develope” was widely used during the 1800s and earlier. Google AI
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Speaking of “leaving to us, her readers”, I just found this footnote in Millicent Todd Bigham’s 1945 ‘Ancestor’s Brocades’:

“[Six] editions of ED’s first book of poetry were issued on the following dates [by Harper & Brothers Publishers]:

First, Nov. 12, 1890;
Second, Dec. 16, 1890;
Third, Dec. 27, 1890;
Fourth, Jan. 29, 1891;
Fifth, Feb. 17, 1891;
Sixth, Mar. 11, 1891.

Although the number of copies in each edition was supposed to be 500, only 480 were issued of the first ·and 400 of the second.”

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856.1864.I play at Riches—to appease

I play at Riches—to appease
The Clamoring for Gold—
It kept me from a Thief, I think,
For often, overbold

With Want, and Opportunity—
I could have done a Sin
And been Myself that easy Thing
An independent Man—

But often as my lot displays
Too hungry to be borne
I deem Myself what I would be—
And novel Comforting

My Poverty and I derive—
We question if the Man—
Who own—Esteem the Opulence—
As We—Who never Can—

Should ever these exploring Hands
Chance Sovereign on a Mine—
Or in the long—uneven term
To win, become their turn—

How fitter they will be—for Want—
Enlightening so well—
I know not which, Desire, or Grant—
Be wholly beautiful—
………………………………………………………………………………

My biographical interpretation of F856, ‘I play at Riches—to appease’, with ED’s alternate word and phrases in {curly brackets} and ED Lexicon definitions in [straight brackets]:

Stanza 1.

I play at Riches—to appease
The Clamoring [intense, noisy desire] for Gold—
It kept me from a Thief, I think,
For often, overbold . . .  

S1.

I write poetry – to appease my “Clamoring” for love. Yet, in 1860, poetry protected me from Wadsworth’s seduction and loss of my virginity. “For often, overbold” . . .[Stanzas 1 & 2 enjamb]

 

Stanza 2.

With Want, and Opportunity —
I could {might} have done a Sin
And been Myself that easy {distant} Thing
An independent Man— [EDLex Def. 11 of “Man”: a person, human being]

S2.

. . .“with want, and opportunity, I {might} have sacrificed my poetry “and been that easy thing”, a [person] without a purpose.

 or – 

. . . “with want, and opportunity, I {might} have sinned with Wadsworth, who was married, “and been that easy thing”, a [person] without a purpose.

Stanza 3.

But often as my lot displays
Too hungry to be borne
I deem Myself what I would be—
And novel {so much} Comforting

S3.

“But often” when my choice to be a poet seems too heavy “to be borne”, I remind myself of what I want to be, a world-class poet, and that renews my “Comfort” that I made the right choice.

 

Stanza 4.

My Poverty and I derive—
We question if the Man—
Who own—Esteem the Opulence—
As We—Who never Can—

S4.

My loneliness “and I derive” from my choice to dedicate myself to poetry. I “question” whether someone who “owns and esteems” great material wealth, as I “Who never can”, could ever esteem poetry as I do.

 

Stanza 5.

Should ever these exploring Hands
Chance Sovereign on a Mine—
Or in the long—uneven term
To win, become their {my} turn—

S5.

If “ever” my “exploring Hands” “Should ever” / Chance” to publish a successful book of poetry, or in the far distant future achieve popularity and praise, . . . ” [Stanza 5 enjambs with Stanza 6]

 

Stanza 6.

{‘Tis} fitter {I will} be—{by} Want—
Enlightening so well—
I know not which, Desire, or Grant —
Be {chiefest} beautiful—

S6.

. . . I’ll be a better poet as a result of sacrificing an ordinary life. I don’t know which, desire for wealth and love or achieving poetic immortality will be the most beautiful.
………………………………………………………………………

A moment of truth?:

I think ED is misleading us, perhaps for poetic reasons, about her sexual experience with Wadsworth in summer 1860 [this poem, Lines 3-6]:

“It [writing poetry] kept me from a Thief, I think,
For often, overbold [enjambed]

With Want, and Opportunity —
I could {might} have done a Sin”

Note the weasel phrase, “I think” and the wishy-washy “might have done a Sin” in Line 6. ED is either subconsciously blocking out her memory of that summer evening in 1860 or she’s trying to protect her reputation from prying eyes, and she fabricates a plea of Not Guilty.

My evidence rests on Lines 9-10 of F841, ‘Struck, was I, not yet by Lightning—‘, where she tells a contradictory and probably true recollection of the “Robbery”:

“Robbed—was I—intact to Bandit—
All my Mansion torn—”

ED says her hymen was “intact” before she was robbed, and afterward her hymen was “torn”.

Poem F841, ‘Struck, was I, not yet by Lightning’, is a description of what happened in the ‘Homestead” orchard at dusk on a summer night in 1860. Wadsworth and ED were taking a walk after supper, at her suggestion. She intentionally did not take ‘Carlo’, her massive Newfoundlander, with them, even though before that night she had always taken him on her walks .

I see no reason ED would have denied Carlo the exercise of an hour’s walk, which veterinarians strongly recommend for Newfoundlanders, but I do think Carlo would have misunderstood Wadsworth copulating with his mistress in the orchard and seriously interfered.

Male Newfoundlanders are known for their protectiveness and weigh up to 150 pounds. In 1862, ED told Higginson she was “big as a wren”. Carlo probably outweighed her by at least 20-40 pounds.

ED said in her first letter [JL261] to Higginson, April 25, 1862: “You ask of my Companions. Hills – sir – and the Sundown, and a Dog large as myself, that my Father bought me.”
………………………………………………………………………..

There’s another oddness about Poem F856. In 1861, a year after Wadsworth’s visit to Homestead, ED wrote a dramatic poem, F194, that suggests she was still elated from her experience the previous summer:

Title divine, is mine.
The Wife without the Sign –
Acute Degree conferred on me –
Empress of Calvary –
Royal, all but the Crown –
Betrothed, without the Swoon
God gives us Women –
When You hold Garnet to Garnet –
Gold – to Gold –
Born – Bridalled – Shrouded –
In a Day –
Tri Victory –
“My Husband”  –  Women say –
Stroking the Melody  –
Is this  –  the way –

Notice Line 6, F194:

“Betrothed, without the Swoon
God gives us women”.

From her pre-1858 lesbian days with Sue, ED was well aware of what an orgasm felt like, and she knew she had not had one during her tryst in the orchard with Wadsworth. Nevertheless, to her their tryst meant they were betrothed, to be married at some distant time in Heaven:

F332, Stanza 2

It cannot be my Spirit—
For that was thine, before—
I ceded all of Dust I knew—
What Opulence the more
Had I—a freckled Maiden,
Whose farthest of Degree,
Was—that she might—
Some distant Heaven,
Dwell timidly, with thee!

None of this background info jives with ED’s weaselly Line 6, F856, “I could {might} have done a Sin”.

855.1864.Two were immortal twice

Two—were immortal twice—

Two—were immortal twice—
The privilege of few—
Eternity—obtained—in Time—
Reversed Divinity—

That our ignoble Eyes
The quality conceive
Of Paradise superlative—
Through their Comparative.

MANUSCRIPTS:

Two, variant, about early 1864. A fair copy was sent to Susan Dickinson, now in Morgan Library.

Variant A

Two – were immortal- twice –
The privilege of few –
Eternity – obtained – in Time –
Reversed – Divinity –
That our ignoble Eyes
The Quality perceive
Of Paradise Superlative –
Thro’ their – comparative.

A copy is in Fascicle 38. ED suggested an alternate Line 3 and alternate word in Line 6,  {in curly brackets}.

Variant B

Two – were immortal twice –
The privilege of few –
Eternity – obtained – in Time – {Eternity – in Time obtained -}
Reversed Divinity –

That our ignoble Eyes
The quality conceive {perceive}
Of Paradise superlative –
Through their Comparative.

I much prefer ED’s alternative for Line 3 because her original line is misleading: “in time” for what?

In Line 6, I much prefer ED’s alternative because “conceive” suggests the reader must create a meaning, while “perceive” implies that the meaning was always there, and the reader must merely “see” it.

Manuscript details are cut and pasted from Franklin (1998).

Franklin.1998.The Poems of ED, Variorum Edition, three volumes, Harvard Press.
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ED (1864) shared a moment when “Two – were immortal twice -”. Wordsworth (1807) shared a solo moment of “Eternity – in Time obtained” in his ‘Intimations of Immortality’:

“The thought of our past years in me doth breed
Perpetual benediction: not indeed
For that which is most worthy to be blest;
Delight and liberty, the simple creed
Of Childhood, whether busy or at rest,
With new-fledged hope still fluttering in his breast:—
Not for these I raise
The song of thanks and praise
But for those obstinate questionings
Of sense and outward things,
Fallings from us, vanishings;
Blank misgivings of a Creature
Moving about in worlds not realised,
High instincts before which our mortal Nature
Did tremble like a guilty thing surprised:
But for those first affections,
Those shadowy recollections,
Which, be they what they may
Are yet the fountain-light of all our day,
Are yet a master-light of all our seeing;”

Both Dickinson and Wordsworth are describing mystical experiences that “Are yet a masterlight of all our seeing”.
………………………………………………………………………….

Definition of “ignoble” from  EDLex

1. Humble; lowly; less able to see; [fig.] human; mortal; earthly.
2. Base; unworthy; insignificant; slight; trivial; hollow; less in status.

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My biographical interpretation of  ‘Two—were immortal twice—’, with my preferred alternates:

Stanza 1.

Two – were immortal twice –
The privilege of few –
{Eternity – in Time obtained -}
Reversed Divinity –

S1.

Wadsworth and I were “immortal twice”, first when we made love in our orchard that fateful evening in summer 1860. Only a “few”people have the” privilege” of sensing “eternity” during their “time” on Earth. When that happens it’s “Divinity Reversed” because we see what heaven is like before we die.

 

Stanza 2.

That our ignoble Eyes
The quality {perceive}
Of Paradise superlative –
Through their Comparative.

S2.

It’s amazing that we two mortals, with ordinary human eyes, are able to perceive “paradise superlative” here and now and, in our imaginations, to “compare” our present experience with what heaven might be. Our mystical experience will shine a “master-light of all our seeing” for the rest of our lives.

854.1864.Despair’s advantage is achieved

Despair’s advantage is achieved
By suffering – Despair –
To be assisted of Reverse
One must Reverse have bore –

Now, that’s a happy stanza!  “bore” sounds like a hole I drilled this morning. Methinks ED meant “borne”.

The Worthiness of Suffering like
The Worthiness of Death
Is ascertained by tasting –
As can no other Mouth

Gosh, another stanza even happier than the first. Sounds like ED’s life was a bowl of cherries.

Of Savors – make me conscious –
As did ourselves partake –
Affliction feels impalpable
Until Ourselves are struck –

In fact, this poem feels like ED was struck by a bolt of pure giddiness.

Oh! Woe is me, and who is the unnamed god[?] she’s begging to “make me conscious” of “Savors”?  Geeez.

OK, I’ll try to play along with a biographical interpretation:

Stanza 1.

Despair’s advantage is achieved
By suffering – Despair –
To be assisted of Reverse
One must Reverse have bore –

S1.

To know pain I have to feel pain, to know despair I have to feel despair. I desperately loved Wadsworth through four years of correspondence, but when I finally met him, he took advantage of my naivete and left me crying. That was a rude “Reverse”, but now I know how it feels to live through a “Reverse” that hurt so bad I wanted to die, many times.

 

Stanza 2.

The Worthiness of Suffering like
The Worthiness of Death
Is ascertained by tasting –
As can no other Mouth

S2

I’ve tasted suffering, I’ve tasted death, and only if I’ve tasted these can I empathize with a fellow sufferer.

 

Stanza 3.

Of Savors – make me conscious –
As did ourselves partake –
Affliction feels impalpable
Until Ourselves are struck –

S3.

Dear God,

Like Jesus, please let me “savor” the pain of nails pounded through my hands and then hang me by them on a cross. Only when I’ve felt his pain can I know what he felt, share his pain.

 

Ok, now can we move on to the next poem?
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ED suggested four alternate words:

Line 4A.

One must Reverse have {have previous} bore –

L4A.

I prefer ED’s original because three-syllable previous breaks the flow with its weakness.

Line 4B.

One must Reverse {previous} have bore

L4B.

I also prefer ED’s original because “Reverse” sounds strong and “previous” sounds weak.

 

Line 5.

The Worthiness of Suffering {Excellence; quality} like

L5.

I like ED’s original because “Suffering” bites better than “Excellence” or “quality”.

 

Line 7.

Is ascertained by tasting {testing} –

L7.

I prefer the original again because “tasting” is personal, one of the five senses, while “testing” sounds mechanical, like a statistical statement.