838.1864.Robbed by Death—but that was easy—

838.1864.Robbed by Death—but that was easy—

Robbed by Death—but that was easy—
To the failing Eye
I could hold the latest Glowing—
Robbed by Liberty

For Her Jugular Defences—
This, too, I endured—
Hint of Glory—it afforded—
For the Brave Beloved—

Fraud of Distance—Fraud of Danger,
Fraud of Death—to bear—
It is Bounty—to Suspense’s
Vague Calamity—

Staking our entire Possession
On a Hair’s result—
Then—seesawing—coolly—on it—
Trying if it split—

‘’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’

My biographical interpretation of F838:
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Stanza 1
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In March 1862, I [ED] lost my good friend Frazer Stern in the Battle of New Bern, NC. I had been worried sick about him. I wrote my 1863 poem, ‘A Dying Tiger — moaned for Drink’, about Frazer, who lived 10 minutes after a Confederate miniball hit him. He moaned for water and I imagined holding him as his eyes dimmed in death. He died defending freedom for (enjambed) . . .

Stanza 2

all men, both white and black. Though worried sick, I endured. He was patriotic and I hope his death affords him a hint glory.

Stanza 3

I had to tolerate my awful fear of Frazer’s distance, danger, and demise. His death is the only reward I get for fearing some vague catastrophe.
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Stanza 4
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I staked my close friendship with Frazer on fate’s decision whether he should live or die. Fate seesawed between the two, then chose death.

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If Lines 2-3 sound familiar, here are Lines 5-8 of ‘A Dying Tiger — moaned for Drink’ (F529), 1863:

“His Mighty [Eye]Balls — in death were thick —
But searching —
I could see A Vision on the Retina
Of Water — and of me”

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“Frazer Stearns was a close friend of Emily Dickinson and her brother Austin. His death in the Battle of New Bern in March 1862 deeply affected Dickinson, prompting her to write about him in letters and likely influencing her poetry.” (Google AI)

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ED Lexicon defines “Calamity” as: Catastrophe; devastation; tragedy; misery; misfortune; grievous trouble; destruction that causes distress; adverse events such as plagues, famines, earthquakes, or violent storms

ED Lexicon defines “Fraud” as: Deceit; deception; trick.

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If Lines 2-3 sound familiar, here’s Lines 5-8 of ‘A Dying Tiger — moaned for Drink’ (F529), 1863:

“His Mighty [Eye]Balls — in death were thick —
But searching —
I could see A Vision on the Retina
Of Water — and of me”

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After commenting on Poems 1-763 (Franklin) on The Prowling Bee’, I am convinced that (virtually) all of Emily Dickinson’s (ED’s) poems have a factual historical level in addition to their various poetic levels of meaning. The reason for her instant and continuing public adulation (1890 - present) was and is, by far, poetic. She is one of the "Greats" that she always dreamed to be, despite her lifelong refusal to publish. That refusal freed her from criticism and allowed her to explore the outer boundaries of poetic power.

More than a century of scholarly research has resulted in somewhere between 10,000 and 100,000 books and published academic papers about ED. A large majority of these publications focus only on the “poetic levels” of one or more of ED’s poems. Publications that consider both the “historic level” and “poetic levels” comprise a small minority. Publications that focus only on the factual history of her life probably number less than 100. (All numbers in this paragraph are my estimates.)

Unfortunately for ED’s universe of readers, these two basic levels (historical and poetic) cannot be separated into two ivory towers. Every history-level publication that I know of includes at least some discussion of the poetic level(s).

The reverse is not true. In fact, authors of the “poetry-level” school seem to avoid commenting on the historical level, sometimes admonishing that a poem must stand on its own, without concern for its historical roots. To my knowledge, there are (virtually) no published “history-level” books or articles that totally ignore ED’s poems and their poetic levels.

Of course, ED’s refusal to publish her poems was only possible because of lifelong financial and daily social/housekeeping support by her family, especially her father and sister, respectively. In addition, throughout her life, the Dickinsons hired servants, first Negro and later Irish, some of whom became much more than housekeepers for ED.

My point is that our appreciation of ED's poems can be enhanced by understanding both poetic and historical levels of her sound and sense. We impoverish ourselves if we ignore their historical base.