849.1864.By my Window have I for Scenery
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F849A, Lines 15-16, early 1864, to Ebon Box
“The Definition of Melody — is —
That Definition is none —”
F797A, Lines 1-2, early 1864, to Sue
“The Definition of Beauty is
That Definition is none—”
When ED uses the word “Beauty” in F797, 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.”
In F849, when ED writes “Melody” she means mystic melodies “of no tone”, again 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”
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Here’s Franklin’s (1998) Variant A of F849, which I label F849A, with line numbers added [in brackets]. The “A” is Franklin’s customary appellation for the first known variant. There are no other known manuscripts of this poem. I refer to this version as 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]
*I think the antecedent of “They” in Line 18 is “the Dumb” in Line 14. The only way the Dumb could communicate by “Sight” is through sign language. In 1817, Laurent Clerc and Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet founded the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut (Wikipedia, downloaded 7/7/2026), and sign language was in wide use by 1864 when ED composed this poem.
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In her manuscript of F849A, ED suggested five alternate words and phrases, which I indicate with {curly brackets}. Here are my preferences and reasons for them, listed by Line Number:
- original: “If” because “Grant” doesn’t make sense to me,
- alternate: “do” because it’s stronger than “serve”,
- original: “That split their route to the Sky” because it focuses on the Sea Pine, while “Ply between it, and the Sky” does not,
- original: “easier reached” because it’s direct, while “better attained” or “easier gained” are not,
- original: “define” because it’s stronger and rhymes with “Divine”.
I’ve included these originals/alternates in my Version 2. I’ve also my explanations of confusing pronouns in [regular brackets]. Finally, below each stanza is my prose interpretation of that stanza, labelled S1, S2, etc., and including ED’s capitalizations:
F849A, Version 2, ‘By my Window have I for Scenery’:
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 west-facing 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” [rope] 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 —
S2 interpretation
In my west-side yard the Sea Pine roots in the Earth, and above it shines the Sun. It sheds a haunting Odor that wafts on the Wind. The fragrance, distilled, is perfume of Commerce, if Commerce it have, of merchantmen filled with aromatic cargo.
Stanza 3
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 —
S3 interpretation, including ED’s capitalizations
When Wind blows through its branches, it affirms the mystic Melody, the singing of the spheres. Can the Dumb define Divine? Sea Pine’s Definition of Melody is – 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
That Immortality —
- 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 it sounded, but it permanently convinced me that life is worth living, which saved my life during the months after Wadsworth moved to the west coast.
Was the Pine at my Window a “Fellow
Of the Royal” Infinity?
Apprehensions — are God’s introductions —
To be hallowed — accordingly —
- Is Sea Pine at my Window an angel, a “Fellow of the Royal” Infinity? Uncertainties are God’s introductions and to be hallowed accordingly.