LarryB

After commenting on Poems 1-844 (Franklin) on ‘The Prowling Bee’, (https://bloggingdickinson.blogspot.com/), 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). Unfortunately, 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.

789.1863.All but Death, can be Adjusted —

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789.1863.All but Death, can be Adjusted —

All but Death, can be Adjusted —
Dynasties repaired —
Systems — settled in their Sockets —
Citadels — dissolved —

Wastes of Lives — resown with Colors
By Succeeding Springs —
Death — unto itself — Exception —
Is exempt from Change —

ED’s focus on the finality of “Death” belies any Christian optimism about resurrection and heaven. That perspective is amazing given the milieu of her Amherst childhood.

Saint Paul would disagree with ED (I Corinthians 15: 51-58, KJV):

51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

 

788.1863.Publication – is the Auction

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788.1863.Publication – is the Auction

No alternate words or phrases.

Publication – is the Auction
Of the Mind of Man –
Poverty – be justifying
For so foul a thing

Possibly – but We – would rather
From Our Garret go
White – unto the White Creator –
Than invest – Our Snow –

Thought belong to Him who gave it –
Then – to Him Who bear
It’s Corporeal illustration – sell
The Royal Air –

In the Parcel – Be the Merchant
Of the Heavenly Grace –
But reduce no Human Spirit
To Disgrace of Price –

Adam DeGraff’s explication at The Prowling Bee leaves little to be said, except perhaps for Stanza 2:

“. . . . We – would rather
From Our Garret go
White – unto the White Creator –
Than invest – Our Snow –”

EDLex defines “White” (Line 7) as both an adjective and a noun. Among the EDLex adjective definitions of “white” are “virginal, innocent, chaste, pure, clean, untainted”. Among its noun definitions are “purity, virtue, goodness”.

Among the noun definitions of “Snow (Line 8)” are “purity, innocence, good reputation”.

Given those connotations, I would translate Stanza 2 into the prose sentence:

I [ED] would rather emerge from my bedroom innocent and chaste than “sell” my innocence and good reputation for the “Disgrace of Price”.

Translated, ED seems to equate selling her poetry with prostituting her body, “so foul a thing”, except “Possibly” for “Poverty”.

That last exception, “Possibly” for “Poverty”, softens the judgmental tone of this poem for me. ED might consider selling her poems, if not selling meant “Poverty”.

A translation of Fr788’s four stanzas in four sentences:

Publication is the auction of  the mind of man; only poverty justifies so foul a thing, possibly.

I would rather emerge from my bedroom innocent and chaste than sell my innocence and good reputation for the disgrace of price.

Thinking belongs to God who gave it to us, then to Christ who bore its corporeal illustration to sell God’s royal plan.

In that plan resides Christ, who illustrated God’s grace to us; don’t reduce our human spirit to disgrace of price.

787.1863.Bloom opon the Mountain—stated—

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Bloom opon the Mountain—stated—
Blameless of a Name—
Efflorescence of a Sunset—
Reproduced—the same—

Seed, had I, my Purple Sowing
Should endow the Day—
Not a Tropic of a Twilight—
Show itself away—

Who for tilling—to the Mountain
Come, and disappear—
Whose be Her Renown, or fading,
Witness, is not here—

While I state—the Solemn Petals,
Far as North—and East,
Far as South and West—expanding—
Culminate—in Rest—

And the Mountain to the Evening
Fit His Countenance—
Indicating, by no Muscle—
The Experience—

Humpf. We don’t call Robert Frost Robert or Elizabeth Barrett Browning Elizabeth or Emily Bronte Emily. But Biographers, academic authors, and commentors alike often call Emily Dickinson Emily. Ever since her family met courteous inquiries with stony stares, we’ve been “protecting Emily”. I’m guilty too, I call her my difficult girlfriend.

Nevertheless, sing-songy perfect rhymes like “a name / the same”, “the day / away”, “disappear / is not here”, “East / West /Rest”, “Countenance / Experience” in every stanza just sound trite, no matter who wrote the poem. Maybe it’s a joke and she’s somewhere out there laughing at us as we gush. At any rate, it’s refreshing to hear an ED fan say, “in this poem, she does get a little purple in her diction, at least a little more so than usual, as can be heard in the phrase, “efflorescence of a sunset.”

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786.1863.Autumn — overlooked my Knitting —

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786.1877.Autumn — overlooked my Knitting —

ED’s alternate words and phrase in parentheses (Lines 3,4,6,8).

Autumn — overlooked my Knitting —
Dyes — said He — have I —
Could disparage (dishonor) a Flamingo —
Show Me them (Give them Me)— said I —

Cochineal — I chose — for deeming
It (That) resemble Thee —
And the little Border — Dusker —
For resembling (That resemble) Me —

In Stanza 1, I prefer ED’s original words, but I much prefer her alternate word and phrase in Stanza 2.

Capitalized “He” in Line 2 logically refers to Autumn but metaphorically may also refer to the referent of “Thee” in Line 6.

Capitalized “Thee” in Line 6 probably refers to ED’s revered “Master”, not “Autumn”, because “Thee” in Line 6 is probably Reverend Charles Wadsworth, whose brilliant words burned brighter in her mind than her “little Border — Dusker —”. Wadsworth’s mesmerizing sermons overfilled his churches every Sunday.

Since her death in 1886, ED too has filled her church of readers, and her words are not “Dusker”, despite her self-deprecating claim in Lines 7-8.

PS1:    It’s nice to see ED’s early infatuation with Wadsworth becoming a revered friendship that lasted until she died (JL1040 to Charles Clark, April 15, 1886).

PS2:    In contrast to American grammar, British grammar logically places commas outside quote marks unless they logically belong inside, which is my preference also. An example is [“Master”,] in the last paragraph of the above explication.

 

785.1863.It dropped so low — in my Regard —

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785.1863.It dropped so low — in my Regard —

ED copied this poem into Fascicle in ink in 1863, then waited 17 years later (about 1880) to add the alternatives in pencil. ED’s alternates are in parentheses:

It dropped so low — in my Regard —
I heard it hit the Ground —
And go to pieces on the Stones
At bottom of my Mind — (in the ditch)

Yet blamed the Fate that fractured (flung it) — less
Than I reviled (denounced) Myself,
For entertaining Plated Wares
Upon My Silver Shelf —

  • Line 4: I prefer her original phrase, “At bottom of my Mind”, because it maintains the meter of the stanza and because ED is talking about her “Mind”, not a “ditch”.
  • Line 5: I prefer her alternative, “flung it”, because “”Fate” didn’t “fracture” “It”, the “Stones” did.
  • Line 6: I prefer ED’s original “reviled” because it vividly describes her self-disgust.

 

For the first time, ED did not include alternative words and phrases at the same time she copied her poem into Fascicle 37. Instead, she waited 17 years (“about 1880”) and then penciled her alternatives onto her ink manuscript.

As was her wont, ED began this poem with an orphaned pronoun, “It”. I think ED’s romantic infatuation with Rev. Charles Wadsworth was both the seed of this poem and the unstated cedent of “It”. I also think ED was mad at herself for wasting so much time obsessing over “Plated Wares”.

In retrospect, I think Wadsworth was the muse for some of her finest poems.

PS. . . Both Johnson (1955, ‘Complete Poems’) and Franklin (1998, ‘Poems of Emily Dickinson’) published Line 4 without using ED’s 1880 alternate phrase, “in the ditch”, which was their standard protocol. However, they did publish her 1880 alternates in Lines 5 and 6, which was definitely not their usual protocol. Did they think they were “improving” ED’s poem?

785;1863.It dropped so low — in my Regard —

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785.1863.It dropped so low — in my Regard —

It dropped so low — in my Regard —
I heard it hit the Ground —
And go to pieces on the Stones
At bottom of my Mind —

Yet blamed the Fate that flung it — less
Than I denounced Myself,
For entertaining Plated Wares
Upon My Silver Shelf —

ED’s original 1863 ink copy in Fascicle 37 and 1880 penciled alternatives in parentheses:

It dropped so low — in my Regard —
I heard it hit the Ground —
And go to pieces on the Stones
At bottom of my Mind — (in the ditch)

Yet blamed the Fate that fractured (flung it) — less
Than I reviled (denounced) Myself,
For entertaining Plated Wares
Upon My Silver Shelf —

For the first time, ED did not copy her alternative words and phrases in ink at the same time she copied her poem. Instead, she waited 17 years (1880) and then penciled her alternatives between her original ink lines.

Both Johnson (1955, ‘Complete Poems’) and Franklin (1998, ‘Poems of Emily Dickinson’) published Line 4 without using ED’s 1880 alternate phrase, which was their standard protocol, but they published her 1880 alternates in Lines 5 and 6, which was definitely not their usual protocol. They may have been “protecting Emily” by ignoring protocol in Lines 5 and 6 and not in Line 4. Whatever their reasons, they improved her poem:

Original Stanza 1 sounds better than

“It dropped so low — in my Regard —
I heard it hit the Ground —
And go to pieces (in the Ditch)
At bottom of my Mind —”

And modified Stanza 2 sounds better than her original (above):

“Yet blamed the Fate that (flung it) — less
Than I (denounced) Myself,
For entertaining Plated Wares
Upon My Silver Shelf —”

Line 6, “Than I reviled myself”, may reveal how ED felt in 1863, but apparently she had mellowed by 1880.

The postcendant of “It” (Line 1) is “Plated Wares” (Line 7), a metaphor for “anything you once fell for” but no longer revere (Adam DeGraff, AKA d. scribe). “It” may be ED’s adolescent romantic infatuation (at age 25-32) with Rev. Charles Wadsworth, which I think is the seed of this poem, or the unfinished quality of the poem itself, which ED apparently realized in 1880, or, something else.

There must be a reason ED would juxtapose this poem, F785 (Poem 13), an initially flawed text but objective truism, with F784 (Poem 12), a “Mulling Suicide” poem that seems a painful cry for help,  Perhaps she’s reminding herself of where she’s been (sidetracked by infatuation, “Plated Wares”) and where she wants to go (poetic immortality). It’s inconceivable to me she composed these two poems contemporaneously, despite their copied  juxtaposition in Fascicle 37 and identical estimated copy dates (“about late 1863”).

784.1863. I sometimes drop it, for a Quick

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784.1863.I sometimes drop it, for a Quick –

 I  sometimes drop it, for a Quick –
The Thought to be alive –
Anonymous Delight to know –
And Madder – to conceive –

Consoles a Wo so monstrous
That did it tear all Day,
Without an instant’s Respite –
‘Twould look too far – to Die –

Delirium – diverts the Wretch
For Whom the Scaffold neighs –
The Hammock’s motion lulls the Heads
So close on Paradise –

A Reef – crawled easy from the Sea
Eats off the Brittle Line –
The Sailor doesn’t know the Stroke –
Until He’s past the Pain –

“Delirium – diverts the Wretch / For Whom the Scaffold neighs –”:

Occam’s Razor suggests “neighs –” is simply ED’s notorious misspelling of “nighs”.

ED’s father championed building “Insane Asylums”, a euphemism for “Mad House”, as they were then termed. Good thing he didn’t see ED’s poem, which we might dub ‘Mulling Suicide’.

An interpretation of ‘I sometimes drop it, for a Quick –’:

ED offers no alternate words. Parenthesized words are definitions from ED Lexicon; square brackets are my edits.

I sometimes drop [mulling suicide], for a Quick [respite from Wo] –
The Thought to be alive  –
(Unknown) Delight to know –
And (Insaner)– to conceive –

[“The Thought to be alive”] (Relieves) a Wo so monstrous
That did it (weep) all Day
Without an instant’s Respite –
[Death would look too far – to wait – ]

(Insanity) – diverts the Wretch
For Whom the Scaffold neighs [nighs]
The Hammock’s motion lulls the Heads
So close on Paradise –

(Adversity) – crawled easy from the Sea
Eats off the (Feeble Cable) –
The Sailor doesn’t know the (End) –
Until He’s past the Pain –

I think the postcendant of “It” (Line 1) is “Plated Wares” (Line 7), a metaphor for “anything you once fell for” but no longer revere (Adam DeGraff, AKA, d. scribe). “It” may be ED’s adolescent romantic infatuation (at age 25-32) with Rev. Charles Wadsworth, which I think is the seed of this poem, or the unfinished quality of the poem itself, which ED apparently realized in 1880.

There is a reason ED would juxtapose in Fascicle 37 this poem, F785 (Poem 13), an initially flawed text but objective truism, with F784 (Poem 12), a painful cry for help, a “Mulling Suicide” poem. It’s inconceivable to me she composed these two poems contemporaneously, despite their consecutive positions and estimated copy date (about late 1863). Perhaps she’s reminding herself of where she’s been sidetracked by infatuation, “Plated Wares”, and where she wants to go, poetic immortality.