Take at least half an hour to write two separate posts:: one on poem 498, and one on either 107, 425, or 45. Post each piece of writing as a reply to a previous comment on that poem. This way, there should be a total of 4 comment threads on the blog.
Both of your posts must do the following:
1. Identify key metaphors, words, and points of confusion
2. Reference a previous post (unless you're the first to write about the poem)
3. Refer to another poem we've read
Your two posts are due by 8 am Friday.
Use this space to engage with our texts, with each other, and with your confusion.
Brian 498
ReplyDeleteThe key words are abyss, well, floorless, and "know her less." In this poem, Dickinson relates a well to an abyss. An abyss is a bottomless pit or endless space. Using this metaphor, Dickinson is talking about this pit as otherworldly, and talks about staring into it. She is scared of this abyss, but the grass is not. It "stands close and looks so bold," like a person could. It makes me think of grass growing out of the sides of a well further into it. I don't know why she chooses to personify so many things in this poem. Dickinson personifies the the water, grass, sea, and nature. Also, I am confused with why she chooses to use he for some and her for others. If I were to relate this to other poems, I would cite the last two stanzas. It talks about nature and how unknown she is. People who talk about and experience nature, "know her less." It relates to poem 11 and the poem that talks about men going out to sea. Like in those poems, the people experiencing something know it the least. One overall metaphor seems to be about a fear of things that can't be touched, or labeled, but a loss of knowledge through labeling something.
Poem 498
DeleteKey words in the poem are well, abyss, floorless, and "lid of glass". The abyss is being compared to a well like Brian stated that is the important metaphor of the poem. With this comparison Dickison depicts them both as being a hole to a new world or dimension. I agree with Brian saying that the pit is otherwordly. But when looking into the well she describes the top as a "lid of glass" meaning when looking straight into the well one can see his own reflection. This reflection could be an alternate self or the persons soul. Which could be the reason why Dickinson is afraid to look into the abyss. Dickinson is afraid to see her own soul when staring into the well. The well is haunted by the ghost of the individual that looks into it. What confuses me in this poem is the last stanza. Getting to know her more means you are knowing her less so basically you know nothing of her is what im taking from the last stanza. I would relate the first two stanzas of the poem to poem 95 because the well serves as a isolated place picked by the soul. The grass standing bold outside the well is the majority unable to access this isolated society. The person staring into the well is the chariot outside the gate way. The "Lid of glass" is the gate way to be entered.
KENNY
Deletepoem 498
The key word here is mystery. Dickinson goes on to explain the mystery within a well, "Whose limit none have ever seen," and I found this to be analytical to most mystery in life. As she goes on about grass, I started to contemplate the mystery within nature. Both of these sparked curiosities for me, thinking Dickinson would further elaborate on such topics, but I found this poem to progressively change themes. The last two stanzas throw me off, and make me re-think what Dickinson is trying to say. I have too many possible ideas for what she's saying here, but the last two lines confirm a strong sense of mystery, as the poem did at the start.
Mason, 498
DeleteI see the metaphor of the "water living so far" as a comparison to how we live. I like Kenny's idea about the poem representing mystery in life, although I think it shares a great resemblance to the poem/s we talked about today when we drew the cave on the board. If we go out of the cave, the sun will blind us. The sort of worldly knowledge would be too much for us. Staying in the cave yields small bits of sunlight that make it down the "well." We know only a little bit, but the knowledge is just enough. The "neighbor residing in a jar" is similar to the well, except he's a little closer to the cave's exit, therefore he sees more light. What confuses me though is the "sedge [that] is floorless And does no timidity betray." She is saying that the plant is not timid like the grass to the outside world. At first I had trouble connecting this but now I see it as our struggle when we see the world. We have to take everything in and comprehend so much information that it can be overbearing, therefore making us timid. But no, these plants do it; they take everything in with grace, yet humans who are the most advanced species (we'd like to think) cannot do it. Then I feel Dickinson takes a stab at people who "cite nature most" because they have never "passed her haunted house." The ones that boast life haven't seen the dark sides of it. That if they did see how tough the world can be, they would not be so enchanted and be like Dickinson.
Morgan
Delete498
For some reason I keep thinking that in this poem Dickinson is writing about herself. She is known to be this woman who lives alone and writes poetry, never leaving her house. "That water lives so far/A neighbor from another world/Residing in a jar" makes me think of Dickinson by a window looking out into the world. It reminds me of the poem in which she references a person loosing their eyes, and placing their soul on a window pane. She looks out and sees grass that has no problem being out in the world, but she cannot do the same. It is possible that she is not only talking about herself, but others as well. Kenny and Mason talk about the mystery of life. The world is this "abyss" that no one can fully understand. The last two stanzas remind me of the poem where she those who have something do not fully understand it. In this poem the closer one gets to nature the less they understand it. These last two stanzas confuse me the most because she says to "pity those who know her not" and I cannot tell if we should try to get closer to nature or not. Or maybe again she is talking about herself when she writes: "The ones that cite her most/ Have never passed her haunted house" again here is Dickinson in her room not experiencing nature, and yet refercing it in numerous poems. I don't know, I am not equipped with the language to describe Dickinson.
Sam 498
DeleteOne thing that really stands out to me in this poem is her use of "he." Who is "he?" Like Reggie and Brian said, the well is being compared to an abyss. What is the "lid of glass?" I think that the water is the lid on the abyss. In the third stanza, it seems almost like she is talking about Whitman because Whitman, like the piece of grass, is not afraid to look into the abyss, something that Dickinson fears. In the last stanza, she says that people who know nature, know her less as they get nearer and nearer to her. That makes no sense at all. It seems like the closer you get to something, the more you would know it but Dickinson says otherwise.
Alex 498
DeleteThe key words are water, sea, well, and mystery. I like what Brian says about the abyss, but I would like to add that she compares the abyss to a well, which she also regards as supernatural. A well contains a mystery, which is something unknown much like the abyss. She says "What mystery pervades a well" to give the feeling of a never ending hole, or an abyss. She also compares the sea to the bottomless well, and as Brian said she contrasts this notion with the idea that the grass is not something to be afraid of.
Brian 425
ReplyDeleteThe key words are moment, starve, and gallows. I believe that the metaphor of the first stanza is of man dying and going to heaven. The "Sumptuous moment" would be life, which passes by so quickly. This person may have been poor, and would be starving on earth, but up in heaven they would have an abundance. This person would rather be back on earth starving, but was killed at the gallows for some unknown reason. I don't understand what Dickinson means by "ask him unto the Gallows led." Does it mean ask about the day, or about the difference after that day? In matter of relations to other poems, this one could be related to many poems though the use of death. Many of her other poems include death, and a wanting to avoid death.
Sam 107
ReplyDeleteThe first thing that I notice about this poem is that the format of it is different. Instead of very strict four-line stanzas, she changes to one big stanza and then a smaller stanza. Also, the poem doesn't rhyme like her other poems do. Upon first or second reading, this poem seems, at least on the surface, to be written in more of a Whitman-esque style; it is more whimsical than all of the other poems that we've read. A pinnace is a small boat that is usually of service to a larger vessel. I have no idea what she is doing with the boat metaphor. It sounds like to me that the boat is being lifted to the clouds and since it is a pinnace, it is in service to the clouds because the clouds are royal. I think the dream represents the honey because the bee that makes that rare variety doesn't exist. She says earlier in the poem that a dream is "the Heaven we chase." We are always looking for ways to capture it, but we never can. I suppose that by eating the steadfast honey, it will allow us to capture that heaven. However, there is no such thing as a bee who makes the steadfast honey, therefore, the steadfast honey doesn't exist.
Morgan
Delete107
I did not notice the different format until I read Sam's post. I also find it very interesting the way he compares this poem to Whitman. To me the first stanza makes me think of the poem in which Dickinson writes that we are living on a native land and haunted by our home land. "The Heaven we chase," we are going after something that we do not have, but we want. She also uses the word "Homesick" as she does in the other poem. I like the metaphor of the School Boy chasing the bee as if to say we all chase this dream like children. We run after it stumbling along the way. While the vision seems somewhat happy thinking about the June Bee and School Boy, I think Dickinson chooses a bee because roughly 95% of the time you grab a bee, you are going to get stung. She is possibly saying something along the lines of, once you catch this dream, or reach the heavens, which may not happen, it could end up bad, not working out the way you wanted it to. The last two lines confuse me, "Ah, the Bee flies not/ That brews that rare variety!" I think it's more because of the wording than anything else.
Poem 45
ReplyDeleteKey words are Harebell, "lover Bee",hallow, and "Paradise". The Harebell is a plant with a slender stem with blue and white bell shaped flowers. These flowers represent the girdle that is taken away from the "lover Bee". The Bee is the Harebell's lover. Hallow means holy or to be honored as holy. The Bee honors the harebell as holy formerly meaning earlier. Did the paradise convince her moat or fortress to give up the pearl. The pearl represents the flower. What confuses me is the last two lines of the poem i cannot understand how they relate to the rest of the poem. What i have taken from this poem is that their is a love between two lovers and it is separated by the isolated society that surrounds one of the lovers. The poem ends with the question does the selective society allow the bee to enter? the poem also reminds me of poem 95 because of the lack of control that the lovers have over themselves and their relationship and the choice of who is aloud into this society. Also relates to poem 105 because of the lack of control we have and that the deciding factor of entering this society is decided by a greater force that is beyond your comprehension .
KENNY
Deletepoem 45
Key words play in part with Dickinson's structure of the poem. Note, the first word of each stanza is "Did", and the first word of the third line in each stanza is "Would." This form presents the poem is a questioning fashion. I see Dickinson as really doubtful in beliefs, and this poem is no different. The metaphor in this poem, like all of Dickinson's, is fairly ambiguous to me. Clearly this poem pertains to a struggle between lovers and the miscommunication or breaking apart of two lovers. Dickinson seems to be asking questions looking for an answer as to why such thing would happen. By creating the "Paradise" and questioning what "Eden" would be like if whatever happened, Dickinson exemplifies her sense of doubt. I catch myself doing the same thing sometimes. I'll ask myself, "well what would B be like if I did A differently?" It's just a constant struggle at contemplating what to do and actually doing. When bad things happen, I often wonder what I could've done to not get in a bad predicament . This is regressing from trying to give a definite answer as to what Dickinson is trying to say in this poem, but I've discovered the overwhelming sense of human doubt reflecting in this poem.
Mason, 45
DeleteI like Kenny's idea about self doubt or human doubt. But I think the poem is mainly about love and receiving love. I believe Dickinson is showing that loving someone is one thing, but being genuinely loved back at the same time is a different thing. Being in love at the same time is important because two people (the bee and flower used as a metaphor) can be at two different speeds in a relationship. The meaning seems to be reflective on her own life, saying that she's loved someone and hasn't been loved back. She presents the question: "Would the Harebell hallow the Bee formerly as much?" Asking, in the past did the Harebell love the Bee? Wondering if the Bee is returning the love by obtaining her girdle. Also, she says did the "Paradise" that was promised live up to the expectations. Dickinson is referring to the implied charm that the Bee used to persuade the flower. The poem definitely relates back to 95 because she is showing the difficulty of love. Probably most of her writing is good because she failed at love. She wouldn't be writing if she was greatly in love because she wouldn't appreciate it as much, as she proclaims in other poems. We very much appreciate things we don't have and place value on them; this is why she writes so much about love- because she must have failed.
What is it everything the bee promised or the Harebell hoped for?
Alex
Delete45
I think the main words to look out for in this poem would be Bee, Harebell, and paradise. I Reggie's idea that this poem could be about the breakup of two lovers, mainly because she uses the metaphor of the bee as a lover many times, and also because of the line "Did the Harebell loose her girdle to the lover bee?" The line "did the 'paradise' persuaded" also leads me to believe that this may be a poem about the failure of a relationship between two lovers. She also talks about the garden of eden, which is paradise at its finest. This idea reminds me of poem 11 because she discusses Eden even though she clearly has not experienced it, which relates to poem 11's idea that only those who fail can truly know success.