A Narrow Fellow In The Grass Annotation

Grazing in the fields, roaring in the jungles, or wriggling in the dirt, “Nature’s People” are found everywhere. Throughout history, people have admired nature and its beautiful creations, especially animals, and Emily Dickinson is no exception. In “A narrow Fellow in the Grass”, Dickinson simply admires a snake, personifying it with interesting metaphors and unusual word choices. Although she respects a snake in her poem, she also feels as if he is a sly, chilling, and devious creature. Dickinson begins one of her only published poems with the lines, “A narrow Fellow in the Grass / Occasionally rides -,” metaphorically describing a snake as a long, skinny person slithering in the grass. The presence of Dickinson’s renowned dash in this poem indicates a change in subject as she continues, “You may have met him? Did you not / His notice instant is -” In these lines, Dickinson questions whether the audience has met him since he is instantly …show more content…
“But never met this Fellow / Attended or alone” again personifies a snake as a person and hints that a snake shouldn’t be met with or without someone, and the lines, “Without a tighter Breathing / And Zero at the Bone.” clearly explain why. The speaker has never met a snake without a shock that catches his breath and sends a chilling fear right to his bones. The unusually worded phrase “Zero at the Bone” denotes to fear or chill that reaches your bones and gives a very negative connotation. Dickinson uses unusual grammar and punctuation throughout her poem, capitalizing odd words in “A narrow Fellow in the Grass” as a way to emphasize those specific words. She also writes a slant rhyme in every stanza, but ends in the last stanza with a true rhyme of the words “alone” and “Bone.” Throughout the poem, Emily Dickinson expresses admiration for a snake, but also hints at its sly and deceitful