Emily Dickinson Civil War Poetry Analysis

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An image alone has the ability to be worth a thousand words, but paired together with poetry, it expresses much more. Emily Dickinson, an American poet, created true works of art that often had ambiguous meaning. Dickinson’s poetry continuously constructed dominant images that, needless to say, didn’t need illustrations. Emily Dickinson’s Civil War poems specifically, contain descriptions of graphic images that also fit well with the photo taken by American Photographer, Timothy H. O’Sullivan. In Dickinson’s poem They dropped like flakes (1863), adding the image, “The Harvest of Death” by Timothy H. O’Sullivan and placing it at the end of the poem, would essentially enhance the impact of the vision Dickinson portrays in regards to the Civil War. This impact of this Dickinson’s vision strongly enhances the photographic techniques used in the photo, while the placement gives the audience a shocking, intense and sympathetic feeling. Throughout Dickinson’s poem, there is a main focus on the Soldiers that have fallen in the line of duty. Dickinson refers to them as “Flakes,” “Stars,” and “Like Petals from a Rose-” (1-3). These few words hold a calming and peaceful connotation that gives a reader the idea that these soldiers hold a sense of innocence. “They dropped like Flakes-/ They dropped like Stars” (1-2). This line, that emphasizes the falling of soldiers, encouraged the idea of finding a photo with a main focus of a certain soldier. In this photograph, objects in this appear clear while others are distorted and blurred. O’Sullivan’s depth of field was the soldier that lie there, lifeless. As ones eye continues to wonder further in the distance, the motionless bodies begin to blur as two men with horses are seen far away from the main focus of this photo. The effect of having a central focus in this image ties together with Dickinson’s main focus of her poem, being those fallen soldiers. A repeated word in a poem emphasizes a stronger meaning to a reader as they begin to decipher what is being said. In this circumstance the word “dropped” was repeated twice within the first stanza. The emphasis on such a word formed the sense of angle for myself and helped develop an idea of a vantage point in which the photograph was taken. It almost felt right to make the audience feel as they were on their knees staring at the bodies that lie ahead of them. The angle contributes to the photo by giving the viewer a more interesting look into the world of Civil War. By getting down low the main focus of the subject is accentuated. A single word can help determine the way in which an author chooses to have one vision a scene. In this case the word “dropped” created a stronger meaning, therefor contributing to the idea that this image should be angled from a lower perspective. When matching a poem together with a photograph it is an important feature to include a controlling aspect of light. …show more content…
I believe that the way in which a poem leaves you feeling should be represented by light in a photograph. “They perished in the Seamless Grass-/ No eye could find the place-/ But God can summon every face/ On his Repealless- List” (6-9). The last stanza gives a feeling of hope. As these soldiers lay on the floor, they are not remember by anyone, but God. God can “summon every face,” therefor never forgetting His children. This gives off the idea of having a photo that is not dark, but not bright either, it is a balance between the two and this photo by O’Sullivan represents this completely. The most upper part of this photo expresses light as if it God’s calling. Although mostly leaning towards the brighter side, this image does contain a fog that helps to add a more darker idea of the soldiers death. The balancing aspect of light in this photograph adds to the underlying tone of this poem. The placement of a photo helps to add emphasis to the an emotional feeling a poem gives off. In this case, I chose to place the photograph at the very end of the poem. By doing so, the reader is able to collect their thoughts and feelings altogether and

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