Emily Dickinson’s poem “One need not be a Chamber - to be Haunted” (Fr407) begins with that jarring statement. Immediately, the idea of internalized dangers, or so-called hauntings as mentioned in the first line, is introduced. Throughout the rest of poem, Dickinson toys with the notion of “Ourself behind ourself” (13) and internal threats. Those ideas are gradually developed and brought to life with the juxtaposition of those internal and external threats, as well as the notion of there being multiple selves within one person (a physical self and a mental self). These aspects of the poem come together and show that the internal threats brought on by the mental self are stronger and more dangerous than random external threats and the physical
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Dickinson argues that a person, “One” (1), can be haunted just as a physical place like a “Chamber” (1) or a “House” (2) can be. In the second half of the stanza, Dickinson claims that the mind is far larger than any “Material Place” (4) by saying “The Brain” has more “Corridors” (3). The last part of this stanza shows that not only is Dickinson suggesting that people can be “haunted” by internal threats, but that people have a higher capacity to be haunted due to the mind encompassing more than any physical location possibly could. Furthermore, Dickinson introduces the question of physicality (which is shown as physical spaces like houses and chambers in this stanza) versus mentality (the brain) which comes up later in the poem as …show more content…
Typically, the word host refers to one person serving multiple guests. By using the word in the context that Dickinson did, it is as if the person is entertaining multiple others within itself. Later, in the third stanza, Dickinson writes “one’s a’self encounter -” (11) which implies that someone is meeting themselves somewhere. This is an interesting concept since typically someone cannot meet with themselves. Thus, this line adds to the idea of multiple selves as one self is meeting another in opposition. In line 13 Dickinson writes “Ourself behind ourself, concealed -” which has a similar effect as the excerpt from line 11. This line furthers the idea that the multiple selves are working against each other because one is “behind” the other and it is “concealed” (11). Finally, the fifth and final stanza is when the idea of multiple selves manifests itself completely. In the last stanza, Dickinson
Dickinson argues that a person, “One” (1), can be haunted just as a physical place like a “Chamber” (1) or a “House” (2) can be. In the second half of the stanza, Dickinson claims that the mind is far larger than any “Material Place” (4) by saying “The Brain” has more “Corridors” (3). The last part of this stanza shows that not only is Dickinson suggesting that people can be “haunted” by internal threats, but that people have a higher capacity to be haunted due to the mind encompassing more than any physical location possibly could. Furthermore, Dickinson introduces the question of physicality (which is shown as physical spaces like houses and chambers in this stanza) versus mentality (the brain) which comes up later in the poem as …show more content…
Typically, the word host refers to one person serving multiple guests. By using the word in the context that Dickinson did, it is as if the person is entertaining multiple others within itself. Later, in the third stanza, Dickinson writes “one’s a’self encounter -” (11) which implies that someone is meeting themselves somewhere. This is an interesting concept since typically someone cannot meet with themselves. Thus, this line adds to the idea of multiple selves as one self is meeting another in opposition. In line 13 Dickinson writes “Ourself behind ourself, concealed -” which has a similar effect as the excerpt from line 11. This line furthers the idea that the multiple selves are working against each other because one is “behind” the other and it is “concealed” (11). Finally, the fifth and final stanza is when the idea of multiple selves manifests itself completely. In the last stanza, Dickinson