English 15B
Norton Anthology of American Literature Shorter 8th ed.
Dickinson
Emily Dickinson, 1830-1886
1. Briefly summarize Dickinson’s life (79-83)
Emily Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830 in Amherst, Massachusetts. Her family was rather prominent in the economic, political, and intellectual spheres. Her father served as a lawyer, a state representative, and a state senator, all at different parts of his life. Dickinson never married and remained close with her parents through her life. Nevertheless, she attended Amherst Academy as well as Mount Holyoke Female Seminary. She didn’t complete the latter’s course of study, but seemed to be particularly vehement about not conforming to others’ expectations and general conventions.
Dickinson …show more content…
It doesn’t matter if it is the nature in the summertime or that during the winter which is being referred to—no matter the timeframe, the physical world enchants the speaker. The audience knows that legitimate alcohol isn’t inebriating the speaker because he claims that even “the Frankfort Berries/[cannot] Yield such … Alcohol” (Dickinson 84). Instead of wasting their time at local inns or bars, the speaker indulges in the “molten Blue” color of the sky; they waste their days basking in the sky, getting drunk off the favors of nature (Dickinson 84). Even as winter nears and “drunken Bee[s are sent] out of the Foxglove’s door” and “butterflies [are forced to] renounce their ‘drams’” in search for a warmer climate and a sort of nature that will be kinder to them, the speaker remains in place and continues to bask in the nature of the changing seasons (Dickinson 84). Nature is the speaker’s drug of choice, and their supply is …show more content…
There is a great chance that the fly in the room is the single thing that the speaker has not perfectly interpreted. It is a part of nature, lacking motives for letting out its “[uncertain] … stumbling Buzz” (Dickinson 92). The fly may not provide anything for the speaker, but its triviality is certainly something that makes it worth focusing on while they die.
7. “A narrow Fellow in the Grass” (96)
a. What are some clues that reveal the “narrow Fellow in the Grass”?
The “narrow Fellow in the Grass” has certain features that the speaker lets slip throughout the poem. In the first stanza, Dickinson writes that “his notice [is instant];” the fellow is immediately recognizable (Dickinson 96). The fellow divides the grass when moving through it, and enjoys a Boggy Acre. When the speaker was “a Boy and Barefoot,” they “thought [it] a Whip Lash/Unbraiding in the Sun” in the afternoon (Dickinson 96). When trying to grab it, the narrow fellow escapes. This makes it clear that the narrow fellow is a living creature, and one that moves quickly at that. It is thin and wiry, and divides the grass. The creature is a
Norton Anthology of American Literature Shorter 8th ed.
Dickinson
Emily Dickinson, 1830-1886
1. Briefly summarize Dickinson’s life (79-83)
Emily Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830 in Amherst, Massachusetts. Her family was rather prominent in the economic, political, and intellectual spheres. Her father served as a lawyer, a state representative, and a state senator, all at different parts of his life. Dickinson never married and remained close with her parents through her life. Nevertheless, she attended Amherst Academy as well as Mount Holyoke Female Seminary. She didn’t complete the latter’s course of study, but seemed to be particularly vehement about not conforming to others’ expectations and general conventions.
Dickinson …show more content…
It doesn’t matter if it is the nature in the summertime or that during the winter which is being referred to—no matter the timeframe, the physical world enchants the speaker. The audience knows that legitimate alcohol isn’t inebriating the speaker because he claims that even “the Frankfort Berries/[cannot] Yield such … Alcohol” (Dickinson 84). Instead of wasting their time at local inns or bars, the speaker indulges in the “molten Blue” color of the sky; they waste their days basking in the sky, getting drunk off the favors of nature (Dickinson 84). Even as winter nears and “drunken Bee[s are sent] out of the Foxglove’s door” and “butterflies [are forced to] renounce their ‘drams’” in search for a warmer climate and a sort of nature that will be kinder to them, the speaker remains in place and continues to bask in the nature of the changing seasons (Dickinson 84). Nature is the speaker’s drug of choice, and their supply is …show more content…
There is a great chance that the fly in the room is the single thing that the speaker has not perfectly interpreted. It is a part of nature, lacking motives for letting out its “[uncertain] … stumbling Buzz” (Dickinson 92). The fly may not provide anything for the speaker, but its triviality is certainly something that makes it worth focusing on while they die.
7. “A narrow Fellow in the Grass” (96)
a. What are some clues that reveal the “narrow Fellow in the Grass”?
The “narrow Fellow in the Grass” has certain features that the speaker lets slip throughout the poem. In the first stanza, Dickinson writes that “his notice [is instant];” the fellow is immediately recognizable (Dickinson 96). The fellow divides the grass when moving through it, and enjoys a Boggy Acre. When the speaker was “a Boy and Barefoot,” they “thought [it] a Whip Lash/Unbraiding in the Sun” in the afternoon (Dickinson 96). When trying to grab it, the narrow fellow escapes. This makes it clear that the narrow fellow is a living creature, and one that moves quickly at that. It is thin and wiry, and divides the grass. The creature is a