The imagery in, “My life had stood - a loaded gun” showcases the sinister and powerful aspects of control. Dickinson personifies the gun from the beginning, using personal pronouns like “I,” “me,” and “my” to frame the poem. The narrator is evidently a gun and being wielded by an owner who happened to pick it up. It stays hidden in the shadows or “In Corners” (line 2) with no purpose until “The Owner passed” (line 3) the gun “And carried [It] away” (line 4). Once the owner found the gun, it was able to have more power than the gun itself. The owner and the gun demonstrate their power by hunting a small and feminine “Doe” (line 6) in the forest. The “Sovereign Woods” (line 5) or Kingly woods are portrayed as equals to the duo because when shots
