Working on a zine of poems generated using a neural network trained on Emily Dickinson poems and I decided to... ask... the Emily Dickinson bot what she thought of me
Q: dear Emily, what do you think of me?
A: I think of three things —
The first is, you are welcome in my house —
The second is, I am growing old —
And third, some one dropped a coin
Upon the Head of this humble earth.
Anyway, zine should be available tomorrow as a PDF download. Hope u all enjoy it.
“In her formative years, the American poet Emily Dickinson’s interests centered on the study of voice and especially piano, for which she displayed considerable accomplishment and ambition. Her correspondence supplies the background for these activities while the contents of her music book provides a revealing perspective on just how assiduously and enthusiastically she collected, listened to, and performed the music of her time. The average binder’s volume contains 35 to 45 pieces of music. At just over 100 pieces, Emily Dickinson’s music book is uncommonly large.”
I’m seeing a lot of the same books on my dash, so I spent a few hours researching some lesser-known books. These books fall across a variety of genres and age group.
I'm made with nothing but a hard heart of stone, for it dont break any, and dear Susie, if mine is stony, your's is stone, upon stone, for you never yield any, where I seem quite beflown.
- Emily Dickinson to Susan Gilbert, 5 April 1852, Fragment IV, Letter titled "Will you be kind to me, Susie?"
Do I repine, is it all murmuring, or am I sad and lone, and cannot, cannot help it? [...] [God] is very kind to let me write to you, and to give me your sweet letters, but my heart wants more.
- Emily Dickinson to Susan Gilbert, 5 April 1852, Fragment II, Letter titled "Will you be kind to me, Susie?"
I felt a Funeral, in my Brain by Emily Dickinson: An Analysis
Summary:
A poem either about ascending from the rank of Mere Mortal, or mental illness.
After skimming through a few poetry blogs, I’ve come across to main readings of the poem:
Mental illness
Transcendentalism
Personally, my first opinion of this poem was "oh yeah it's about mental illness", but the more I read into this, the more I am convinced Emily Dickinson's original intention was for it to be more transcendentalist.
However, because of Death of the Author and all that shit, I’ve decided to include both readings, so you get to pick and choose (and I get to indulge myself).
I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,
And Mourners to and fro
Kept treading - treading - till it seemed
That Sense was breaking through -
And when they all were seated,
A Service, like a Drum -
Kept beating - beating - till I thought
My mind was going numb -
Mental illness:
I think the Mourners aren't physical people, but the personification of her anxiety. The idea of Mourners treading in your brain reminds me of the pounding in your head you'd feel when stressed. Eventually, her anxiety overwhelms her senses, never fully leaving her at peace.
Transcendentalism:
In contrast, the funeral could be framed as a positive thing — the death of her mind so that she may begin an understanding beyond herself. Her "Sense was breaking through" the barriers of her former existence.
And then I heard them lift a Box
And creak across my Soul
With those same Boots of Lead, again,
Then Space - began to toll,
Boots of Lead refer to the Mourners. According to a student essay from gradesaver.com, "Boots of Lead" evokes a range of medieval and early-modern torture techniques, such as filling the boots of the victim with molten lead.
Mental illness:
With this reading, it does seem kinda paradoxical that it is the Mourners who wear the Boots of Lead when it is Emily who is being tormented. In the context of the poem, Emily's coffin is being lifted by the Mourners. She is painfully aware of the space between her and that of the "living".
Transcendentalism:
"Boots of Lead" makes more sense here. It is Emily who is being lifted, it is Emily who is achieving some kind of enlightenment; the Mourners cannot possibly comprehend — they are being weighed down, tormented by their limited knowledge.
"Space - began to toll" here seems positive. She has left the mortals behind, she rejoices the space between where she is now and where she was before.
As all the Heavens were a Bell,
And Being, but an Ear,
And I, and Silence, some strange Race,
Wrecked, solitary, here -
The space, whatever it is supposed to mean, eventually gives way to the Heavens the further Emily leaves.
Mental illness:
Emily is unable to achieve peace. Heaven itself is loud and painful. She is reduced to nothing but her hearing, doomed to only listen to her anxieties as her sanity deteriorates. Silence becomes a stranger to her. She is utterly on her own in this mental battle.
Transcendentalism:
The Heavens call to Emily, she can only heed the call. poemanalysis.com suggests Emily was overtaken by the silence, turning her into something inhuman, hence "some strange Race". She ends up alone as she is longer part of the human race. Suggesting that precious few or perhaps none but Emily have managed to achieve this level of enlightenment.
And then a Plank in Reason, broke,
And I dropped down, and down -
And hit a World, at every plunge,
And Finished knowing - then -
Mental illness:
At last, Emily's sanity loses the battle. She falls deeper and deeper into her own inner world. "And Finished knowing - then -" suggests that even though she is no longer of sound mind, she is still alive and goes on in this zombie-like version of consciousness.
Transcendentalism:
The last plank or obstacle holding Emily back breaks. She doesn't need Reason anymore because the Reason she knew before was earthly and she has Big Galaxy Brain now. The further she transcends, the more otherworldly wisdom she gains. Until she is done and knows all.
Before we end off here's some interesting reads:
Transcendentalism and Emily Dickinson (slideshow)
A Vision of Poets by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Resources:
gradesaver.com
poemanalysis.com
The prowling Bee (blog)
interestingliterature.com
DISCLAIMER:
I am an unqualified reader who just really likes analysing Dickinson's poems. My interpretations, though supported by some internet research, is up for debate. You may occasionally see me justifying / rescinding my views in the reblogs. But more likely I'd be too tired to explain any longer and just leave the post as it is.
Susie- have all the fun wh' you possibly can- and laugh as often and sing, for tears are plentier than smiles in this little world of our's[;] only dont be so happy as to let Mattie and me grow dimmer and dimmer and finally fade away, and merrier maids than we smile in our vacant places!
- Emily Dickinson to Susan Gilbert, 9 October 1851, Fragment VI, Letter titled "I wept a tear here, Susie"
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