After reading these three poems, I was struck by the vital
role that the vocabulary used in creating the tone of each work. For example in
the poem , “I think just how my shape will rise,” Dickinson paints a religious
mood at the onset of the poem by utilizing words such as “rise” “forgiven” and
“prayer.” As she moves through the second stanza, there is a definite shift in
the tone, which is also highlighted, by a shift in the vocabulary. The author
begins to use words such as “delirious” “moved away” and “broke,” giving the
reader a completely different feel.
The other
verses also show examples of the importance of vocabulary in Dickenson’s work.
The poem, “The Clouds their Backs together laid,” creates an eerie tone by
personifying the thunder and lightening. The further reference of the tomb
brings the ideas surrounding death and dying into the reader’s minds. The final
poem, “Mine Enemy is growing old,” is the best example of reliance on word
choice. The words “anger” “starving” “avenge” and “enemy” emit a feeling of
disdain. I think that the precision of the word choice in this poem is what
allows Dickenson to keep the length short while still getting a strong message
across to the reader.
I definitely agree that word choice sets the mood of Dickinson's poems and gives readers an initial "hint" as to what the poem is talking about. As we talked about in class, her word choice can also add a degree of uncertainty in deciphering her work. Her use of the word "con" could mean "to trick" or "learn". Thus, depending on how we interpret just one word, the whole poem could completely change meaning.
ReplyDeleteWe definitely see this "one word: two meanings" ordeal going on in [872]. In my opinion, this poem is about colonization and the choice of words such as "maelstrom", "dainty", and "torrid" all help to explain both the loneliness of life at sea, as well as the hunger/passion that underlies colonization.