An Analysis Of The Soul In Emily Dickinson's The Soul Has Bandaged Moments

From my point of view, remaining hushed and away from the scene is a necessity; in a like manner, the speaker in Emily Dickinson’s poem appears to stay away from the soul although the speaker expresses their views on the factors affecting the soul. In “The Soul Has Bandaged Moments”, a person who is observing the soul gives their analysis of the cycle of the soul, beginning with bandaged moments, moving to freedom moments, and finishing with retaken moments. Dickinson incorporates repetition, simile, and rhyme in her poem to develop an observant tone in reporting the speaker’s observations about the soul’s cycle of experiences.
Throughout the poem, Dickinson employs repetition to show the cyclical experiences of the soul, hence to create an
observant tone. At the beginning of the poem, the soul is going through her first stage of her cycle of experiences. The speaker refers to one of the three stages of the soul’s cycle when they voice, “The soul has bandaged moments” (Dickinson 1). The use of “moments” indicates there are multiple times where the soul experiences a distinct change in how certain events or actions are assessed, as well how the events or actions affect the soul, such as the soul feeling fearful during her bandaged moments. Therefore, the cyclical experiences of the soul expressed using repetition play into the observant tone of the poem, which is lengthened with assistance from the simile used later in the poem.
To further emphasize the observant tone, the speaker uses a simile to compare the soul’s moment of escape to a bomb. As the soul’s experiences her moment of escape, she spends her time relishing in her newfound freedom. While the soul is enjoying her freedom the speaker recites, “She dances like a bomb, abroad, / and swings opon the hours” (Dickinson 13-14). Albeit, the readers have most likely never seen the soul in her moment of escape, but using a bomb as a source of familiarity helps the readers understand what the soul is experiencing. Additionally, the bomb is used to illustrate that the soul only has so long to be free. Furthermore, simile is used to compare the relationship between the soul’s moment of escape and a bomb creates a tone of observance to this poem, and in response to the timed freedom, rhyme is used to foreshadow the cycle of the soul’s experiences.
Dickinson utilizes rhyme to affect the foreshadowing of the cycle of experiences the soul partakes throughout the poem, supporting the reasoning behind the text.
As the soul goes through the rotation of events, the rhyme scheme seems to break the closer the soul gets to freedom. The speaker says, “The soul has bandaged moments- / when too appalled to stir / She feels some ghastly fright come up / and stop to look at her” (Dickinson 1-4). The rhyming in the lines shows perfect rhyme, but as the story progresses Dickinson writes, “As do the bee- delirious borne- / Long dungeoned from his Rose / Touch Liberty- then know no more- / But Noon, and Paradise” (Dickinson 15-18). Dickinson incorporates a significant break in the story where the soul is no longer free. Another rhyme is used to signify that the rhyming scheme helps assemble the basis of the poem. During the soul’s stage of being bandaged prompts the speaker to report, “Salute her with long fingers- / Caress her freezing hair- / Sip, Goblin, from the very lips / the lover- hovered- o’er / Unworthy, that a thought so mean / Accost a theme- so - fair” (Dickinson 5-10). The speaker reports the observations of the soul by describing the events and providing their personal analysis of the situation. Thus, the use of rhyme in the poem foreshadows the rotation of experiences the soul goes through to further the reasoning behind the
text.